Southern Africa: SADC and IOM Reaffirm Commitment to Strengthen Migration Governance

15 December 2024
Southern African Development Community (Gaborone)
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On 13th December 2024, Ms. Angele Makombo N'tumba, the Deputy Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) received a courtesy call by Ms. Amy E. Pope, the Director General of the International Organisation for Migration at the SADC House in Gaborone, Botswana.

The meeting underscored the critical role of Regional Economic Communities such as SADC in advancing sustainable development, particularly through the promotion of migration and development. Ms. Makombo Ntumba expressed her appreciation for the immense support provided by IOM to SADC, pledging continued collaboration to enhance migration governance across the region.

Ms. Pope commended SADC for its ongoing work in migration management and reaffirmed IOM's commitment to strengthening the partnership to address the region's migration challenges and opportunities. She highlighted her role as a champion and advocate of the United Nations' Inter-Agency Standing Committee on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and pledged to mobilise sustained action in response to the humanitarian situation in the Eastern DRC. She commended the vital role of the military intervention through the SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC) in stabilising the region, particularly in the protection of civilians.

The parties agreed to mobilise resources for the implementation of critical migration projects to fully deliver on the objectives of the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020-2030; a comprehensive development and implementation framework designed to provide clear strategic direction with respect to SADC programmes, projects and activities in line with the SADC Common Agenda and strategic priorities.

The parties further noted key priority areas for continued cooperation, including improving migration data, labour migration governance, climate change adaptation, disaster risk management, and humanitarian assistance. In this regard, IOM pledged to further enhance the institutional capacity of SADC Member States and the SADC Secretariat to effectively deliver on their migration management mandate.

SADC and IOM have enjoyed a longstanding partnership on migration, which was recently reinforced through the renewal of their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 24th September 2024. The MoU provides for cooperation in diverse and inter-related areas that include, among others, enhancing border governance and management, promoting labour and skills mobility, counter trafficking and combating smuggling of migrants and irregular migration.

The parties further committed to periodically review the implementation of the MoU, continually strengthen institutional coordination and ensuring that migration contributes to sustainable development and regional integration.

Read the original article on SADC.

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