 for Africa, 2020, 24, Excellency's Commissioner of the African Union Commission, Excellency's President and Executive Secretary of and Representative of the Regional Economic Community, Excellency's Two Assistant Regional of the League of Arab States, Excellency Director of the Special Coordination Office of the African Development Bank, Excellency's Deputy Secretary of the United Nations and Economic Commission for Africa, Excellency's Director of the General. We have colleagues from IEM and other UN Secretary of the Representative of the Community Society of and National Human Rights Institutions, Ladies and Gentlemen for the Protocol of the Along with the on behalf of our Director of the General, Mr. Anthony to welcome all of you of the 2020-24 IEM Continental Strategy for Africa. The IEM Continental Strategy has been a result of a hard work and internal and external consultation with stakeholders at the continental and regional level. Before beginning, I would like to inform you of the following. Please be informed that the meeting is being recorded. And last term, please mute your microphones and as you are not speaking and don't forget to unmute before speaking. If time allows, you may hear from the audience and if you wish to take the floor, raise your digital hand. Without further ado, I have the pleasure now to give the floor to the Director General of IEM, Mr. Anthony to officially open the meeting. Thank you so much and good afternoon to all of you. Excellency's colleagues. It's for me a privilege and an honor to welcome all of you to welcome African Union high level representatives to this official launch of the first in history IOM Continental Strategy on migration for Africa for the period 2020-2024. I want to thank all the participants for joining us today. It's very much appreciated and it's a crucial moment for the organization. I have the honor and the privilege to lead this event today is I'm sharing with our key partners in the African continent IOM's key migration in Africa as outlined in the Continental Strategy 2020-2024 for Africa for the best interest of migrants in and from the continent. It is also a particularly appropriate moment to reiterate the importance to IOM of strengthening its close collaboration with the African Union Commission the regional economic communities and with member states from Africa particularly in the area of migration governance at institutional policy and operational level I would like to stress the need for an increased cross regional partnership and collaboration to ensure the inclusion of migrants and other displaced people in public development policies. IOM as an organization and as the coordinator of the United Nations Migration Network as a specific responsibility in relation to the continent where the vast majority if not all member states have subscribed to the global compact on safe orderly and regular migration we look forward for our discussions today. Thank you so much Thank you for the opening remarks and for setting light on the rationale behind the IOM continental strategy I would like now to invite Her Excellency Amira El-Fadil the Commissioner for the Salazar of the African Union Commission to deliver her statement on behalf of the African Union Commission's assistant Fadil you have the floor I don't think Fadil is taking the floor Is there Do you do you mean that your microphone is not on so as we are having a touristic Fadil we will have take the opportunity to have the Commissioner Samatis to take the floor and then I'm sure you have a concussion with the software industry The next speaker will now give the floor to her Excellency She is the Commissioner of the Policies of the Union Commission The Department of Political Affairs as you know We will be talking about the promotion of the good coverage the promotion of the human rights and the human rights Thank you very much, Madam Khan, excellent, ladies and gentlemen, all the protocols have been respected. I would like to start by saying thank you, thank you to the IEM for the fantastic work you have done to launch today the continental strategy on migration and all the ceremonies that have been held today by Vizio Conference. I would like to express my gratitude and my appreciation to the general director of the IEM for his staff for this meeting and especially for the fruitful cooperation that we have been working on with the Department of Political Affairs and also the African Union Commission. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the IEM for the fruitful cooperation that we have together on many issues and above all, we are today with a lot of partners in the field of this strategic strategy which is of a capital importance and also for the African continent. I would also like to thank, I see that the Commissioner has made it difficult to connect and also the Victory Commissioner for their commitment to work on migration issues particularly with this pandemic of the coronavirus. I would also like to say that this launch is coming to an end today because our continent is working on these migration issues with the development issues of the law of the world and I see that all of this is taken into account. And also thank you for the cooperation that we have had with the IEM and which also concerns the migration issues. I have mentioned particularly the protocol on the free circulation of people without the right to establish and with all the documents that we have had to work on. And I see that today's work is complete in terms of what has already been done in collaboration with the IEM. Despite all this, we still have difficulties linked to the difficulty of moving on the African continent and many factors explain precisely this difficulty and which also forces our people to leave the continent or to migrate to the interior. I also mentioned poverty, economic issues, lack of employment opportunities. This also adds to the movement forced by conflicts, famine, climate change. I also mentioned the issue of rights violations. Today, we have the issues of terrorist who come to move the population. I would like to thank the IEM for its collaboration and also engage the IEM to work with us to know the foundation of good migration in terms of governance and employment for the dialogue and create a platform that allows us to look at this document that we are going to launch together. I would also like us to recognize the excellent opportunity and the dialogue also between us and other partners. I managed to meet with Rex and we were able to work together to advance this agenda. It is at this price that we can also reach Africa we want. Africa where it will be good for everyone. Africa where we will have the free space and also where we can move very easily. I also recognize the development of politics and even the IEM strategy. Today we are about to launch the importance of mobility, development, peace and stability on the continent. As we launch, we have millions of people moving on the continent with difficulties. We will have to look at all these issues. I congratulate this launch today. I would like to conclude by really thanking the IEM for this new initiative and the IEM to talk about the Department of Political Affairs to push this issue for a minute in effective work, to recognize the study that we have launched together on the impacts of the free circulation protocol that we launched in 2018 and the protocol that was a success. I would like to thank you for your attention. I would like to thank you for this intervention. Maybe I will give all the floor to Commissioner Harrison as long as we have Mrs. Fabule who answers this question and then we will come back to the general director for his presentation. Excellent, Victor Harrison, I would like to thank the Secretary of the African Commission. Thank you. Thank you. Excellencies, all protocol observed, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great pleasure to address this August S.B. for the online launch event of IEM continental strategy on migration in Africa 2020-24. As you are aware, the African Union has developed a migration policy from work for Africa, a revised version of which was published in 2018 with an action plan from 2018 to 2030. This from work provides global policy guidance to member states and the regional economy communities to help them to formulate and implement their one national and regional migration policies according to their priorities and the resources. To achieve this, the revised from work identified the following eight key pillars, governance of migration, labor migration and education, engagement of a diaspora, border