Eleven out of 15 member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are at different levels of domestication and implementation of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL).
The implementation of the law is aimed at reducing the effects of armed conflicts on persons not directly involved in such conflicts.
The resolve was made at a meeting on Friday in Abuja, where ECOWAS member states examined a report by the ECOWAS Commission and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), on the implementation of the International Humanitarian Law in West Africa.
The head of the delegation of the ICRC, Mr Eloi Fillion, said efforts were ongoing to help national authorities domesticate the International Humanitarian Law treaties.
Statistics reveal that armed conflicts across the West African sub region have left millions of persons in need of humanitarian aid.
Also, according to the ICRC, at least nine million people are in need of different humanitarian assistance in the Lake Chad Basin alone.
The ICRC and ECOWAS also noted that they have been working for over 15 years to see to the ratification, domestication and implementation of the International Humanitarian Law in the sub region.
The International Humanitarian Law is made up of a body of laws, including the Arms Trade Treaty and the African Union Convention on the protection of Internally Displaced Persons among others.
The ECOWAS Commission has stated its preparedness to adopt a new plan of action that will ensure full implementation and domestication of the International Humanitarian Law in the sub region.
