The Social Dimension of Regional Integration in ECOWAS

employment and the decent work development agenda, and the crucial role of the RECs in
implementing these policies. Although properly not a part of NEPAD, the recent AU
commitments fill a gap in the social dimension of African development that was otherwise
glaring.
7. Social Dialogue and Democratic
Participation
Social dialogue is the most fundamental component towards building an integrated social
dimension into regional integration. An open and participatory process that includes
governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations and even other interested social
actors has the potential to address a diversity of interests and to achieve legitimacy in the
eyes of the stakeholders. Furthermore, as part of a development strategy, strengthening the
capacity of social actors and encouraging them to contribute to the integration process has
benefits beyond cultivating the social dimension. It also has the effect of encouraging
greater democratic participation and strengthening of local governance. As was pointed out
by ECOWAS itself, Community decisions sometimes rely on the direct or indirect
implementation by non-governmental actors, making the social partners important conduits
for regional action.
Yet the ability of social partners to engage with the regional leadership depends first on the
willingness of the Community to listen to these other points of view and, secondly, on the
capacity of the social actors to coordinate and effectively deliver their message. This
second aspect is of particular importance in the context of regional integration where
institutions for national social dialogue do not have a connection to the regional decision
making process, requiring new links and partnerships between regional social partners to
forge a coordinated response to RI. But the responsibility for addressing social issues
should not be left to the social partners alone. Member States have the means to give a
regional platform to social dialogue by incorporating not only the values of democratic
participation into regional decision-making but, more concretely, by setting up and
supporting mechanisms that create space for this dialogue to take place.
7.1 The Legal Framework
Reflecting the change in focus to more “people-centred” policies, the 1993 ECOWAS
Treaty has scattered references and commitments to the idea of social participation and
dialogue. The original ECOWAS Treaty included, as it does today, a Social and Cultural
Affairs Commission designed to “provide a forum for consultation generally on social and
cultural matters affecting the Member States”. 66 Yet there was no indication that such
consultations were open to non-governmental actors, and in actual fact, the participation of
worker and employer groups in the early development of the Community was negligible. It
was not until the Revised Treaty that ECOWAS began crafting mechanisms to create space
for broader social participation in the integration process.
The centrepiece of the Revised Treaty, as far as social dialogue is concerned, is found in
Articles 81 and 82, whereby the Community not only commits to cooperating with nongovernmental
and socio-economic organizations, but in both instances, also commits to
setting up mechanisms for consultation with these organizations. Article 82 in particular
makes explicit reference to workers and employers among those whose involvement in the
integration process should be encouraged. Yet beyond these commitments, the Revised
66 Treaty of the Economic Community of West African States, 1975, Art. 49.
24 Working paper No. 49