governance, irregular migration, forced displacement, internal migration and migration and trade. According to the second edition of report on labor migration statistics in Africa, published by the African Union Commission in collaboration of IEM and ECA, the international migrants in the labor force has practically doubled in Africa over the past 10 years, increasing from 7.5 million in 2008 to 14.4 million in 2017. This shows that the African continent receives migrants from all parts of the world. Moreover, it should be noted that despite the international policies on migration flows to Europe, over 50% of African migration takes place in Africa. The phenomenon of migration has nowadays taken on several facets. Political, economic, social and cultural and over the years, more form of migrants have appeared. I thought this migrator phenomenon is constantly evolving. The fact remains that we know the main resource for it. These include labor migration, irregular migration, internally displaced population, particularly caused by peace and security issues, such as terrorism and climate pressure. Moreover, significant internal migratory movements, such as the rural Exodus, add to the complexity of Africa's migrator landscape. African cities have experienced rapid urban growth and Africa's urban population is expected to triumph in the next 50. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to take the opportunity to thank IEM for the collaboration of the edition of Libor and Migration Report, as well as for the development of this continental strategy for Africa 2020-2024. It addresses cross-containing issues, such as health, climate change and environmental degradation, human rights, gender and social inclusion, data and research. In addition, a strategic approach around governance, mobility and resilience was also adopted by the report with identification of key strategic areas. And here, I would like to express the wish that this strategy be implemented and that it be beneficial for African migrants in Africa and also outside the continent. Furthermore, I would like to add that among the avenues to be developed to reduce migration, the stakeholder should one, support local development through agriculture and industrialization. Agriculture is the backbone of many African countries. If revamped, it might contribute immensely to economic growth, increased income, contribute to poverty reduction and improved nutrition. And moving forward, the economic transformation of African economies through industrialization will be key to achieving economic-wide productivity improvements, job creation and sustainable progress in growth and poverty reduction. Two. Two. Two. Please. Please mute, please. Two. The effect of climate change, the continent is already experiencing the negative effects and freezes of climate change. Three. Keep our communities safe because of inter-sync link and interdependence between peace, security and socioeconomic development. It is necessary to resolve the migration issues by relying among others on social economic development, peace, and security. For the implementation, the strategies will have to be saturated on determined and proactive policies of government, public-private partnership, and cooperation with partners. To conclude on this note of a partnership, I would like to request the IOM in collaboration of the African Union Commission to, one, assist African countries and the regional economic communities for the integration of this IOM continental strategy on migration in Africa 2020-2024 in the national and the regional migration strategy, and support them in the strategies implementation. I thank you. Thank you so much for highlighting these important areas of migration and how we can advance the collaboration with the IOM. I see now that the Excellency Amira Fadil has joined us. I would like to invite her to take the floor and to deliver her statement on behalf of the surface and of the African Union Commission. You have the floor, Excellency. Peace be upon you, and good afternoon. My apologies. I joined very late. I had the technical problem, but I'm happy that at last I managed to join this very important event approaching the Africa strategy by IOM. I would like to start thanking you, sister Asiatu, and also Director General of IOM, Mr. Antonio Voterino, and also all my colleagues, the commissioners available. I joined late. I found Commissioner Harrison speaking, Commissioner for Economic Affairs, my sister, Commissioner Aminata, and I'm not sure if Commissioner of trade is available, but my greetings to all the commissioners available. My greetings also to the executive secretaries of the RECS and SINSAD and all the participants in this launching. I would say that all protocols observed. I'm happy to represent the chairperson of the African Union Commission, Excellency Moussefaki Muhammad. It is my great honor to join IOM and all other invited participants to this meeting, launching IOM's continental strategy for migration in Africa for the year 2020-2024. This event comes barely some few days after the two organizations, the African Union Commission and the IOM jointly launched the Ferris Eba Africa Migration Report. We did it together, Mr. Voterino, last week, and this is the second big event for us. The Ferris edition of the Africa Migration Report is a very important achievement, and I'll be glad that after a few days now we are launching with you, your strategy. The Africa report on migration seek to enhance and contribute to Africa's migration narrative, perspective and voice on continental migration agenda and initiatives. These two initiatives running back to back exhibits how the two organizations are committed in supporting African Union member states and RECS in improving migration governance in the continent. I wish to take this opportunity to see the thank IOM for your continued collaboration and partnership with the IOM Commission in various migration initiatives and programs in the continent. Apart from the report, we continue to work together, enjoy the migration program, and I remember I put some details in my statement when we were launching the Ferris Africa Migration Edition. I don't want to repeat myself, but I appreciate very much our collaboration in the JLMB program, in supporting our member states in interstate dialogues at regional and continental levels, including hosting of the Banasika Forum on Migration, among other initiatives. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, supporting the free movement of persons protocol and the Africa free trade agreement agenda as captured in this strategy is critical in addressing some drivers of migration in the continent. As we are all aware, the bulk of migration and mobility in Africa occurred in the continent. We said before and we repeat ourselves that it is 80% within Africa itself. This means that the more African countries open their borders to trade among themselves with less trade barriers and seamless border restrictions of its people, the more investment opportunities will be expanded, hence creating livelihood opportunities for our people. And this is one of the main drivers of our young Africans out of Africa. They are looking for better lives, they are looking for better job opportunities, but if we manage to create this opportunity within the continent itself, if we manage to break the barriers between member states, if we have the free movement for goods and commodities and services accompanied by free movement of people, then we will have better opportunities for the young Africans. As development, we are implementing the joint labor migration program that complements this aspiration through portability of skills, knowledge transfer and social protection of our labor migrants across the continent. