On the last day of the MIDWA-meeting an agreement has been reached between the members of the ECOWAS on a joint action plan. Ministers, delegates, and experts worked together for 3 days to draw up an action plan and approved a steering committee to monitor the progress on migration issues in the ECOWAs-region.
The MIDWA-meeting was organised by ECOWAS to discuss the challenges on free movement of persons and migration in the ECOWAS-region. Each member state acknowledged the fact that there is room for improvement. The ECOWAS region is characterized by high levels of cross border human mobility and migration caused by climate changes. The challenges they face today include terrorism and corruption at the borders. The social and economic impact of the free movement of persons has been undermined by lack of support and viable integration policies of ECOWAS member states.
High level experts and government officials from the 15 member states of the ECOWAS-region and Mauritania discussed and worked on 7 themes: border management, diaspora, professional mobility and student exchange, impact of climate changes, data management, reintegration and partnerships. They discussed and listed up recommendations for each topic.
Some of the key recommendations are: Updating the legal framework in terms of refusing entry to people without any travel document (border management), Need to consider migration under its most social aspect (diaspora), To strengthen cross-border natural resource management mechanisms through involvement and work mastery of local authorities (climate change), Continuous sensitization in specialized media in relation to citizens’ rights and free movement (partnerships).
On behalf of the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Mr. Laouali CHAIBOU, Commissioner for Trade, Customs, Free Movement of Persons and Tourism, expressed sincere thanks to the delegates for their contributions to the success of the meeting and assured them of the commitment of the ECOWAS Commission to work towards the implementation of the recommendations…
For more information please contact:
Frantz Celestin fcelestin@iom.int
Program Manager
www.fmmwestafrica.com