Question NW672 to the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation

Reply:

The African Union has developed a focused strategy to deal with African migration to Europe through its Migration Policy Framework for Africa 2018-2030 and its Plan of Action. The Migration Policy Framework for Africa provides comprehensive policy guidelines to the African Union Member States and the Regional Economic Communities in nine thematic areas, namely:

• Migration Governance;
• Labour Migration and Education;
• Diaspora Engagement;
• Border Governance;
• Irregular Migration;
• Forced Displacement;
• Internal Migration; and
• Migration and Trade and other cross-cutting issues.

The Plan of Action focusses on activities to be undertaken by the African Union Commission to facilitate a coherent management of migration.

Additionally, the African Union has also developed the following tools:

• A training manual on migration governance;
• The Continental Policy on Combatting Human Trafficking;
• The Continental Policy on Addressing Migrant Smuggling;
• Guidelines on Return, Re-Admission and Sustainable Re-Integration; and
• The convening of the first meeting on Missing Migrants in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross.

In July 2018 the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government endorsed the creation of the African Observatory on Migration to improve migration governance in Africa and the appointment of a Special Envoy for Migration to promote a better management of migration in the Continent. Three Migration Centres are currently being operationalised namely:

• The African Migration Observatory (Morocco);
• The Continental Operational Centre (Sudan); and
• The African Centre for the Study and Research on Migration (Mali).