ECOWAS Free Movement Protocol; Implications for Security and Cooperation Within the West African Sub-region
Chapter One
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is on the ECOWAS free movement protocol; implications for security and cooperation within the west African Sub-Region
Specifically, the following steps will be taken to achieve the general aim of the study.
- To examine awareness of the ECOWAS Protocol among border officials and travelers.
- To find out if the Protocol is been implemented according to how it states
- To identify the challenges in the implementation of the protocol.
- Investigate what efforts are been made to manage the challenges.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction
This section of the research study considers literature on the topic under discussion. It will be reviewed under different subheadings to make it more simple and understandable. It will mostly talk about ECOWAS Free Movement Protocol
Conceptual Framework
The ECOWAS Structure
ECOWAS consists of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, the Council of Ministers, the Community Tribunal, Community Court of Justice, the Executive Secretariat the ECOWAS Parliament, and the Specialised Commissions.
Conference of Heads of State and Government
The Authority of Heads of State and Government of Member States is the supreme institution of the Community and is composed of Heads of State and/or Government of Member States. The Authority is responsible for the general direction and control of the Community and take all measures to ensure its progressive development and the realization of its objectives.
The Authority determines the general policy and major guidelines of the Community and gives directives. It harmonizes and co-ordinates the economic, scientific, technical, cultural and social policies of Member States; oversees the functioning of Community institutions and follow-up implementation of Community objectives; prepares and adopts its Rules of Procedure; appoints the Executive Secretary in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty; appoints on the recommendation of Council, the External Auditors; delegates to the Council, where necessary, the authority to take such decisions as stipulated in the Treaty; refers where it deems necessary any matter to the Community Court of Justice when it confirms, that a Member State or institution of the Community has failed to honour any of its obligations or an institution of the Community has acted beyond the limits of its authority or has abused the powers conferred on it by the provisions of the Treaty, by a decision of the Authority or a regulation of the Council; requests the Community Court of Justice as, and when necessary, to give advisory opinion on any legal questions; and exercises any other powers conferred on it under the Treaty.
The Authority meets at least once a year in ordinary session. An extraordinary session may be convened by the Chairman of the Authority or at the request of a Member State provided that such a request is supported by a simple majority of the Member States. The office of the Chairman is held every year by a Member State elected by the Authority.
Council of Ministers
The Council comprises the Minister in charge of ECOWAS Affairs and any other Minister of each Member State. Council is responsible for the functioning and development of the Community. To this end, unless otherwise provided in the Treaty or a Protocol, Council makes recommendations to the Authority on any action aimed at attaining the objectives of the Community, and appoints all statutory appointees other than the Executive Secretary. By the powers delegated to it by the Authority, the Council issues directives on matters concerning coordination and harmonization of economic integration policies. It makes recommendations to the Authority on the appointment of the External Auditors, prepares and adopt its rules of procedure, and carries out all other functions assigned to it. under this Treaty and exercise all powers delegated to if by the Authority.
The Council meets at least twice a year in ordinary session. One of such sessions has immediately preceded by the ordinary session of the Authority. An extraordinary session may be convened by the Chairman of Council or at the request of a Member State provided that such request is supported by a simple majority of the Member States. The office of Chairman of Council is held by the Minister responsible for ECOWAS Affairs of the Member State elected as Chairman of the Authority.
Community Tribunal
The treaty of provides for a Community Tribunal, whose composition and competence are determined by the Conference of Heads of State and Government. The Tribunal interprets the provisions of the treaty and settles disputes between member states that are referred to it.
Community Court of Justice
In October 1999, ECOWAS decided to establish a Court of Justice following a two-day meeting of Justice Ministers in Abuja. The court will address complaints from member states and institutions of ECOWAS, as well as issues relating to defaulting nations. The court has a president, chief registrar and seven judges and is a permanent institution. Draft rules of procedure for the Court are being finalised.
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
Research Design
The design used by the study was quantitative research design in which quantitative data was collected to help determine how the ECOWAS Protocol on free movement of persons and right to residence operates. The study therefore made use of both quantitative and qualitative data in which a triangulation of results was done during the analyses.