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, we need to invest more on data connection and evidence to support our member states and wrecks in addressing some of the challenges associated with irregular migration. I'm happy to note that this strategy identifies irregular migration as a challenge facing the continent and proposes several measures IOM will undertake to support us to address this end, especially in the prevention of trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants. And I remember also that I called upon you and all the stakeholders who participated in the launching of the Africa Migration Report that I need the support of IOM for the three centers, which I'm going to mention again here, that we need the support in making these three centers up and running and functioning in 2021. As a commission, we are at an advanced level in operationalizing the continental operational center in Sudan for two. That will be critical in supporting AOM member states and wrecks in combating irregular migration in the continent. Not only irregular migration, but irregular migration and human trafficking and smuggling of migrants. Further, we are also virtualizing the African Migration Center for Research and Training in Mali and the African Migration Observatory in Morocco to support us in relevant research, data collection and training of our member states on migration and mobility issues. We believe once these three institutions are fully operational, they will enhance and contribute to effective migration governors in the continent to ensure migration in Africa is safe, orderly, and regular for socioeconomic development in the continent. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, as I conclude, I wish to reaffirm our steadfast commitment to support IOM in implementing this strategy that we are launching today. This will enhance our mutual collaboration with the clarity in areas of priorities as captured in this document. We need to align the priorities, the priorities we have in Africa on migration issues, the priorities that's been stated very clearly in this strategy. This document will also act as an important reference material during our joint programming to ensure optimal use of resources and build on complementing our joint efforts. I therefore wish to take this opportunity to thank IOM through its able leadership of you, Excellency Tony Mutirino, and your able teams that are working with us for the AU office or for this ABBA office or across Africa for developing this wonderful document. I urge all of us to work together and strengthen this collaboration between our two organizations. I would like also to join our efforts in supporting our African member states and the United States. I wish you all the best as you want this document and also as you plan to implement it. My last word before I say thank you to all of the participants that we need to make sure that we all this document, we not by launching it today, launching it is just a beginning. What we need, we need to start very quickly the conversation about the joint implementation of this strategy. We need to make sure that it is well known to the teams that are working whether in Geneva or at this ABBA or those who are working in different regions. We need all of us to own it to make sure that what IOM is doing is for the best of Africa and we need to make sure that we will join the efforts in the implementation to have the better results expected from this strategy. Thank you again for having me in this launching and my greetings again and my apologies that the chairperson is attending another event at the same time and he delegated me to represent his excellency. Thank you, thank you very much as you had to and thank you Mr. Coserino and all participants. Thank you and back to you. Thank you so much excellency for this powerful keynote speaker on the opportunity of highlighting the importance of addressing my business together and to have the ownership of this document which is actually not an IOM document but a document that we wrote map for our collaboration with the EUC and the stress and other issues that are in the front of the migration. So, your permission I will not give the floor to the director Antonio Viterino. Coserino, we have some three priorities outlined in the document. Do you have the floor? Thank you so much. Dear Commissioner Al-Fadil, excellencies, all protocol observed ladies and gentlemen, why did IOM decide to have a continental strategy for Africa? Well, it's easy to reply, Africa is a crucial continent in terms of mobility, in terms of migration and in terms of a multilateral approach to migratory flows. Our concern is first and foremost to bring clarity and evidence to the reality of migration in Africa. As Commissioner Al-Fadil has just mentioned last week, we published the first report on migration in Africa together with the African Union Commission. The data and the evidence are there and contrary to the perception that sometimes exists in the global media, the vast majority of African migration is intra-continental, only a minority of Africans migrate towards Europe. Therefore, it is necessary to guarantee that we identify in the continent the key strategic areas for migration policy. Bearing in mind that migration is a very flexible policy area, migration evolves. There is a change of landscape on human mobility, partially also because of COVID-19 and the current health crisis has exacerbated development and security challenges. Our aim with a continental strategy is to help member states, to help the regional organizations to develop policy formulation to address the challenges of human mobility, but also to focus on the operational implementation of those policies with key partners to address migration challenges and to harness its potential at state, regional and continental level for the development of the continent. We praise very much the close cooperation we have with the African Union and we share the concern of the recent African Union Peace and Security Council recommendation that calls for the African Union Commission and IOM to work together to support and prevent migrants in distress from being arbitrary, repatriated back to their countries of origin without compliance with human rights and humanitarian norms and standards. The support that we aim includes the protection of people against any form of exclusion and discrimination. But as we all know, the pandemic and these difficult moments we are going through has exacerbated the vulnerabilities of migrants, lack of access to health, to social protection, increased exposure to exploitation and trafficking and other human rights violations, loss of economic incomes and repercussion of peoples on peoples' resilience to shocks. Not to mention the long-term impact of the current pandemic. We look with concern with the forecast of the setbacks on the attaining the objectives of the sustainable development goal, whose goals whatever it is on poverty, on famine, on promotion of education and community and social cohesion and stabilization. As Commissioner Al-Fadil has just mentioned and Commissioner Harrison has also mentioned, we think that there is a key priority in terms of labor migration, skills development and that's why we attribute the utmost importance to the operationalization of the joint African Union IOL IOM Labor Migration Program. And its work plan puts social protection concerns, decent work, possibility of skills and knowledge at the center of our shared priorities. In that respect, it is necessary to build capacity on major migration issues in Africa. That's why I've always made clear that the African Union Commission can count with the support of IOM in the setting up of the African Migratory Observatory in Morocco, of the Operational Center in Khartoum, of the Research Center in Mali, and we put at your disposal IOM's African Capacity Building Center, based in Moshi in Tanzania. We express also that our strategy, our continental strategy is fully aligned with the African Continental Free Trade Area objectives and with the purpose of supporting the implementation on the free movement protocol in order to foster community stabilization and social co-vision, assist and protect internally displaced people and addressing community tensions, very often generated by climate change, scarcity of water, of arable land and man-made conflicts. This will require also a close coordination and cooperation in the vigorous combat to irregular migration and human trafficking, which is not only an outrageous violation of the fundamental rights of migrants, but also jeopardizes the future of the end generation of the African continent. It is essential that perspectives, skills and strengths of African young people be integrated into the design and delivery of migration programs. And I'm sure that we will be able to contribute to the success of the African Union 1 million by 2021 initiative aims to facilitating use and planning. Another feature we want to emphasize is the feminization of migration. And we attach great importance to the role that women and girls play for the development of their communities and also in terms of migratory flows. Women migrants are the driving force on us, on social and domestic care services, on the rural sector and in the informal economy. But women and girls are also very much prone to exploitation and to abuse and they require careful attention and