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Migration Program

July 1, 2020 (DJIBOUTI, Djibouti) - Timely, quality, disaggregated and harmonized migration data are required to inform effective migration management and good governance. On 3 June, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) held consultations with representatives of Kenya and Ethiopia, including migration focal persons of the National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministries of Labour, Ministries of interior, and Foreign Affairs. These were followed by consultations with representatives of the national governments of Somalia and Sudan on 17 June, and representatives of the government of Djibouti on 24 June. Final round of consultations included representatives of the governments of South Sudan, Uganda and the Republic of Tanzania on 1 July.

Following a workshop organized in Kampala, Uganda in August 2019, IGAD Member States acknowledged that existing migration data is fragmented across many government agencies and is rarely collected for statistical purposes. That led to the commitment to establish a regional technical working group (TWG) to facilitate the harmonization, comparability and accessibility of migration data building on existing good practices from other regions on the continent and intra-REC cooperation in the Eastern Africa region. This TWG will facilitate capacity development interventions on data collection and analysis of broader mobility issues, mainstream migration into development plans and national data collection efforts, and enable migration data exchange in the region.

Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the planned workshop to establish the regional TWG in March 2020 had to be postponed. Owing to the circumstances, IGAD supported by its partners (IOM, ILO, GIZ, SCB and AUC) designed virtual consultations to keep up the momentum and continue the conversation in times of the pandemic. Through this process, Member States presented the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns and other restrictions on migration statistics including migration data collection and harmonization, shared updates on the status of establishing technical working groups (TWG) on migration data at the national level, and further provided feedback on the mandate and structure of the regional TWG on migration data.

The Director of the Health and Social Development, Fathia Alwan, stated “For improvement of production and utilization of migration data, there is need to have a coordinated approach amongst all stakeholders within the region. Key areas that need to be looked into include harmonization of migration data sources, concepts, methods and standards; data management; information flows and data exchange mechanisms; and optimization of migration analyses into national and regional development programming”.

The various representatives presented different strategies to strengthen migration data collection and harmonization, including migration modules in existing national data collection efforts (census and other national surveys), conducting dedicated migration surveys, as well as formalizing technical working groups to lead such processes under the National Coordination Mechanisms (NCM). NCMs are mandated to provide a one stop coordination platform for migration governance at sub-national, national, regional and international levels across IGAD countries. Multiple capacity development needs were identified, ranging from establishing Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) for data sharing across government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), conduct trainings for primary migration data analysis, and support appointing migration data focal persons across MDAs to facilitate coordination on migration data management.

The IGAD representative mentioned that based on the ongoing consultations with the IGAD Member States, a regional virtual workshop on harmonization of migration data involving all the IGAD countries and Tanzania will be held in the month of July. Furthermore, the endorsement of the regional migration data TWG will strongly enhance coordination on migration data activities within the region. IGAD and partners will continue to closely collaborate with Member States to ensure that efforts to harmonize migration data and establish platforms to promote these initiatives will successfully progress.

Partners contributing this initiative include the IOM through the support of the Africa Regional Migration Program of the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migrants (PRM) and the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration in the Horn of Africa (EU-IOM JI); ILO as part of the Free Movement of Persons and Transhumance (FMPT): Improving Opportunities for Regular Labour Mobility project with support from European Union); GIZ commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ); SCB project supporting IGAD and AU in development of capacity in migration statistics  with support of Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. These efforts realign with the AU - Second Strategy for the Harmonization of Statistics in Africa (SHaSA II) as the Continental Strategy for the Development of Statistics in Africa.

 

March 5, 2020 (DJIBOUTI, Djibouti): The Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) today signed a grant agreement aimed at strengthening the IGAD Refugees Programme with the Ambassador of Sweden to Ethiopia, H.E. Torbjörn Pettersson. They also took the opportunity to launch a project called “Strengthening Coordination and Implementation of IDDRSI” (SCII).

The 3.6 million US Dollar grant will support IGAD Member Sates towards the harmonisation of refugee protection and management policies based on a full and inclusive application of the international refugee protection.

It will contribute to the strengthening of the implementation of regional commitments by promoting comparable and predictable mechanisms for refugee management, strengthening sharing of experience and best practices as well as of transfer of technical capacity between IGAD Member States

‘The grant from the Government of Sweden to strengthen the Refugees Programme in our region is very timely and it will be used judiciously for investments that will bring impact at people’s level’, the Executive Secretary said in his opening speech.

A project called “Strengthening Coordination and Implementation of the IGAD Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative (IDDRSI)” (SCII) was also launched.

‘The fund provided by Sweden for the project we are launching today, which is USD 6.1 million, is targeted to fill key gaps identified during the implementation of Phase I of IDDRSI, and other strategic resilience enhancing undertakings’, Dr Workneh highlighted.

The two parties also took the time to conclude a Memorandum of Understanding that aims at improving coordination of multi-sectoral projects and programmes that are consistent with mandates of both IGAD and Sweden.

 

Feb 26, 2020 (KHARTOUM, Sudan): Ministers in charge of Internal Affairs and those in charge of Labour of Member States of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) convened in Khartoum today and endorsed the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons in the IGAD Region.

Attachments:
Download this file (Communique on Endorsement of the Protocol of Free Movement of Persons.pdf)Communique on Endorsement of the Protocol of Free Movement of Persons.pdf[ ]873 kB2020-02-29 08:28

Nov 27, 2019. Djibouti: The Division of Health and Social Development of IGAD held a two-day Preparatory Workshop at Kempinski Hotel, Djibouti on 26 and 27 November 2019. The Workshop is attended by Member States, IGAD Secretariat and partner agencies such as UNHCR, GIZ, and others.  The Workshop was organized to agree on a common agenda for the Global Refugee Forum (GRF)  in Geneva, December 2019. Emphasis was placed on the achievements, best practices and pledges at national and regional level. 

