Stakeholders at the first African review of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) have called for strengthening of information systems and databases to support policies on migration.
The multi-stakeholder consultation was organised by the United Nations (UN) Network on Migration (UNNM), UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the African Union (AU).
The aim of the GCM is to develop evidence-based migration policies using accurate and disaggregated data as a basis.
Speaking at the conference, the Director-General of the IOM and Coordinator of the UNNM, António Vitorino, said an increasing number of migrants is facing food insecurity.
‘Last year, the Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc around the globe and ravaged our communities, with particular impacts for the most vulnerable, including migrants and people on the move’, Vitorino said.
‘The GCM continental review for Africa is a prime opportunity for governments and stakeholders to work together and learn from each other to address migration in all its dimensions’.
The ECA, in 2019, noted that intra-African migration remained a dominant trend with 79 percent (about 26.5 million) of African migrants having moved within the continent.
The Director of the ECA Gender, Poverty and Social Policy Division, Thokozile Ruzvidzo, warned that the slow progress of Covid-19 vaccination was having a direct impact on the movement of people.
‘As we discuss the progress made towards the implementation of the GCM in Africa, we need to take into account the significant linkages this will have with the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which marks a significant milestone towards the realisation of the free movement of people, goods, and capital on the continent, and progress towards enhanced availability and flexibility of pathways for regular migration’, Ruzvidzo said.
Data from the IOM shows that 17 million Africans are living outside the continent, accounting for 9.8 percent of migrants worldwide in 2019.
The AU Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, Amira Elfadil, said this was a unique opportunity for the continent to reflect on how best it can implement the GCM despite challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘There is a need for all stakeholders to join efforts with member states and regional economic commissions in mobilising necessary resources to build the capacity of relevant national institutions to effectively implement the GCM in the continent’, Elfadil said.
One observation from the reviews is that not all GCM objectives have received the same level of attention.
Areas like the plight of missing migrants and saving lives, the high costs of transfer of remittances and the financial inclusion of migrants, predictability in migration procedures, and portability of social benefits were highlighted.
Empowering local communities to respond to growing migrant needs in Africa, ratifying and implementing key policy frameworks and protocols that relate to the rights of migrants were some of the recommendations made at the conference.
They also recommended support and empowerment of migrants and their families, strengthening of national and regional information systems and databases to support planning and policy strengthening, and that all migrants, regardless of their status, are able to exercise their human rights.
Source: UN
Photo source: IOM