protection. Ladies and gentlemen, Excellencies, European Union has recently adopted its new pact on asylum and migration and we are now five years in the aftermath of the Valletta summit and the corresponding action plan and other flagship programs. IOM has been an implementing partner of the European Union Trust Fund since 2017 and we have observed and learned with the experience of return and reintegration programs with the challenge of guaranteeing sustainable social development for the African countries and providing at the same time well established legal pathways to safe, regular and orderly migration. That's the only way of migration equally benefiting the African countries and European partners. Finally, we think that is to take the strategy that we put today before you and aligns a number of key following areas that I would like to emphasize. First and foremost, we want to support the African member states in implementing the upcoming adopted plan of action for the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration. In fact, Africa continent is the only continent where almost practically all member states have subscribed to the UN global compact. The global compact emphasizes the importance of strengthening the migration development network and migration can be a leverage and a tool for the development of the African countries if well and properly managed and if it is supported by the international community. But nothing will fly if the objectives of the migration strategy is not aligned with the sustainable development goals. And as I mentioned before, the current economic crisis is putting at stake the attainment of the sustainable development goals. And we cannot accept that the poverty, extreme poverty can rise from 70 million to 110 million people. We cannot accept that the drop of the remittances is forecast as 20% which will have a huge impact in countries of origin and we need to mobilize the international community and international financial institution to respond to the needs of the development of the African countries starting with a fair but rational conversation about the debt and about the prospect of the need of productive investment to create conditions for the future development of the African countries. This is the only way to strengthen the current development piece next. And last but not least I would also to emphasize the need to promote resilience in order to guarantee the dilution of community tensions promote community stabilization and guarantee peace and security for all. Ladies and gentlemen we live in a very crucial moment where the health crisis has taken the up front of the international agenda. We believe that the strengthening the migration and health's nexus will be fundamental for the near future and for the long-term future. And I can guarantee you that you can count with IOM in close partnership with the regional economic communities, with the African Union Commission, with all the stakeholders of the continent to guarantee that safe orderly and regular migration plays to the benefit of migrants, to the benefit of countries of origin and to the benefit of countries of destiny in full respect for the human rights of those who are on the move. Thank you so much. Thank you. The presentation for highlighting the importance of partnership of migrants and governments and for its implementation. So I would like now to go to directly to the representative of the the regional economic community. The president of the secretaries and the representative of this election. So I will stop here. Thank you. You have the floor. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Madame Monsieur African. Monsieur The executiveAddiction Madame It's been a pleasure to me to take the floor. At the opportunity of the launch, the strategies, the IOM for Africa during the 2020-1924. I would like to thank Mr. Director of the IEM for the invitation addressed to the CENSAT. I would also like to thank the Commission of the African Union, my co-leaders of the regional economic community, and all of the participants for this launch. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to at the end of my speech to remind myself of the death of thousands of migrants dead in the Sahara or in the Mediterranean Sea. I also have a thought in the right of thousands of others who are in camps here and there in this period of COVID-19. Ladies and gentlemen, the Treaty of June 3, 1991, establishing the African Economic Community Treaty of Abuja, was the first framework of the African Unity Organization to include the free circulation of people and capital as a pillar of the integration of the African continent. In addition, the founding acts of the eight regional economic communities include regional mechanisms and relatives to the free circulation of people and capital as well as the right to residence and establishment. A better management of migration and the promotion of the free circulation of people are therefore at the heart of the political framework of migration and Africa. In this regard, the Sinsa de Féciin, the Marrakech pact for safe and regular migrations. Ladies and gentlemen, the diversity of protocol and programs adopted at the regional and international level is the command that efforts are made to establish a framework for the governance of continental migrations that will benefit the country, the region and the continent in its entirety. However, the implementation remains always defective. As a consequence, there must be an engagement that includes political will and an effective implementation by all parties concerned at the national, regional and international level including the United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and members of their families. Ladies and gentlemen, the situation of migrations in the Sahel-Ossaharian space constitutes a constant preoccupation for all the member countries of the Sinsa de Féciin. Sahel remains one of the poorest regions in the world. It is caused by climate change, demographic growth, food insecurity, crime and terrorism. Despite the new attention brought to the region, efforts that are aimed at more access to access to security to reduce migration to Europe cannot be treated adequately for the reasons of migration. To talk about these inconveniences, it is essential to adopt a more policy approach of regional stabilization based on development and the application of a common migratory policy for the Sahel, West Africa, Maghreb and Europe. This approach can contribute to limiting the influence of networks all the time, offering opportunities for decent work. Ladies and gentlemen, according to the statistics published in the edition 9 of the International Migration Perspective, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, only 300,000 Africans have arrived in the countries of this organization in 2018. Not a single African country figures on the list of 17 countries that have the most migrants to the countries of the OECD. As a consequence, the relatives to migration, in particular Africans and social dumping, are simply not founded. Even if this is the case, we must find ways to address the problem rather than exploit the fear factor and the whole range of crimes undertaken by some countries in the northern hemisphere. The champion of the African Union for questions of migration, His Majesty Mohammed VI, King of Morocco, clearly raised it in his report presented before the 33rd conference of the African Union in February last year. Mr. General Director of the OECD, the SINSAT space is at the heart of all the migratory flows coming from Africa to Europe and northern hemisphere in general. And this is why we have a great interest in the launch of the OECD strategy for Africa in the 2020-2024 period. For the SINSAT, this strategy and the activities carried out by the OECD constitute strong arguments for the contribution of the next Nobel Prize to the OECD. Ladies and gentlemen, this is more specifically the cooperation between the SINSAT and the OECD. We express our willingness, in the context of the work of this strategy, to collaborate with the implementation of the SINSAT program on the migration of migratory flows that comprise the sensitization of the member states of the SINSAT on the legal and regular migration. The participation of the OECD, the elaboration of the migratory norms of the SINSAT on the basis of international conventions, the implementation of the SINSAT program in favor of populations in a situation of climate migration following the high temperatures. It is a source of great satisfaction for us to see the creation in February 2020 