Managing labor migration: IOM and East and Horn African governments renew their commitment

Addis Ababa Labor ministers representing the governments of 11 countries in East Africa and the Horn of Africa pledged today to strengthen regional and national cooperation and coordination and advisory structures in the field of labor mobility, gender-sensitive migration management and regional integration for development. and economic growth.

On the occasion of the Fourth Regional Ministerial Forum on Migration (RMFM), which focused on labor mobility, migration management and regional integration in East Africa and the Horn of Africa, the Ministers of Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia and South. Sudan, Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda agreed to join as a bloc to address migration issues in the region and establish a stronger negotiating position with regard to their participation in countries of destination for migrants, particularly in the case of the Gulf states. European Union.

In the signed Joint Progress Statement, the Ministers also agreed that there is a need to strengthen high-level ministerial meetings, regional and national Technical Advisory Committees (TACs) and RMFM Technical Working Groups (TWGs) working on the bilateral. Labor agreements, ethical recruitment, rights of migrant workers, skills development and job creation. They also committed to adopting the TWG’s recommendations on youth employment, the return and reintegration of migrant workers, gender and diaspora, and engaging the private sector and consular services.

Governments also pledged to create new structures to provide appropriate mechanisms for compliance with ethical recruitment standards on issues of gender, private sector participation and health of migrant workers, and promised to continue training private recruitment and contracting agencies.

The focus of the debate was on improving human rights protection for 3.6 million migrant workers in a region encompassing two of Africa’s largest migration corridors and guiding migration for development and economic growth, through human mobility, and gender equality. Sensitive migration management and regional integration.

Under the coordination of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the RMFM brought together Ministers with key actors such as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the East African Community, the African Union Commission, other UN agencies, and Technical Working Groups. and donors.

We must never forget the importance of meetings like this between the key players in the field of labor mobility, migration management and regional integration. “All these areas are known to face new challenges and must be addressed immediately,” said RMFM Chair Mofrehat Kamil Ahmed, Minister of Labor and Skills of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

Ministers were also invited to join the International Organization for Migration’s Global Policy Network (GPN), a government-led tool that promotes policy dialogue and cooperation, and were asked to work very closely with the Joint Development Committee, and with the East African Community and the African Union. As custodians of the Free Movement Protocol (FMP), the Common Market Protocol (CMP) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), respectively, which seek to improve labor mobility, migration management and regional integration.

“We would like to thank the technical experts from the Ministries of Labour, Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs and Gender in the 11 RMFM member countries for their contributions on a full range of issues, including the work carried out this week. These technical working groups work tirelessly to show progress in areas of concern Concern and we will share some good practices and results that have had an impact.Morocco’s risk management mechanism was established to promote policy coherence and better development results through migration.Mohamed Abdiker, IOM Regional Director, East and Horn of Africa.

The work of the RRM is guided by relevant regional and global initiatives that address migration such as Agenda 2063 for Africa, the African Union Free Movement Protocol, the Revised Migration Policy Framework for Africa, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDG 8.8 and 10.7) and the Global Compact on Migration (Goals 6 and 10.7). 23) and the IOM Migration Governance Framework.

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