Population of the Study
Kumekpor (2002) has noticed that the number of population in a study might be considered as the quantity of all units of the marvel to be explored that exists in the territory of examination. This definition was already attested by Nachmias and Nachmias (1996), that populace is the total of all cases that comply with some assigned arrangement of particulars. The population for the study was employees of the Nigeria Immigration Service and travellers who use the Nigerian-Chadian border from which the sample was selected for the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS, PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
Introduction
This part of the study looks at the analysis of the data collected. It is therefore aimed at answering the research questions stated in chapter one. For consistency, it will look at the demographic characteristics of the respondents and then analysis of the items in the questionnaire.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY,CONCLUSIONAND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
The main aim of the study was to assess the ECOWAS Free Movement Protocol; Implications For Security And Cooperation Within The West African Sub-Regiion. For this, the mixed method of data collection was used which formed the basic design for the study. Four objectives were stated namely; to find out about the awareness of the ECOWAS Protocol among border officials and travellers, to investigate if the Protocol is implemented according to how it is stated, to examine the challenges associated with the implementation of the protocol and to understand coping strategies of overcoming the challenges .Using the convenient method, 84 travellers and 30 officers were sampled to respond to structured questionnaires and semi interview questions respectively. Data was analysed using quantitative and qualitative methods and the results triangulated.
The study was dominated by males with a sample of 45 respondents, representing 53.6%. Results of the study showed that most respondents said they do not have any knowledge of the ECOWAS Protocol whereas a few of the respondents affirmed to their having knowledge in the Protocol. Those who are familiar with the Protocol indicated that it is useful and that it is working for its purpose. This made respondents think that the protocol is working effectively.
Similarly, most respondents do not know how the implementation of the ECOWAS Protocol is done. According to the results from the study, they do not have any knowledge of the Protocol’s implementation. Once they do not have knowledge of the implementation, they obviously could not tell about what the results of its implementation is. All they know is that, traveling does not require automatically one to produce passport with visa. They only need some identification material like Identification card, drivers’ license, health insurance cards etc to cross the border. Travellers also indicated that the protocol apparently affects them positively even though there a few challenges with its implementation.
According to officers at the borders, one basic challenge facing them as border officials is the issue of language barrier. The sub region is made up of Anglophone and Francophone countries. Nigerian officials therefore find it difficult to communicate with travellers from other countries other than English speaking countries. Likewise, other officials like have problems communicating with travellers from English speaking countries. Attempts are therefore been made by authorities to help reduce this challenge. They also mentioned the issue of differences in identification documents. Again, they indicated that there is a dialogue by the authorities to introduce a common identification document as well as measures been taken to address currency challenges.
Conclusion
The issue of movement has turned into a typical wonder over the globe. Truth be told it is an overall ulcer that has made a few discussions particularly crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. Keeping in mind the end goal to develop and accomplish concentrated financial, political and socio-social association inside and among state and non-state performing artists, there has been an expanded in the development of individuals crosswise over outskirts and in addition an expanded in intra and bury fringe and mainland development of people especially brokers of the ECOWAS sub districts. All inclusive the measurements propose that around three percent of the worldwide populace are transients (UN, 2006). Sadly the ECOWAS sub locale is no rejection in this appalling developing infection. As indicated by the United Nation’s report, out of the one hundred and ninety one transients everywhere throughout the world, around seven million of these individuals are accepted to have originated from the West Africa sub area (UN, 2006).
It is no questioning actuality that greater part of the nations over the globe experience movement and migration in different measurement in such a way, to the point that each state is characterized in view of the extent of non-natives who enter and leave a nation. Fundamentally most nations are sorted as travel nations because of the way that they get numerous non-natives who in the end move to different nations. Beginning from the 1980s, the point of global movement has increase substantially more fame particularly with respects relationship between nations significant worldwide affiliation that range from universal mammoths like the European Union, Southern Africa Development Community, Economic Community of West African States and what have you to the strong United Nation and its impossible to miss offices and organizations for some reasons not overlooking the pickles of asylums and the consequence of work relocation on generally the economies of creating nations.