during the 33rd ordinary session of the conference of the African Union of new continental institutions to know. The African Center of Research Research on Migration in Mali, the African Observatory of Arab Migration Migration and the Continental Center on Irregular Migration in Khartoum in Sudan. Ms. Amira, the commissioner, made an allusion earlier. The support of the OECD to these continental institutions remains very, very important. Ladies and gentlemen, migration is more particularly a good governance of the migration. It plays an important role in continental integration and development. On the same note, the human migration that comes back to humanity is a response to the challenges that are faced with humanity. But in responding to the challenges that the migration represents, there may be a tendency to simplify the generalization of African migration and that it may obscure our understanding of the needs of the well-being of our people. We must be fully aware of the existence of these phenomena in order to invent strategies that allow us to face many threats of the present and the flagrant asymmetries of unjust events. If we really have to confront them and correct them, we will be able to complete them in indifference. In terms of my proposal, I would like to again express my thanks to Mr. Director General of the IEM, to all my colleagues in the regional economic community and also to other organizations that participate in this launch. I thank you. Thank you very much. I am very happy to be here today. Without further ado, I would like to give the floor to the excellent Dr. Wakanda, the Director of the Secretary of the IEM for the Governmental Authority of Development, IGAG. Some of the key markers and challenges and opportunities are the establishment and establishment of the IEM and other projects. So you are very much welcome to be here today. Thank you. Thank you very much, moderator. Mr. Antonio Vittorini, IEM Director General, Commissioners from African Union Commission, Excellency Colleagues from REGS, or Plata Colleagues Observatory. First of all, I sincerely want to thank IOM for developing this continental migration strategy. I further want to commend IOM for the continued effort to assist migrants across the globe, especially during the current pandemic. COVID-19 continues to devastate lives and livelihoods around the globe. While the disease knows no borders and does not discriminate, its impact is being felt most severely by the poorest and marginalized among us. This is particularly true for millions of peoples on the move, such as refugees and internally displaced persons who are forced to flee violence, disaster, and other situations of uncertainty. And nowhere are these realities chosen by the IGAD region, which I am excited and representing. The IGAD region has one of the largest concentration displaced population. It is also the prone to mixed migrants' flow comprising of asylum seekers, economic migrants, unaccompanied minors, smuggled persons, victims of trafficking, and stranded migrants. While majority of these flows circulate within the region, the significant numbers also move to the Gulf states, southern Africa and across Biais from the Mediterranean to Europe. Excellencies, while human mobility is a permanent future of development, the current COVID-19 pandemic is starting to reverse some of the progress we have made towards regional integration. It has reduced mobility across the region, not only the region, throughout Africa, throughout the world. It has also increased the migratory pressure as people look for new employment and livelihood opportunities. This is what makes this continental migration strategy most timely and most relevant. The strategy provides a framework and a tool for the better protection by the advocating for the inclusion of migrants and displaced populations. This is in line with objectives of both continental and global frameworks, such as Agenda 2063, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the Global Compact on Migration. Excellencies, regulated mobility and cross-border trade facilitation provide the best and the most effective strategy to insulate our fragile African economies from the worst effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. This requires concerted efforts through the whole of society approach that targets all stakeholders to advocate for the ratification, domestication, and implementation of our own continental and regional integration protocols, while it is evident that the African Free Trade Agreement and the Protocol on Free Movement of our Complementarity, the CFTA has received overwhelming ratification, while the Protocol on Free Movement still lacks behind with only four ratifications. Here, your Excellencies, Brothers and Sisters, I would like to make a suggestion through the leadership of the African Union Commission and the relevant policy organs of the African Union, we should consider declaring 2021 as the year of free movement of persons in order to focus attention on the Protocol and to advocate for the ratification across every member states. This will complement regional initiatives on free movement, such as the IGAR Protocol on Free Movement of Persons and Trans-Humans. We are privileged to have three African Union Commissioners here with us today, and I hope they can take this message back to the chairperson and make the reality. Excellencies, in addition to the continental efforts, we also need to promote partnership and international cooperation with other transit and destinations for African migrants, particularly Europe and the Gulf operation countries. Migration across the Mediterranean has become one of the most dangerous undertaking today. Additionally, protection concerns across the Gulf countries have intensified since the COVID-19 outbreak. We need to engage more and better with this region to protect our citizens. Finally, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, I conclude I wish to make reference to the African Migration Report that was launched a few days ago. Here I again thank IOM for this pioneering initiative. For a long time, African migration has suffered from misinformation and disinformation. The report goes a long way in dispelling and precedent myths and narratives about African migration. Going forward, we should intensify our efforts in collecting data and conducting research to reshape and redefine the African migration story. Finally, on my behavior and that of the IGAR Secretariat, I want to state that we are firmly committed to strengthen our collaboration with IOM and other partners, working together to ensure that the continental migration strategy is successfully implemented. I thank you very much. Thank you so much, Your Excellencies, for the call that you conveyed to the Commissioner of the African Migration Commission, so I think they heard this loud and clear. I will now give the floor to the Excellency, Dr. Goumena, the Director of the South African Development Community Center. You have the floor, Excellencies. Excellency Antonio Vitorino, Director General of the International Organization of Migration. Am I heard? Yes, ma'am, we can hear you. Thank you, thank you. Your Excellency Antonio Vitorino, Director General of the International Organization for Migration. Officials representing Sadak Member States and the International Organization for Migration. Your Excellencies Ambassador, High Commissioners, Members of the Diplomatico. Friends, Colleagues from the African Union and Sister's Ladies and Gentlemen, a very good afternoon. It gives me great pressure to be associated with the online launch event of continental strategy of migration in Africa 2020-2024. Allow me to begin by expressing our gratitude to the Director General of the International Organization for Migration, Antonio Vitorino, for the invitation. And let me seize this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed in the development of the continental strategy that is to be launched today. The Southern Africa Development Community is confident that the strategy will assist in laying down the foundations for maximizing the benefits for migration and thus contribute to the realization of the agenda for sustainable development 2030 African Union Agenda 2063 and the Southern Division 2050. The three pillars of the strategy, namely governance, mobility and resilience, are relevant in the African context. