In a landmark move for migrant workers’ rights in West and Central Africa, Guinea has ratified two critical legal instruments aimed at strengthening social protection systems and ensuring the dignity and welfare of cross-border laborers.
In a nationally televised address on Saturday evening, President General Mamadi Doumbouya officially promulgated ordinary law L/2025/001/CNT of January 24, 2025. The law authorizes the ratification of the Treaty establishing the Inter-African Conference on Social Security (CIPRES), as well as the Multilateral Convention on Social Security.
These legislative advancements underscore Guinea’s commitment to safeguarding the social security rights of migrant workers and their families. The treaties, both of which are central frameworks within the CIPRES regional bloc, are designed to harmonize national policies and expand access to benefits such as pensions, health coverage, and other essential protections for workers who move between member states.
“The ratification of these two legal texts is a decisive step toward justice and inclusion for our migrant workforce,” said a representative of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
“It aligns Guinea with international standards and deepens our regional cooperation.”
The Multilateral Convention on Social Security, in particular, seeks to simplify the administrative procedures that often prevent migrant workers from accessing the benefits to which they are entitled.
It also allows for the coordination of national social security systems to ensure that workers are not penalized when they move from one country to another in search of employment.
The CIPRES Treaty, meanwhile, provides a broader institutional framework to oversee the implementation and supervision of these rights, fostering collaboration among its member states to strengthen economic and social integration across the region.
Experts and civil society groups have welcomed the ratification, calling it a long-awaited development for Guinea’s sizable diaspora and migrant worker communities.
For many, the move signals a shift toward a more inclusive model of governance that takes into account the rights of those who contribute to national economies beyond borders.
As enforcement mechanisms are prepared and implementation begins, observers say the effectiveness of these protections will hinge on sustained political will and close cooperation with neighboring states.
But for now, the legal groundwork has been laid for a new era of social security justice for migrant workers in Guinea.
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