08-11-2016, Kampala: Following the 5th Regional Migration Coordination Committee (RMCC) meeting of yesterday, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), in collaboration with the government of Uganda and with support from the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC), this morning opened the 8th Regional Consultative Process meeting on migration in Kampala ahead of the 1st Sectoral Ministerial Meeting on migration slated for November 10th.
The participants to 5th RMCC – officials and experts in charge of migration from IGAD Member States and representatives from ministries of Foreign Affairs – were joined for this 8th RCP by delegates from the African Union, the European Union, COMESA, the East African Community, UN agencies including UNHCR and ILO, the World Bank, IOM and members of the IGAD Partners Forum such as Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Germany.
The two-day 8th RCP Meeting is to serve Member States and other relevant stakeholders as a regional platform to engage on migration policy development. The objective is to forge a common understanding on the need to implement and operationalize the IGAD Regional Migration Policy Framework of 2012 at the Members States national level through the development of national migration policies using respective National Coordination Mechanisms on Migration.
During an opening session, the Guest of Honour from and Liaison Officer of the President’s Office in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uganda-Mr. Aziz Buwedewo, the IGAD Focal Point at Ethiopia Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the capacity of his country as Chair of IGAD-Ato Berhane Fiseha, the Director of Economic Cooperation and Social Development Division of IGAD-Mr Elsadeg Abdalla, the First Secretary of the Embassy of Switzerland to Sudan-Mr. Sylvain Astier, Chief of Mission to Ethiopia-Ms. Maureen Achieng, took the floor to pronounce key remarks to commit themselves to collaboratively work towards assuring free movement of people in the region while taking into account states sovereignty and global challenges such as trafficking in persons and terrorism.
In order to achieve higher political engagement and to ensure the decisions and recommendations that emanate both from the Regional Consultative Process meetings and from the Regional Migration Coordination Committee meetings are endorsed and being implemented, IGAD is establishing and launching a Sectoral Ministerial Committee on Migration that will be inaugurated on November 10th, 2016 in Kampala.