The West Africa sub region comprises of countries of immigration as well as emigration, and more importantly nation that serve as a transit route for migrants. In the West Africa sub region the countries with constant urge of migration includes Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria in the early 1970s has been the major country receiving foreigners as migration was on the increase in Nigeria as a result of oil booms which was generating a lot of employment in the various sector of the economy (Aderanti, 2012). Mostly the major countries that export labour include Guinea, Mali, Togo, Senegal and Burkina Faso. However with regards to Senegal, the countries experiences a simultaneous situation in the sense that it experiences both, that is receiving labour and exporting them as well. Consequently, these migration procedures have seemly taken different dimension recently. Senegal for instance has taken on more responsibilities acting as a mediator or as a transit nation for foreigners seeking to enter the European countries. For some time back, Nigeria and Ghana have joined the mantel of exporting labour mainly due to the continuous wear down of the economy (Adepoju, 1988). However, quite recently, Ghana has experienced a flow of return migrants as the economic situation there continues to improve.
In 1979 somewhere around May, few years after the announcement of the agreement most countries have accepted a Protocol (Aderanti, 2012) in relation to the movement of persons freely as well as to reside and establish in other countries.
The ECOWAS association was inaugurated in the year 1975 in relation to the rising trends in business and trade as well as the need to exploit resources for the universal development of the West Africa sub region. Undeniably most countries in the sub region are confronted with so many economic problems and socio cultural issues majority of which aroused after the gaining of independence and the situation was further coupled with deficit in infrastructural and weakness in the various economic sectors. There was therefore the need to draw various policies to arrest the various challenges. Fortunately the new economic procedures that emerged somewhere around the 1970s was to advocate and send a strong message which seeks to call for the togetherness of countries in other to tackle and arrest the economic issues more comprehensively. In that regard the new economic order aroused from the decline in the prices of petroleum products and more significantly unsustainable debt within the African States. (ECOWAS, 2008).
Coincidentally the process speeded the formation the various regional and sub-regional association such as the Economic Community of West African States, Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). In actual fact, ECOWAS was formed to boost the growth of the various economies and more importantly advocate for the security and peace among the various states. The idea or motive behind the formation of ECOWAS has been the fact that the challenges that confronted the sub-region could not be surmounted on an individual basis and it was important for states in the sub-region to come together for the difficult tasks that lay ahead.
The historical backdrop of financial incorporation as embraced by the establishing fathers of ECOWAS was inspired by the arrangement of the Southern Africa Custom Union (SACU) in 1910.2The development of ECOWAS was viewed as the main methodology in which the sub-area could graph a way of monetary advancement. The development of people openly and also merchandise and servicesas stipulated in Articles 2(2) and 27 give the system to development over the sub-district. The need to bring legitimate monetary advancement
development by ECOWAS brought about the proclamation of the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Goods and Services. Article (2) and Article 27 of the Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons, Goods and Services states entomb alia:
1) The expulsion of custom obligations and different charges of comparable impact in regard of the import and fare of products as stipulated in Article 2(2).
2) All residents of the part states will be viewed as network subjects and likewise part states attempt to nullify all deterrents to their opportunity of development and living arrangement inside the network (Article 27). This study subsequently looks to explore the usage of the ECOWAS Protocol on free development of people, privileges of home and foundation.
Recommendations
Based on the results as revealed by the analysis of the data collected, the following recommendations are made.
Travellers should be educated on the protocol, its function, how it works and how they can benefit from it. This will help eliminate possible cheating of travellers by unscrupulous officials at the borders.
Officers that will be put at the borders should be those that could speak other foreign languages especially French and English. Even if not all can speak, those that will be on duty should always have at least one person among them who could speak such languages. This will facilitate effective communication.
Authorities of member states should endeavour to have a common identification document and even common ECOWAS currency which will facilitate bilateral trade, thereby helping the Protocol achieve its objective of regional integration and trade.
Border officials should be trained for a positive attitude towards travellers regardless of their origin or what their destination is. There should be a mechanism for travellers to report issues of rudeness by border officials to the appropriate authorities. Other misconducts by officials like bribery and corruptions should also have a channel through which it could be reported. Those found culpable after investigations must face punitive action to serve as a deterrent to others. This will help improve the effectiveness of the Protocol and give citizens of member states some hope.
Suggestion for further research
Future research should consider the implementation of the Protocol according to countries of member states. For instance, difference and or similarities in implementation of the protocol according to member countries should be explored by future researchers.
Also, future researchers should look at parts played by institutions that are responsible for the implementation of the protocol to make it effective. For instance, institutions like customs and immigration should be investigated on the part they play in the implementation of the protocol.
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