Foreign Affairs Minister Advocates for West African Street Children as ECOWAS Parliament Opens its Sixth Legislature Session in Freetown.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Alhaaji Timothy Musa Kabba has on the opening of the Sixth Legislature’s joint committee meeting made a deeply personal appeal to protect West Africa’s most vulnerable children.

Addressing visiting ECOWAS parliamentarians and local lawmakers on April 8, 2026, at the Foreign Service Academy, Minister Kabba spoke from harrowing personal experience nearly three decades ago, when armed factions conscripted him as a child soldier during one of Africa’s most brutal conflicts.

“Childhood marred by violence, by steadily atrocious violence,” Kabba recalled. “Child abuse produces a shadow of a lifetime.”

The minister’s goodwill message launched deliberations across five joint committees: Social Affairs, Gender, Women Empowerment and Persons with Disabilities; Legal Affairs and Human Rights; Trade, Customs and Free Movement; Political Affairs, Peace and Security; and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). This year’s theme, “Parliamentary approaches to safeguarding children in street situations and addressing child exploitation in the ECOWAS Region,” could not be more urgent, Kabba said.

Praising Sierra Leone’s Parliament for recent legal victories including revisions to the Child Act of 2005 and the Persons with Disabilities Act, the Minister highlighted Freetown’s historical role. Founded after slavery’s abolition, the capital became the first city to secure a UN resolution on criminalising slavery and advancing reparative justice, a “bastion of hope and liberty.”

But hope dims globally. Children and women, Kabba warned, remain the “biggest receivers” of international instability. He cited Gaza, where nearly 70,000 people mostly women and children have perished since October 2023. Eroding international law and a routinely abused UN Charter mean the weakest pay the steepest price.

“The world promised a century of prosperity, less human suffering,” Kabba stated. “Unfortunately, the global system is broken.”

Hon. Veronika Kadie Sesay, head of Sierra Leone’s ECOWAS Parliament delegation, said the theme resonates deeply with domestic priorities. “Children in street situations represent one of the most vulnerable groups exposed to exploitation, violence, and deprivation,” she noted. “Their plight isn’t merely a humanitarian concern; it challenges our collective commitment to human rights and social justice.”

Sesay pointed to the Revised Child Rights Act 2025, aligning Sierra Leone with international and African standards. Beyond legislation, the Ministry of Social Welfare opened a rehabilitation centre for young drug and substance abuse victims. Two new directorates Family Welfare plus Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services now strengthen institutional responses. A Positive Parenting Education Programme reaches parents, teachers, and health workers. The newly enacted Social Work Regulatory Act, for the first time, requires licensing for social workers and facilities.

“These efforts form part of a broader vision ensuring no child is left behind,” Sesay said. She called on ECOWAS to harmonise child protection laws across member states, noting that traffickers flourish where laws clash and enforcement weakens.

Hon. Guy Marius Sagna, Chair of the Committee on Public Accounts, spoke on behalf of the ECOWAS Parliament Speaker. Mixing French and English, he offered a powerful measure of national strength. “We’re used to judging countries by bomb launches or plane production,” he said. “But I believe better judgment comes from the treatment of the most vulnerable elderly, women, especially children.”

He coined a memorable phrase: “Tell me what childhood you have, and I’ll tell you what country you will become.” Sacrificing childhood sacrifices entire nations’ futures, he warned. Children remain the sole group unable to organise marches or hold press conferences. “That’s why we must talk more about them, act for them, think for them,” Sagna said. “Women are vulnerable, but they can organise demonstrations. Children cannot.” He also thanked Sierra Leone for its hospitality and praised ECOWAS Parliament’s recent role in easing Senegal’s electoral tensions.

Rt. Hon. Segepoh Solomon Thomas, Speaker of Sierra Leone’s National Assembly, delivered the keynote address with a “profound sense of duty and regional solidarity.” He declared the sub‑region stands at a critical juncture demanding moral clarity and legislative courage.

“Children in street situations aren’t merely a social anomaly,” Thomas said. “They reflect systemic gaps in economic inequality, family disintegration, weak social protection systems, and enduring conflict consequences.” Every child forced onto pavements silently indicts government systems and calls for action.

Thomas outlined clear parliamentary roles: not just lawmaking but oversight, representation, and advocacy. Laws must be enforceable and enforced. Budgets for social welfare, education, and rehabilitation need scrutiny and scaled implementation. Regional cooperation is critical, he said, as trafficking networks operate across borders, demanding stronger legislative alignment and intelligence sharing among ECOWAS states.

He proposed four concrete measures: first, a regional legislative model on child protection; second, stronger cross‑border mechanisms combating child trafficking; third, a regional monitoring and evaluation framework; fourth, sustained investment in education, vocational training, and family support systems.

“Children aren’t the problem,” he emphasised. “They are the promise. The presence of children on the streets isn’t the children’s failure. It’s a system failure needing reform.” He called for shifting from reaction to prevention, addressing structural drivers that push children onto the streets initially.

Quoting Nelson Mandela, Thomas said: “The true character of society reveals itself through the treatment of its children.” He concluded with an appeal to every delegate: “Let this meeting mark where rhetoric gives way to tangible outcomes. Let’s build a region where no child survives on the streets, where every child receives the dignity, protection, and opportunity they deserve.”

Joint committee deliberations continue through the week, with technical sessions focused on translating declarations into actionable regional protocols. For thousands of children living across West Africa’s city pavements, the clock ticks, and Freetown has placed them centre stage.

Senior Correspondent-Amara Kargbo

Email: kargboamara079@gmail.com

Tel: +232 73111507