The Network of National Human Rights Institutions in West Africa (NNHRI-WA) has called for stronger institutional independence, adequate funding and deeper regional collaboration to enable National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) to effectively tackle insecurity, shrinking civic space and barriers to justice across the ECOWAS region.
The call was made at the end of the Network’s Eighth Regional Conference and Annual General Assembly held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from September 7 to 8, 2026.
The conference was hosted by the Commission Nationale des Droits de l’Homme de Côte d’Ivoire (CNDH-CI), with support from the ECOWAS Commission, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Regional Office for West Africa (OHCHR-WARO), the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) and UNAIDS.
Twelve National Human Rights Institutions from Benin, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo participated in the conference alongside regional and international partners.
Declaring the conference open, President of NNHRI-WA and Executive Secretary of Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Dr. Tony Ojukwu, OFR, SAN, said human rights, democracy, development, peace and good governance remained “mutually reinforcing pillars.”
Ojukwu acknowledged progress in democratic governance across West Africa but warned that the region continued to face serious challenges, including unconstitutional changes of government, violent extremism, poverty, displacement and declining public trust in public institutions.
He urged NHRIs to move beyond responding to human rights violations after they occur and place greater emphasis on prevention, early warning and early action.
Representing the ECOWAS Commission, Mr. Ebenezer Asiedu reaffirmed the regional body’s commitment to keeping human rights at the centre of the ECOWAS integration architecture, while encouraging NHRIs to remain “bold and innovative” in the discharge of their mandates.
The OHCHR-WARO Regional Representative, Mr. Robert Kotchani, also underscored the critical role of NHRIs in protecting women, children, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.
During the review of the 2025 Abuja Communiqué, member institutions reported progress in several areas, including detention monitoring under the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT), transitional justice, migration, climate change and election observation.
The conference also highlighted persistent challenges within the region’s justice and correctional systems, with almost all participating institutions reporting prison overcrowding and prolonged pre-trial detention.
Ghana, for instance, reported remand overcrowding exceeding 130 per cent of capacity, while also highlighting the passage of a new Community Service Act aimed at expanding non-custodial sentencing.
Nigeria reported the use of its toll-free human rights complaint line, 6472, as well as criminal justice committees established to help identify cases of wrongful detention. Sierra Leone and Togo similarly reported nationwide prison monitoring initiatives.
On political rights and democratic participation, The Gambia, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal presented models of NHRI involvement throughout the electoral cycle, including election monitoring, hate-speech tracking and voter education.
Delegates called for stronger inclusion of women, young people, persons with disabilities and members of the diaspora in democratic processes.
The conference also examined business and human rights, with Nigeria reporting an amendment to the NHRC Act that provides an express mandate on business and human rights.
Senegal disclosed that it was finalising a draft National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, which would make it the first francophone country in the region to adopt such a framework, while The Gambia said it remained at an early stage following stakeholder consultations.
Participants further identified persistent difficulties with intra-regional free movement despite the existence of the ECOWAS Protocol, as well as unresolved questions surrounding eligibility and cut-off points in reparations processes.
At the end of the conference, delegates resolved to deepen peer learning among NHRIs, undertake joint monitoring missions and strengthen engagement with ECOWAS, the African Union and the United Nations.
In his closing remarks, Ojukwu stressed that the effectiveness and legitimacy of NHRIs should ultimately be judged by their impact on ordinary citizens.
“The legitimacy of NHRIs is measured not by the offices we occupy, but by the difference we make in the lives of ordinary citizens,” he said.
The Ninth Regional Conference and General Assembly of NNHRI-WA is scheduled to be convened in 2027.