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division Report of 2019, Southern Member States forced large numbers of migrants, inclusive of regular migrants, refugees and the internally displaced persons with about 7.9 million migrants. The numbers, the resources required and the complexity of managing these categories of migrants demand attention and they should be at the center stage of global, regional, and international dialogue. In the wake of COVID-19 and its unprecedented impact on migration and the human mobility, it is heartwarming to note that the continental strategy of migration in Africa highlights the importance of addressing health dimensions of migration, particularly in the context of a COVID-19 pandemic and against its commitments towards achieving universal health coverage, which no one including migrants should be left behind. This launch today of the continental strategy on migration in Africa is therefore very timely, especially at a time when COVID-19 has had significant social economic impact on migration dynamics in the Southern region and in Africa as a whole. It is therefore expected that the launch of this strategy will usher in renewed hope and inform Africa's perspectives in the way migration is managed. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it has been acknowledged that whilst migration governance is complex and difficult, certain places great importance to these issues and has over the years made strides in designing and implementing painless motor-course policy, instruments and programs that are meant to promote these processes and the intervention in migration governance. This includes a protocol on the facilitation of movement of persons, migration level 1, SADAC common regional policy framework on refugees and asylum seekers, SADAC guidelines and coordinated border management, the regional strategy to combat illegal migrations, smuggling in migrants and the trafficking of persons, and the SADAC UNHCR action plan. As we move forward, Excellencies, the strategic outlook of the SADAC region is articulated in vision 2050 and the regional indicators of the strategic development plan 2020-2030 documents which were approved in August this year by the summit and these documents prioritize migration governance as a key development agenda. This effect, the implementation of the global compact of migration for safe, ordinary and dignified migration has been outlined as a pre-delivering area in the strategic plan. In the same vein, SADAC is in the process of developing the regional migration policy framework which will outline key strategies and actions for regional response as well as the roles and responsibilities of various actors in the migration chain in areas such as immigration, labor, health, education, social welfare, environment, and emergencies. The migration framework will also assist SADAC members to align the global continent and the regional frameworks of migration on migration. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, SADAC attaches great value to stakeholders' engagement in migration governance and they consider the international organization for migration I am home as one of its key strategic partners. Over the years, the international organization for migration has supported SADAC at national and regional level in a number of areas, including on police formulation, evidence-based research, as well as capacity only. The relationship between Southern Africa region and IMO is further cemented by Migration Dialogue for Southern Africa Mitza, which since 2002 has made key and strategic proposals which have been considered by the continued SADAC integration agenda in the area of migration. It would be a remiss of me not to recognize the contribution by the IMO and the other UN agencies in supporting SADAC in its effort and response measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate its socioeconomic impacts. Allow me to highlight a few initiatives that deserve special mention and these include IMO's strategic preparedness and response plan for Southern Africa that was launched on 22nd April 2020, assisted parental return and support, awareness raising through risk communication and community engagement, the past building activities for immigration officers, health and non-health frontline officials, on infections prevention control at points of entry, and the disease surveillance through mobility from monitoring tracking and population mobility making. We thank you very much for the continued support and true partnership, especially during this tri-chime. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, where is the agenda for Sustainable Development 2030, the company's well-married migration as a development enabler? This aspiration cannot be achieved without due consideration of migration. Therefore, the importance of adopting a holistic approach to migration and human mobility in order to ensure that no one is left behind cannot be overemphasized. The global compact on migration constitutes a major milestone in the rapidly evolving migration governance landscape. There is now widespread recognition that cooperation is fundamental for effective governance and management of migration at various levels from the global to the local. As I conclude, allow me to commend the director general for his vision and leadership. Now that the development of the continental strategy of migration in Africa has been finalized, I'm very confident that we will sustain our cooperation to ensure that its implementation becomes a reality. On many occasions, we prepare strategies, we launch strategies, and we end there. What is critical is the implementation of the strategies that we prepare, including this one. Let us let it be the reality in terms of implementation. The SADAC region has its own particularities in terms of migration patterns, socio-economic landscape, and historical ties among neighboring nations. Translating global commitments in regional realities is therefore an important step in this process. We are hopeful that the strategy will provide an avenue towards achieving our common objective and joint endeavors while taking into account the unique regional dimensions and the requirements. I'm certain that we are on the right track as far as the enhancing regional migration governance and linking our efforts towards global conditions are concerned. We are sure of SADAC's continued commitment and partnership with the IEMO. Thank you for having invited me, for having invited the Southern Africa Development Community to take part in these historic events. And thank you for your kind attention. Thank you. Thank you so much, Excellency, for being with us today and taking your time to share with us the SADAC's perspective on migration. Now, I will give the floor to her Excellency, Dr. Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, Assistant Secretary General and Head of Social Affairs, Secretary of the League of Arab States. You have the floor. Excellent. Thank you. Thank you. It's a pleasure to be with you today in this important event, launch the IOM continental strategy on migration in Africa to 2020-2024. The League of Arab States has a very strong partnership with IOM since the signing of the first memorandum of understanding between them in 2000 and signing another updated one at the beginning of this year. This framework allows the IOM being coordinating their work together and implementing a lot of activities and participating in each other's activities. Seeking to promote coordinated work on international migration in the Arab region, last was eager to establish different mechanisms of cooperation with international and regional organizations working on migration. One of the most successful mechanisms was the former working group on international migration in the Arab region. Which was established in 2013 and co-shared by last UNSQA and IOM, and with a membership of 16 UN agencies. Based on this fruitful cooperation, we are working together with our partners to establish an issue-based coalition on migration in the Arab region, which is co-convenient also by last UNSQA and IOM, in addition to ILO. This continuous cooperation helps avoid duplication of work and forced synergies between last and regional and international organizations working in the Arab region. Last also established the Arab region and consultative process on migration, which played a significant role since the consultation of the Global Compact on SAVE or DERLIF and Regular Migration, GCM. The RCP held a meeting in preparation of this consultation and they came up with an outcome document, including the key messages of the Arab region to be taken into consideration during the process of developing the GCM, which was published on the relevant UN websites as an Arab contribution. Since the adoption of