IOM has promoted the need for regional co-ordination on migration management within the Southern Africa region. In the absence of a regional Migration Protocol, there exists no formal mechanism in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to coordinate migration management. As part of globally on-going Regional Consultative Processes on Migration (RCPs), IOM's Migration Dialogue for Southern Africa (MIDSA) aims to fill this gap and foster informal regional dialogue and cooperation on migration-related issues. IOM organizes regular ministerial meetings to address various migration-related issues such as migration and development, migration management, labour migration, forced migration, migration and health, and irregular migration concerns such as trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling.

IOM also supports SADC countries to develop national and regional migration profiles that will serve as a basis for comprehensive, coherent and coordinated policymaking in the field of migration. In addition to the important benefits of migration profiles, the process of preparing these profiles will promote inter-ministerial and inter-country dialogue on migration policy and coordination. In order to leverage the benefits of such a process, encourage information sharing between ministries and secure government ownership, the project will establish national-level technical working groups (TWGs) as well as bring together focal points from each country to foster regional coherence and cooperation. Through these coordination mechanisms, SADC member states will lead the processes of design, implementation and follow-up to the migration profiles. The TWGs will receive training and networking support under the project to strengthen their capacity to analyze the findings of the migration profiles, recommend follow-up actions, and ensure the regular updating of the profiles beyond the lifespan of the project.

Projects
  • Migration Dialogue for Southern Africa (MIDSA)
  • Migration Profiles for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Region
Donors
  • US Department of State – Bureau of Population, Refugees & Migration (PRM)
  • The South African Department of Foreign Affairs

Related Topics & Pages

Page
International Cooperation and Partnerships