Global Compact Consultative Meeting Agrees Africa Needs to Drive and Own Migration Narrative

31 October 2017
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United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (Addis Ababa)

Addis Ababa — The African Regional Consultative Meeting on the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration ended in Addis Ababa Friday evening with participants drawing some recommendations and actionable commitments on the global compact on safe, orderly and regular migration.

Speaking after the meeting, Economic Commission for Africa's Social Development Policy Division Director, Thoko Ruzvidzo, said member States, in their recommendations, were clear that they have to own the narrative of the African migration story.

"As you heard during the meeting, many are unhappy with the negative perceptions on African migration hence member States underscored the need for an African migration story where we generate our own evidence on the continent, drive and own the African migration narrative," said Ms. Ruzvidzo.

Member States also agreed that intra-African migration, being the dominant form of migration, should receive a lot more attention in the discourse and policy agenda on international migration.

Participants agreed on a set of regional priorities and recommendations to push the African agenda on migration forward. The outcome document will inform the stocktaking and inter-governmental negotiationphases of the process leading to the adoption of the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.

According to some of the key recommendations and actionable commitments in line with the GCM thematic areas, member States will ratify and effectively implement all international and regional human right instruments and related conventions, and reaffirm in policy and practice the fundamental importance of respecting, protecting and fulfilling the human rights of all migrants; promote and ensure mobility rights by strengthening the capacities of national institutions to ensure harmonized and comprehensive data gathering, disaggregation and analysis to better identify migration trends and their interrelations with different drivers, particularly conflict prevention, peace building and disaster risk management.

Member States will also reaffirm and update legal and policy frameworks on migration governance, including gender- responsive, protection-sensitive, and human-rights based practices, in accordance with regional and international commitments and obligations, and to advance the implementation of the migration-related commitments in the 2030 Agenda.

They also agreed to enhance collection, analysis and dissemination of migration data in order to develop meaningful, evidence-based policies to protect migrant workers' human and labour rights and reduce decent work deficits in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063 on development in Africa.

Member States will also review and/or establish and effectively implement legal and policy frameworks to protect and assist migrants in vulnerable situations and victims of trafficking in persons and contemporary forms of slavery; and ratify and implement existing regional instruments on migrant workers; develop coherent rights-based and gender-responsive migration policies, including on labour migration, which provide for more regular, safe and affordable migration channels at all skills levels and in accordance with labour market needs.

Representatives from member States, international and regional organizations, experts, academia, and civil society organizations from the Africa region involved in the formulation and/or implementation of policies and programmes related to international migration, attended the regional consultative meeting on Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM).

The meeting was organised by the ECA in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the African Union Commission.

The regional consultation was held to ensure that Africa's narratives and priorities are adequately reflected in the global compact for migration

The meeting provided a forum for Africa to identify and articulate key migration issues; analyse regional perspectives and priorities, identify actionable commitments and recommendations; and identify and discuss potential means of implementation, as well as effective follow-up and review mechanisms at national, sub-regional and regional levels.

Read the original article on UNECA.

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