ECOWAS calls for proposals

The ECOWAS Commission will partner with the Support to Free Movement of Persons and Migration in West Africa (FMM West Africa), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the European Union to study and document the dynamics of free movement and migration in the ECOWAS region and Mauritania.

A dispatch from the Liberian Embassy in Abuja says the ECOWAS Commission and its partners launched a Call for Proposals for Non-State Actors (NSAs) on June 30,2015 at the ECOWAS Commission in Abuja, Nigeria.

The Call for Proposals sought to promote an active engagement of NSAs and collaborating local authorities in information and protection activities for the benefit of migrants and cross-border populations in West Africa.

In launching the project, the ECOWAS Director for Free Movement and Tourism, Mr. N’Fally Sanoh, said that NSAs were important to the study because they were best placed to reach out to migrants and cross-border populations in West Africa.

Mr. Alan Munday, on behalf of the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to ECOWAS, disclosed that the EU has been supporting civil society’s action in protecting the rights of migrants in the tune of 11.5 million Euros to help protect migrants and eradicate human trafficking across West Africa.

Also speaking, the IOM’s Chief of Mission, Ms. Enira Krdzalic, said that the NSAs Fund will provide grants up to E100,000 (One Hundred Thousand Euros) to successful civil society organizations and other NSAs to implement projects based on the Call for Proposal in ECOWAS Member States and Mauritania.

For her part, the FMM West Africa Representative Coordinator, Ms. Taibatou Sidibe, encouraged participations from all 15 West African countries and Mauritania to apply. She said the first step in the application process was the submission of a Concept Note on themes on free movement and migration in the ECOWAS region. She added that FMM West Africa would invite applicants with successful Concept Notes to submit full proposals. The deadlines for Concept Notes and Proposals are July 31 and September 30, 2015, respectively. Grant Agreements will be signed this November while selected projects will begin in January, 2016.

According to Ms Sidibe, eligible applicants to receive grants from the Fund must be legally registered NSAs in one of the 15 ECOWAS Member States or Mauritania. Interested applicants can download the Guidelines for Applicants and templates for the project proposals at the FMM West Africa website (www.fmmwestafrica.com ).

Eligible NSAs include non-governmental organizations (NGO’s), social partners (trade unions, employer’s organizations), business groups (corporations and business/trade associations), traders and transporters syndicates, media organizations and migrants associations .Applicants are encouraged to submit proposals in partnership with local authorities. Press Release