The FMM Project supports free movement of persons and migration in West Africa. The FMM West Africa project aims at maximizing the development potential of free movement of persons and migration in West Africa. To this end, it supports migration data management, border management, labour migration, and the struggle against human trafficking in West Africa.

The project is designed to support the ECOWAS Commission in its role as a regional platform for migration policy development, strengthen the Migration Dialogue for West Africa (MIDWA), as well as build ECOWAS’ capacities to manage migration and explore the benefit of ECOWAS’ free movement protocols.

At national level, the project is supporting ECOWAS Member States and Mauritania in developing

national migration profiles, elaborating and adopting national migration policies, and delivering

tailored technical assistance for national institutions through a demand-driven facility. Finally, the project promotes the active engagement of non-state actors and local authorities in both information and protection activities, for the benefit of migrants as well as cross-border populations

in West Africa.

FMM West Africa is jointly funded by the European Union and ECOWAS, and implemented by

the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in partnership with the International Centre for

Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

In 2017, in collaboration with IOM and the ICMPD, the second edition of the Survey on Migration policy in west Africa was published. Such gives a comprehensive overview on existing migration policies across the ECOWAS Members States.

√ In February 2019, the organised West African Response to Trafficking (OCWAR – T) project, aimed

at tackling organised crime, was launched. The Project is jointly funded by the European Union and

the German Federal Foreign Office. It aims at strengthening national and regional capacities and framework conditions in combatting TOC and trafficking in the ECOWAS region. OCWAR-T joins forces with law enforcement agencies (LEA), judiciaries, civil society organisations and research institutions to ensure in-depth progress.

To achieve its objectives, OCWAR-T carries out activities in four strategic areas:

• Improving regional governance structures and cooperation between ECOWAS Member States in combatting TOC and trafficking in the region;

• Increasing national and regional capacities in the field of small arms and light weapons (SALW) control;

• Strengthening national and regional capacities to prevent and prosecute trafficking in persons and protect victims of trafficking;

• Enhancing the knowledge base on root causes and impact of TOC in West Africa.

PARTNERSHIPS

Five specialized organizations (GIZ, UNODC, UNDP, MAG and ICMPD) provide technical advisory services in these four technical areas. The principal political partner is the ECOWAS Commission, specifically the Department of Political Affairs Peace and Security (PAPS) and the Social Affairs and Gender Department. The primary beneficiaries include law enforcement agencies, judiciaries, selected civil society organizations and research institutions in the ECOWAS Member States and Mauritania.