the GCM last work continuously to raise the awareness, the Arab member states on GCM and its implementation and follow-up process, build the capacity of officials and relevant national bodies, provide a platform of exchanging information and best practices and following up on the progress and implementation of the GCM within the Arab region. To achieve these goals, last through its various mechanism of cooperation, work closely with relevant UN agencies and commissions and benefits from their expertise in this regard. In implementation of paragraph 50 of GCM last UN ESPA and IUN in collaboration with other relevant UN agencies and with the support of the UN networks on migration are coordinating the Arab regional review process on GCM and will organize a regional review conference in December 2020. We are happy to have the chance to learn more about other region's efforts in the field of migration. And we wish you the best of luck with this new strategy. Thank you. Please. Thank you, Excellency, for your statement. I have now the pleasure to give the floor to the Deputy Secretary-General of the Productive and Social Sector of the East African Community, His Excellency Christof Bazimavo. We know that the key trend affecting migration in the East Africa region include but not limited to the proacted nature of the crisis, throughout national organized crime, vulnerability of migrant in a situation, and the continuous reemergence of epidemics and pandemics, the engagement of the Eastern Africa community on migration governance and in addressing its challenges is no longer to showcase. Please, you have the floor. Excellency. Hello, you can get me? Yeah, loud and clear. Please. We have first of all, I want to apologize that you have been having technical challenges. Some of our computers have not been able to connect it to web-based technology. Allow me therefore to read the speech of the Deputy Secretary-General in charge of Productive and Social Sectors. I read it in a verbatim. The IOM Director-General, a representative of African Union Commission, a representative of the region economy communities present, and others take orders. Excellency is ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of the Deputy Secretary-General's response of Productive and Social Sectors, I wish to add my voice to the previous speakers who have thanked the IOM for developing the continental strategy on migration in Africa 2020-2024. The strategy will enhance governance framework for migration and the realization of benefits arising from migration on this continent. As you are all aware, migration is natural. Migration is an avoidable phenomenon that knows no boundaries, and therefore requires combining efforts at different levels in order to deal with barriers to save and order the migration. Therefore, developing an effective policy instrument that responds to the current migration challenges, such as this strategy, is not only timely but also relevant to address migration issues, including but not limited to human trafficking and smuggling on the continent. This strategy will thus enhance and guide the harmonization of member states, regional migration policy and legal frameworks. Excellency is ladies and gentlemen. Our partnership with IOM on migration management continues to achieve important milestones that aim at promoting better migration governance in the region and the continent. In the ESC perspective, free movement of persons or migration is guided by the East African Community Common Market Protocol, which was signed by Heads of State on 30 November 2009. The protocol therefore provides a policy and legal framework on migration in the East African community. And since ESC is one of the building blocks for the continental integration, it therefore implies that facilitating migration in the community significantly contributes to the continental initiatives, such as the protocol and movement of persons, the AU migration framework, as well as the group of compact for migration. Excellency is ladies and gentlemen, permit me to share in this meeting this information that IESC and IOM signed a memorandum of understanding on 5th June 2006. And indeed, you have been working together and jointly implementing a number of projects and programs as contained in areas of cooperation in that MOU. For instance, under this MOU, the number of areas that include developing migration policies, laws and regulations, there are issues of capacity building on migration management, regional health programs and projects, providing transport and other related assistance to the visuals traveling to and from ESC countries, conducting research, matters to do with counter countering trafficking, and assistance of internal displaced persons and other persons in need, and also harnessing the development potential of the growing need potential of diaspora and conducting campaigns to further the objectives of ESC and IOM. As a partner with IOM and given some of the areas of cooperation mentioned above, especially on the development of migration related policies, laws and regulations, we indeed support the launching of the continental strategy on migration and hope that there will be deliberate efforts by all RECs and stakeholders to implement the recommendations indicated in this strategy. So far, ESC and IOM have jointly implemented a number of activities together. I will just mention a few of them because they are quite many. We implemented a project in 2011 to 2012 on enhancing the capacity of the ESC to harmonize the migration management and allow for the movement and safe movement of persons. It was just one of your projects. We are working together to develop the East African Community Electronic Immigration Policy. The other one is we are working together with IOM to develop ESC-Leban Migration Policy. Also to mention is that IOM has provided technical support to the East African Community Secretariat and that's why we can talk with confidence that we have the technical capacity to implement that strategy which we are just launching. We received the two staff who are here working with us and human resources is very critical in this regard. We have Madam Arisikarara, Labour Migration Officer in charge of Labour Migration and she reported here on 2 September who also have Madam Shio Nathara, she is a program assistant who is working with us since January 2020 and they are indeed coordinating effectively IOM initiatives. I wish also to congratulate you at this particular point IOM for this continental strategy that you have developed. It is very important and indeed we cherish that the critical areas contained there are in such as migration for health, economic development, climate change, human rights, gender and inclusiveness as well as data and research. Finally, Excellencies ladies and gentlemen and distinguished delegates present. I wish say that I hear by I wish all of you IOM and other stakeholders successful deliberations and encourage all stakeholders to implement the recommendations of this strategy so that we see the strategy as a reality not to remain in theory but to be in practice. I thank you very much for your kind attention. Thank you very much for the statement delivered on behalf of the East African community and for the importance that you highlighted on partnership for the implementation of this continental strategy. I have now the honor to give the floor to her Excellency Dr. Siga Fatima Jain, the Co-Wass Commissioner for Social Affairs on behalf of the General Claude Casibou, President of the Commission. You have the floor. Excellency. Thank you very much. Good afternoon, everyone. Greetings from Abuja, Nigeria, and all calls respectfully observed. Distinguished delegates and participants, our meeting today is extremely important considering the current global realities, particularly in relation to human mobility and global migration. No one could have predicted such an immigration on human lives and the global economy within such a short time frame. However, challenges continue to evolve. We are presented with opportunities to adopt new strategies and solutions toward addressing the emerging global migration issues, issues that continually impact lives and communities across the globe. For us at Echoes, we are proud of our history and modest developmental strides, including successes and challenges in all areas of human migration within and across the region. It was under a common vision of what West Africa should be, that is diverse in its geographical scope and rich in its cultural roots and intertwined history that Echoes was established in 1975. The aim at the time