Overview of Current Policies and Practices for Children on the Move in West Africa

This report was commissioned by the Initiative for Child rights in the Global Compacts in view of the Africa Regional Review Meeting of the Global Compact for Safe and Orderly Migration (‘GCM’). It provides a snapshot of how the GCM’s child-sensitive approach is, or could be, implemented in West Africa. This is done through examining the migration situation across West Africa generally, and considering in depth the situation in four focus countries (Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Guinea, and Niger) as it relates to four priority GCM areas for the Initiative: Child Protection; Access to Appropriate Care; Access to Services; and Sustainable Solutions in the Best Interests of the Child.

The mapping seeks to highlight issues and priorities of regional importance, as well as contribute to any roadmaps for regional collaboration and/or actions that may arise out of the RRM that can advance GCM implementation. It provides an overview of how existing relevant laws, policies, and practices (or those under development) measure up against the objectives and the child-sensitive guiding principle of the GCM, and how actions currently do, or could, support the implementation of the GCM. It also analyses gaps and makes evidence-based recommendations for what could be prioritised for children in the implementation of the GCM in the time leading up to the International Migration Review Forum scheduled for 2022.