As democratic backsliding threatens the Sahel and civic space shrinks across West Africa, the need for robust civil society engagement has never been more urgent. Over the past month, PILnet participated in two convenings that looked at the importance of civil society in shaping West Africa’s future and the strengthening of legal ecosystems for public interest work.
ECOWAS at 50
From June 18 – 20, 2025, we joined stakeholders from across the region in Dakar, Senegal for the ECOWAS at 50 Conference. The event marked five decades since the founding of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), offering a moment for collective reflection and forward-looking dialogue. Civil society actors, academics, government officials, and private sector representatives came together to examine the regional body’s achievements, assess its shortcomings, and explore pathways for deeper and more inclusive integration.
We contributed to a panel discussion on “Regional Integration and the Private Sector.” In this panel, we emphasized the indispensable role civil society plays in translating regional policy into tangible impact through legal empowerment, community-led advocacy, and sustained engagement with informal and marginalized groups. The discussion drew attention to the disconnect between ECOWAS protocols;such as those guaranteeing freedom of movement to the day-to-day realities experienced by informal traders and border communities, especially women, who continue to face harassment and extortion despite the existence of protective legal frameworks.
Video of our session below
Beyond the panel, the conference provided a valuable platform to engage with partners and networks working on governance, trade, and civic space across West Africa. The discussions were rich and reflective, and drew attention to a number of persistent obstacles to regional progress. Among these was the shrinking space for civil society and the ongoing political resistance to accountability. While civil society continues to serve as both a watchdog and a bridge between institutions and communities, meaningful participation remains limited by structural barriers.
Several key themes emerged from the conference. First, that regional integration must be fundamentally people-centered, and civil society must be included not only at the implementation stage but also in policy design and decision-making processes. Also that civic space protection and institutional reform were widely acknowledged as urgent priorities, particularly in the face of democratic backsliding and insecurity across the Sahel and other member states. And finally, the work of informal and semi-formal clubs in promoting civic education among youth was highlighted as a promising avenue for movement-building and long-term regional cohesion.
Scaling Pro Bono Impact Across Africa: The PALU Conference in Abidjan
In July, we joined the 15th annual Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) Conference in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The conference brought together bar association leaders, legal professionals, and public interest advocates from across the continent to discuss the role of law in promoting democracy, human rights, and justice in Africa.
Together with the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) and TrustLaw, we co-hosted a session focused on the evolving role of pro bono in advancing access to justice across Africa. The session was split into two parts – the first segment showcased how pro bono legal support can bolster the work of grassroots and civil society organizations, especially those navigating complex and often restrictive regulatory environments through the work of PILnet and TrustLaw clearinghouses; and how pro bono support strengthens advocacy on reproductive rights for the Center for Reproductive Rights. The second segment convened bar leaders and legal practitioners to share jurisdiction-specific experiences, identifying persistent barriers to pro bono institutionalization, and explored strategies for scaling impact. On this panel, we had representatives from the East African Law Society, Gambian Bar Association, Law Society of South Africa, and Law Society of England and Wales.
Despite varying legal and institutional contexts, participants noted that many of the challenges such as inadequate regulatory frameworks and lack of resourcing are shared across jurisdictions. Encouragingly, there is growing momentum across the continent to embed pro bono more deeply within national legal systems. The importance of court leadership, enabling legislation, and bar association engagement emerged as key pillars for advancing this agenda.
Both events served as important reminders of the power of cross-border collaboration and civil society engagement in shaping legal and policy landscapes.
What comes next?
These convenings reinforced that the moment for incremental change has passed. PILnet is now working to:
- Develop concrete mechanisms for civil society inclusion in ECOWAS policy design processes
- Support legal empowerment initiatives that bridge the gap between regional protocols and community realities
- Advance pro bono institutionalization through targeted support for enabling legislation and bar association capacity-building
- Strengthen cross-border networks that can respond rapidly to civic space restrictions