On May 13, 2025, ECOWAS launched its regional labour migration strategy during a validation workshop in Accra. The initiative aims to promote safe, regular, rights-based labour mobility and inclusive growth in West Africa, prioritizing social protection, gender equality, and youth employment.

ECOWAS launched a collaborative initiative in Abuja with government-owned media outlets and the Media Foundation for West Africa to promote accurate reporting and counter misinformation ahead of its 50th-anniversary celebrations. This effort is intended to bolster democratic values and public trust in the region by ensuring that the public receives credible information.

ECOWAS launched a two-day high-level consultative meeting in Abuja in partnership with the Media Foundation for West Africa, aimed at enhancing collaboration with government-owned media to counter disinformation and promote accurate reporting ahead of its 50th anniversary celebrations.

Following the withdrawal announcements by Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, ECOWAS reaffirmed its commitment to democratic governance by urging a return to civilian rule and imposing sanctions against military juntas. This action underscores the bloc’s stand against authoritarian regimes and its emphasis on human rights and accountability.

On January 28, 2024, three founding member states—Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger—announced their departure from ECOWAS, citing that the bloc had strayed from its founding democratic principles and become influenced by foreign powers. This split, amid ongoing military takeovers and sanctions, raises concerns about ECOWAS's ability to unify the region against rising authoritarianism.

ECOWAS signed a four-year Memorandum of Understanding with the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) aimed at enhancing media freedom, promoting democratic values, and countering extremist and hate speech narratives in the region.

ECOWAS Labour Ministers held a hybrid meeting on March 3, 2023, during which they adopted a Regional Action Plan (2021–2030) aimed at eliminating child and forced labour in West Africa and extended the ECOWAS Decent Work Regional Programme to 2026. This initiative seeks to protect vulnerable children and promote fair labour practices across the region.

ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, has implemented a regional Child Policy and Strategic Plan of Action aimed at combating hazardous child labor and trafficking. The initiative outlines measures to safeguard children involved in dangerous sectors such as cocoa and coffee farming, domestic work, fishing, and mining across its 15 member states.

The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice ruled that Nigeria's regulation requiring 48-hour pre-vetting of live political broadcasts constituted censorship and violated freedom of expression, ordering the regulation's withdrawal. This decision reinforces the protection of human rights and free speech within the region.

In January 2013, ECOWAS, in partnership with the African Union, launched the African International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA). This initiative was aimed at providing an African-led alternative to French neocolonial military operations in the Sahel, asserting regional sovereignty and forging an autonomous approach to counterterrorism and security challenges.