MINDFUL of Article 5 of the ECOWAS Treaty establishing the Authority of Heads of State and Government and defining its composition and functions ;

MINDFUL of Article 7 of the Protocol A/P.1/5/79 on the Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Establishment ;

MINDFUL of the Supplementary Protocol A/SP.1/7/85 establishing a Code of Conduct for the implementation of the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Establishment ;

MINDFUL of Supplementary Protocol A/SP.1/7/86 on the implementation of the second phase (Right of Residence) of the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Establishment ;

CONSIDERING the pressing need to foster active and effective co-operation through exchange of information and adoption of a common strategy by the Immigration Departments of Member States ;

AWARE of the need to seek appropriate solutions to problems which may arise in the implementation of the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Establishment, and the need to prevent Member States from taking unilateral measures likely to obstruct the proper implementation of the provisions of this and the related protocols ;

BEING of the opinion that, pending the constitution of the Community Tribunal referred to in Article 11 of the Treaty, a mechanism should be set up to settle systematic or serious cases of violation of the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Establishment ;

DESIROUS of signing a Supplementary Protocol amending the provisions of Article 7 of the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Establishment;

Within this Supplementary Protocol,

"Treaty" means the Treaty of the Economic Community of West African States ;

"Community" means the Economic Community of West African States ;

"Member State" or "Member States" means a Member State or Member States of the Economic Community of West African States ;

"Authority" means the Authority of Heads of State and Government established by Article 5 of the Treaty ;

"Chairman of the Authority" means the current Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States ;

"Executive Secretary" and "Executive Secretariat" means the Executive Secretary and the Executive Secretariat of the Economic Community of West African States as stipulated in Article 8 of the Treaty.

The Provisions of Article 7 of Protocol A/P.1/5/79 on Free Movement of Persons, the Right of Residence and Establishment have been amended and complemented as follows :

1. Any dispute that may arise among Member States regarding the interpretation and application of this Protocol shall be amicably settled by direct agreement.
1. In the event of failure to settle such a dispute amicably, the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government may, upon receiving a complaint from a Member State of the Community of systematic or serious violations of the provisions of the Protocols on Free Movement of Persons, the Right of Residence and Establishment on the part of another Member State, request the Executive Secretary to urgently despatch to the Member States concerned a fact-finding mission comprising officials from at least three Member States, acceptable to the parties concerned, and officials of the Executive Secretariat, to investigate the complaint.

A report shall be compiled by the fact-finding mission and submitted by the Executive Secretary to the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, and to the Government of all Member States with a view to finding appropriate solutions to the problems identified.

1. This Supplementary Protocol shall enter into force provisionally upon signature by the Heads of State and Government of Member States and definitively upon ratification by at least seven signatory States in accordance with the constitutional procedure in force in each signatory State.
1. The Supplementary Protocol and all the instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Executive Secretariat of the Economic Community of West African States which shall transmit certified true copies of the Protocol to all Member States and notify them of the dates of deposit of he instruments of ratification, and shall register this Supplementary Protocol with the Organisation of African Unity, the United Nations and any other such Organisations as the Council of Ministers shall determine.