Abstract

The phenomenon of human trafficking remains a scourge in Africa, and this continent continues to be a source and transit route for this illicit activity. The West African region has perpetually maintained the undignified position as the region with the most prevalent issues of human trafficking, child labor, and modern slavery, despite he efforts by the various national governments and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to eradicate these atrocities. This study examines the efforts of the West African states towards tackling this menace of trafficking across West African borders. The study employed a documentary research design and retrieved data from both primary and secondary materials. Findings from the study showed there is still a lacuna in the domestication of the United Nations (UN) Protocol on Human Trafficking by West African states as the West African Network of Central Authorities and Prosecutors (WACAP) against Organized Crime, saddled with harnessing the resources of ECOWAS states in combating the menace, lacks the capacity required for achieving the set goal. Also, efforts by the various states in the region have been largely reactive and legislative rather than preventive. The study thus recommends that ECOWAS states take preventive measures, like building the institutional capacities of regional and national law enforcement, as well as implementing measures that will ensure respect for the fundamental human rights of women and children in the sociocultural philosophies of West Africans.