The specific objective of the Workshop is to create synergies between regional and country level GRF. Accordingly, the meeting

  • Discussed and validated the draft Terms of Reference for the IGAD Support Platform of the Nairobi Process
  • Reviewed the Concept Note and Agenda for the IGAD Spotlight Session at the GRF in Geneva, scheduled to take place on 16 December 2019;
  • Exchanged views and experiences on the preparation of Member States for the GRF
  • Agreed on a coordinated approach and positions on issues of common concern for the region related to refugees and displaced populations.

The participants agreed to continue to provide inputs on the IGAD Support Platform in the run up to the GRF.

 

 

Oct. 19, 2019 (ENTEBBE, Uganda): The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on Oct. 17 closed the Second Rounds of Negotiations on the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons under the leadership of Major General Kasiita Gowa, Director of Citizenship and Immigration Control at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uganda with the Director of Health & Social Development at IGAD, Ms Fathia A. Alwan, in attendance at the high table among other officials.

Oct. 14, 2019 (ENTEBBE, Uganda): The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) this morning kick started the Second Rounds of Negotiations on the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons under the leadership of Major General Kasiita Gowa, Director General of Immigration & Passports at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uganda with the Director of Health & Social Development at IGAD, Ms Fathia A. Alwan, in attendance at the high table among other officials.

Director Fathia Alwan reminded the audience that the Protocol was ‘aimed at ensuring that migration in IGAD region is safe, orderly and beneficial to the citizens of this Region’.

‘Today we gather together to finalize the expert negotiations on the aspirations of the IGAD Member States to have a Free Movement Regime as foreseen in the Agreement Establishing IGAD in 1986’, she continued.

Ms Fathia Alwan observed that the provisions reviewed, the changes suggested, and the formulations introduced during the first rounds of regional level negotiations on the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons in the IGAD Region a few months ago were consolidated in the version to be discussed during the next three days.

Today we are here to facilitate the realisation of the aspirations of the Agreement Establishing IGAD in 1986 and the African Union Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Right of Establishment adopted by AU Heads of State in 2018’, Major General Kasiita Gowa said during his opening remarks.

According to Major General the ‘integration through free movement will lead to socio-economic development, facilitate trade and investment for our people, will ignite creativity to create jobs for our people, and promote tourism’.

With support from the European Union Trust Fund (EUTF), IGAD Secretariat undertook national consultative meetings with all its Member States to get a clear understanding of the benefits and barriers to free movement of persons in the region as well as get inputs of the Member States experts into the thematic provisions of the Draft Protocol. Inputs from the IGAD Member States’ Country Reports and the Study form the resources for developing this Protocol and its Road Map.

 

Oct. 7, 2019, (ADDDIS ABABA, Ethiopia): The Minister of Peace of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Hon. Jamal Atto Zeynu, today opened 12th Regional Consultative Process (RCP) of the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on Migration in Addis Ababa.

The IGAD Regional Consultative Process (RCP) on Migration, whose theme this year is ‘Regional Exchange on Experiences in Supporting Resilience and Durable Solutions to Internal Displacement in the IGAD Region’, is meant to promoting exchange of experiences among IGAD member states and sharing lessons learned with the wider international community.

The participants to the IGAD Migration RCP include:

  • technical representatives from national ministries;
  • regional and local authorities from areas highly impacted by internal displacement;
  • National Human Rights Institution representatives;
  • National Protection Cluster Coordinators;
  • AU, IGAD and other Regional Economic Community representatives;
  • UN Resident Coordinators/Humanitarian Coordinators and UN agencies;
  • NGOs, private sector, development partners;
  • representatives of displacement-affected communities; and
  • local, regional and international experts on subject matter.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony the Director of Health and Social Development Division-IGAD, Ms Fathia A. Alwan, highlighted the fact that the 12th IGAD RCP on Migration was the first to be dedicated to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

‘It is indeed the first time that IGAD has partnered with GP20, a multi-stakeholder initiative bringing together UN entities, NGOs, academia, UN Member States, the World Bank and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to advance prevention, protection and solutions for internally displaced persons (IDPs)’, she added.

She reminded the audience that the RCP forum provided a unique platform to share experiences particularly on good practices and lessons Learnt in supporting the resilience and durable solutions to internal displacement.

This regional exchange provides a platform for government officials and other stakeholders to share their experience and expertise in supporting resilience and durable solutions to internal displacement in their contexts.

Specifically, this event aims to:

  • Take stock, draw lessons and document operational practices and their lessons learned on supporting resilience and durable solutions to internal displacement in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda;
  • Identify the current needs and challenges in supporting resilience, preventing displacement, improving the protection of IDPs and achieving durable solutions to internal displacement in the IGAD region, including ratifying and implementing the Kampala Convention and other policy frameworks;

This event is expected to come to an end after having achieved the following:

  • An outcome document with key conclusions, recommendations and commitments on durable solutions to internal displacement IGAD Regional Consultative Process 2019 meeting report;
  • Inclusion of lessons learnt into a global compilation of good practices and lessons learned to address internal displacement that will be published in 2020 as a product of the GP20 Plan of Action for IDPs (2018-2020) and fed into relevant global processes.

The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia hosting the 12th IGAD Migration RCP. The Government of Switzerland is providing financial support to the event while the Global Protection Cluster brought technical assistance to GP20 and IGAD with the organisation of the event.

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  3. IGAD Pushes Further Implementation of Djibouti Declaration on Refugee Education
  4. IGAD Opens its 5th Meeting on Education for Refugees
  5. IGAD Migration Programme Trains Member States on Geo-spatial Innovations
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