Niamey – On 5-6 September, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Mali and Niger, in partnership with the Nigerien Ministry of Interior and Decentralization, organized in Niamey a two-day high-level conference on migration governance and transit migration in West and Central Africa.

The event brought together representatives of ministries of foreign affairs, interior and security, and immigration services from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Sudan.

During the conference, the officials shared lessons learned on migration governance in West and Central Africa and framed recommendations to be implemented by policymakers. The recommendations focused on engaging the diaspora, facilitating assistance to migrants, and strengthening cooperation between states in the fight against trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling.

"Since Niger signed the Global Compact on Migration, the country has made significant progress toward migration management. One best practice is the elaboration of Niger's National Migration Policy (2020-2035) with its Five-Year Action Plan," says Malangoni Ibrahim, Director General of Civil Status, Migration and Refugees at the Ministry of Interior and Decentralization. "The successful implementation of this Plan will contribute to effective and sustainable migration governance in Niger."

The conference triggered exchanges on the experiences and lessons learned of governments within West and Central Africa in responding to migration governance challenges, including the implementation of the Global Compact for safe, orderly, and regular migration, the African Union, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) treaties on the free movement of people and their goods to facilitate voluntary returns of migrants.

"This regional conference provides an opportunity to exchange experiences to collaboratively address current and future challenges in migration governance and transit migration in West and Central Africa," says Pascal Reyntjens, IOM Mali Chief of Mission. "The diverse representation of West and Central African countries today shows the commitment at the highest level to support regional collaboration to promote safe, orderly and regular migration," he added.

As champion countries of the Global Compact on Migration, Chad, Mali, and Niger also presented best practices of their migration governance that have contributed to improving the well-being of migrants and communities in their respective countries.

To mark the end of the conference, the officials visited IOM's transit centres for vulnerable migrants in Niamey to listen to the migrants’ stories and reflect on how governments and partners can strengthen the protection and assistance of vulnerable mobile populations.

The event took place in Niamey and was organized within the project “Strengthening the protection of migrants in West and Central Africa through consolidated migration governance in Mali and Niger 2022” funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.

For more information, please contact Aïssatou Sy, Public Information Officer at IOM Niger. email: aisy@iom.int; tel: +227 80 06 65 31