A panel discussion addressing Global Compact for Migration objectives 2, 5, 6, 12, and 18, on the theme- Ensuring that migration is voluntary, orderly, and regular, was held on 31st August 2021. This panel discussion was a part of the African Regional Review of GCM, which was jointly organized by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the United Nations Network on Migration and, IOM in partnership with the African Union Commission (AUC), and hosted by the Kingdom of Morocco. The participants included four experts on migration who are involved in different professions. The session was chaired by Mr. Abdi Mohamud Hersi who is a Senior Regional Policy and Liaison Officer at IOM Regional Office Nairobi, Kenya. The session was moderated by Mr. Saurabh Sinha who is the Chief in Social Policy Section in the Gender, Poverty & Social Policy Division (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa).
The purpose of the conference is for the African member States to review national, sub-regional, and continental progress towards the implementation of the GCM and the establishment of a cooperative framework aiming to address international migration in all of its dimensions. Speakers presented their summary paper and reports, and outlined several additional steps which the AUC member governments can take to intensify efforts towards implementing the GCM, starting with making migration a part of the national development plans and putting an effort to reduce the root causes for cross-border movement such as poverty.
Development and Transformation of Migration Policies
The discussion began with the first speaker, Mr. Charles Munyao, Secretary NCM, Kenya, who stated that the migration and human mobility of 20th century Morocco is just like the rest of the world. The continent is keen on dealing with migration by listing out a comprehensive way that ensures that the continent maximizes its full benefits while at the same time aiding in mitigating its negative effects. He also spoke about the aspiration of transforming migration governance to achieve peacefully integrated migration and to consider the challenges and opportunities in Africa in the implementation of the objectives. From the point of view of governments, the pandemic has made migration governance more complex. He further added that it has been useful in underlining the centrality of the Marrakech Compact and reminding everyone of the universal relevance of its objectives.
“Migration strengthens economies by bringing much-needed migrants across the qualification spectrum and contributes to boost economic growth and positively impact public finances”: Mr. Charles Munyao.
Mr. Charles further pointed out that for the continent to harness the benefits of migration, mainstream policies should be visible and transparent so that migration can become a normal and predictable part of building the economic, human, and physical security of the continent.
He also discussed employing 360ﾟapproach and collective efforts in migration governance to make migration more legally viable and accessible while also reducing drivers to ensure that only the right or the desired group of migrants are allowed to do so. This can be achieved by enabling the national, regional, and global migration processes to address all the drivers of migration in a way that the States can do so while respecting the obligations and commitments at the regional level and protect the rights of all migrants without discrimination.
Adopting Sustainable Approaches Towards Migration
Dr. Amadou Diaw, who is a technical advisor at the State Secretariat, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Senegal, spoke about the need to adopt ‘world society’ and the ‘whole of government’ approaches towards migration.
“I urge governments to sign agreements which supports work permit schemes, social security entitlements, a continent-wide skills accreditation body, a harmonized remittance market, and diaspora investments”: Dr. Amadou Diaw
There are a lot of African countries that are reformulating their migration policies and projects that unfortunately respond neither to their priorities nor their national realities. The question about what strategy members should be adopting to ensure the right support the resource mobilization was addressed by Mr. Amadou who stated that the monetary resources should be used only for the right policy approach which can ensure that the investments made in resources are channelled for the diaspora to make sure that they benefit from the resources as well.
He further threw light on encouraging countries to raise awareness of the dangers of human trafficking among potential migrants while working towards enhanced consular services. He also proposed other means to improve protection for migrant workers and refugees and enable countries to identify standards on migration in more alignment with its expressed interest to ratify rich knowledge of migration and mobility. He elaborated on this by mentioning how important it is to have documents and institutional frameworks which are potentially equipped to support information dissemination in migration through social dialogue.
Migration as a Choice
Mr. Alexio Musindo, who is the Director of ILO Country Office for Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan, and the Special Representative to the AU and the ECA, spoke in-depth about South Africa. Throughout his speech, he focused on the working-age group of migrants who constitute around 69 percent of total migrants and are in need of employment. He also highlighted that there is an urgent need to improve the quality of the working conditions for those who are moving out of their country, that is, to treat migrants with the dignity they deserve.
He further stressed that since migration is often a choice fuelled by a lack of opportunities at home, the creation of jobs is important so that no one is forced to move out. Hence, the creation of decent jobs for all and addressing inequalities that are caused by the current crisis for all workers at home are necessary to protect migrant workers in Africa.
Establishing Standards of Migration
Fourth and the last speaker of Session 2, Mr. Joel Akhator Odigie who is the Coordinator from the International Trade Union Confederation spoke specifically about the consciousness of the people of Africa who constitute highly mobile demography. He discussed the growth of Kenya and the ways to develop communication with the world regarding migration and migrant rights. He stressed the necessity of ensuring clear communication from the Government and the agencies to the people who want to migrate so they can use their rights and resources since lack of information or misleading information is a major hurdle between migrants and their rightful claims.
He concluded by quoting that “international resources are meant for the good of all and resources are to be rightly mobilized with the responsibility resting on the governments of countries. You can’t excuse the development of the migrants, ignore their opportunities, and so on. The question of security and development is something I am raising in my speech. For this development, the data is important and we are happy that agreement with the other countries can help people to do what you can do at home”: Mr. Joel Akhator Odigie
The session was concluded by the Chair who discussed the provision of East African citizens being able to apply for permits and have them free which reduces the cost of migration. It is a positive step towards free movement. He further stated that the UN system can also develop the UN network within that country which could function as the reporting mechanism that would also help the country to get involved in the GCM review mechanism.
The discussion pointed towards the importance of bilateral agreements between member states as the key to safe and regular migration. The emphasis was on the African migration report which served as an excellent reference for the discussions. The importance of capacity building and research was also highlighted along with the necessity of ratification and application of protocols by the countries.
The Chair praised that the people of Africa are already familiar with the mechanisms of democratic governance that can also be applied to migration governance to make it safe, orderly, and regular. The limitation remains that migrants are the forgotten ones in development, in social equity programs, and during pandemics. The real purpose is to ensure that migrants are the real centre of gravity of responsible migration policies in accordance with the objectives of the Compact. All the speakers collectively called on the governments to continue their active engagement with all stakeholders throughout the GCM’s implementation based on its ‘whole-of-society guiding principle. It was recommended that Representatives of African states should be called for the establishment of a framework of bilateral cooperation as well as targeted public policies to support the integration of migrants and their contribution to development.
Piyali Bhowmick is a PhD scholar at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati off Campus, India. She obtained MPhil degree in 2016 in Social Sciences from TISS Guwahati campus. She has done MA in Sociology in 2014 from Ambedkar University Delhi, New Delhi. Her areas of interest include- Labour Process, Manufacturing Industry, Sociology of everyday lives, Migration, Family and Kinship, Migration and Social networks.