By Saidu Jalloh, Daily Scope
Freetown, April 19, 2026 Members of the Economic Community of West African States have called on all member states to outlaw Female Genital Mutilation, warning that the practice fuels child exploitation and migration across the region.
The appeal came during a joint committee meeting in Freetown under the theme “Parliamentary approaches to safeguarding children in street situations and addressing child exploitation in the ECOWAS region.”
Gambia drew praise for banning FGM in 2015 and defeating a 2024 bill that sought to repeal the law. Gambian MP Maimuna Ceesay said child protection must transcend national borders. “If ECOWAS can guarantee free movement of goods and people, we can guarantee the protection of children in the street,” she told delegates. “Any region that does not have the power to protect its children or their future is a failed region.”
Ghana’s Dominic Napare said porous borders let offenders evade justice. “In Ghana Female Genital Mutilation has been criminalized, but because of our porous borders, they go to other countries and perpetrate the act and return back to Ghana,” he said, urging other members to adopt strong anti-FGM laws to close legal gaps.
Liberian MP Moima Briggs Mensah argued that banning FGM does not erode culture. “The Gambia is a highly traditional country, but banning FGM did not make them less traditional. It only shows that they are serious in protecting girls from such a practice,” she said. She added that harmful practices like FGM push children from rural areas into urban centers to escape them.
Sierra Leone MP Sahr Emerson Lamina said diplomacy still slows legislative action in some states. “In Sierra Leone we still play diplomacy, it is not quite clear,” he said, asking whether studies have assessed the impact of FGM bans on children’s welfare in countries like Gambia.
The meeting concluded that regional cooperation is critical to ending harmful practices against children, with several MPs pressing for ECOWAS-wide legislation to criminalize FGM and harmonize protection across West Africa.
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