Jobs, Not Enforcement Alone, Key To Tackling Irregular Migration – ECOWAS MPs
West Africa’s irregular migration crisis cannot be solved by tougher borders and law enforcement alone without addressing the unemployment, poverty and lack of opportunities pushing thousands of young people into dangerous journeys, ECOWAS parliamentarians have warned.
The lawmakers reached the conclusion following a Parliamentary Citizens’ Engagement on the Dangers of Irregular Migration and Modern Slavery, held in Banjul, The Gambia, from 6 to 10 July 2026.
Presenting the findings, a member of the mission, Hon. Billay Tunkara, said unemployment, low incomes, inadequate vocational training and limited economic opportunities remained major drivers of irregular migration across the region.
The parliamentarians also identified family expectations, peer pressure and misleading portrayals of life abroad on social media as factors encouraging young people to embark on dangerous migration routes.
Testimonies from returnees and survivors, according to the lawmakers, revealed widespread experiences of deception, forced labour, abuse, detention, family separation and severe psychological trauma.
The ECOWAS MPs urged member states to prioritise decent jobs, vocational education, entrepreneurship financing and agricultural modernisation, while strengthening laws and cross-border cooperation against human trafficking and migrant smuggling networks.
They also called for comprehensive reintegration programmes providing psychosocial care, skills training, employment opportunities and community support for returnees and trafficking survivors.
The parliamentarians further urged governments to invest in modern border surveillance, integrate migration education into school curricula and strengthen the involvement of traditional and religious leaders, civil society organisations and the media in combating misinformation about irregular migration.
The mission concluded that lasting solutions would require coordinated action by governments, parliaments, communities and families to give young people viable opportunities to build secure and prosperous lives at home.
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