was to achieve economic integration and bring together 15 member states to aspire to common priorities for economic development and leverage their comparative advantages. In this endeavor, to achieve this economic development embedded in the regions migratory history, Echoes soon realized the opportunities movement of persons, goods and services provide based on the historically deep-rooted mobility and social cultural affinity amongst its citizens. This led to the adoption in the 1979 unfree movement of persons, residents and establishment, which has continued to serve at the source of socioeconomic and political growth for the region to the admiration of all the member states. More than 40 years ago since its inception, the protocol relating to the free movement of persons, the right of residents and the right of establishment has been influential in fostering regional integration and development. Now more than ever, the need to manage migration and promote free movement is entrenched in Echoes' fabric towards the realization of the commission's formative principles and cultivate development the strength of its community, thus the move from Echoes of state to an Echoes of people. Today, I am proud to say that Echoes serves as a beacon of free movement in the continent. Its achievements in the area of migration has been seen as worthy of emulation. Echoes showed this experiment works and opened the doors for succeeding regional economic communities in Africa. Given its history and support for the free movement at the continental level, Echoes supports common African strategy on migration and people on the move. A notable reference in the African movement protocol, born out of the successes of the Echoes protocol on free movement in the region. At the same token, it is the actually the important partnership between the EU and Echoes in the area of support for free and migration implementation by the IOM and the consortium of partners. At this juncture, I would like to highlight some of the major achievements of Echoes which cost cut across sectors but are not limited to the following. Free movement of goods and persons boosted with the adoption of the Echoes biometric identity card to facilitate mobility and promote security in the region. A regional border management manual for use in immigration security training institutions, strengthening of the migration dialogue for West Africa, the social dialogue forum and the heads of immigration meeting, the regional peace and security architecture which provides for conflict prevention, management and resolution, as well as an early warning system. The latter allows Echoes to analyze human security issues and anticipate political crises, food shortages, health problems and disasters. We also have a promotion of strategic products for food security and sovereignty including combating cross border livestock disease and consolidating the implementation of the common market trade liberalization scheme and the protocol on movement of persons, good and services. And recently we have the conclusion of the review of the Sahel strategy document and action plan to boost regional security. Echoes is now poised in the coming years to intensify efforts aimed at sustaining peace and political stability already achieved in order to create the best conditions for the development of the region. Echoes at this point also takes note of the global community's move to discuss issues on migration and the development of the global impact on migration. It gives great pleasure to welcome the International Organization for Migration Continental Strategy for Africa 2020 to 2024. I would be remiss to not reiterate that free movement and migration is a core tenant of the creation of the Echoes Commission. Echoes is one of the most mobile regions in the continent where millions of community citizens and migrants regularly traverse its border. Echoes perfectly fits within the continental strategy because its fish food region incorporates various cross cutting issues that are pertinent to and included in the continental strategy on health, climate change, human rights, gender protection, social inclusion, migration data gathering, and research. I must also emphasize that Echoes was fully committed to the goal of safe and orderly and regular migration as conceptualized by the GCM. To this end, the subject of mixed creation, a broad phrase fencing the complex motives, distinctions in legal status, and protection risks and experience of migrants is of great concern. The last decade can be characterized as one of the most unprecedented global migratory flows for modern times at the least. The fate of thousands of our compatriots attempting to migrate irregularly through North Africa and across the Mediterranean to Europe with attendant risks is not lost on us. I am pleased to read that IOM has been an invaluable partner in addressing the plight of our citizens faced with such adversity. The Echoes commission in its programming will further strengthen its response and continue to address the situation of the varied categories of persons of concern with respect to mixed migration. At the strategic governance level, Echoes has embedded migration management into its structure with a dedicated directory on free movement, humanitarian and social affairs, and environment. Furthermore, the establishment of dialogue channels such as the Midwa has provided the region with a platform for both Echoes and its member states to discuss migration matters at the technical level and ministerial and governance levels. Protecting the rights of mixed migrants, including economic migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, and accompanies smuggled migrants, victims of human trafficking, and irregular migrants in general, will remain a priority. This work led by the Department of Social Affairs and Gender is built around dedicated approaches to mixed migration itself and also benefits from the department's efforts in the areas of emergency protection, including protection of refugees, countering human trafficking, promoting the rights of the child, and additional areas such as the drive for social protection as a panacea to a wide range of vulnerabilities. There is also the Echoes EU fund focused on the implementation of the Echoes common approach on migration, which was adopted in 2008 by authority of heads of state and government of Echoes. As an overreaching strategy, this document outlined a broad spectrum of intervention access in the management of migration. Moving forward, Echoes interventions and achievements within migration management continues to provide able and effective leadership, which serves as a blueprint for regional bodies within the continent. Echoes are poised in the coming years to identify efforts aimed at sustaining peace and political stability already achieved in order to create the best conditions for the development of the region. On behalf of the Echoes community, I support this content strategy, which is the key for success. I applaud IOM for bringing this to the fore. We offer a steady partnership in this endeavor. I want to thank you all for your kind attention. Thank you so much, Dr. Jain for this important statement and for highlighting the importance of the migration as a key element of regional integration and development as well as the issue of mixed migration. So I have now the floor to give the floor to Dr. Brian Shigawa from the command market of the eastern and southern Africa. You have the floor, Mr. Shigawa. Thank you. Good director of ceremonies. The director general of IOM, the commissioner for social affairs of the African Union and other commissioners here present, the heads and representatives of region economic communities all protocols observed. It is my singular honor and privilege to deliver these remarks on behalf of the secretary general of commissar, Madam Chilesh and Pundu Kapwepe, who unfortunately could not be here due to other prior commitments. Madam Kapwepe has asked me, director general and distinguished participant, to convey her kind regards to you all and to thank you more sincerely for according commissar opportunity to address this August gathering a bit virtual as has been the norm under this new norm. Allow me right from the outset to join others who have spoken before me to congratulate you, IOM director general and the entire IOM family who successfully convening this online launch of the IOM continental strategy on migration in Africa. Commissar as a building broke of the African Union takes its role seriously in promoting regional integration and the integration of the continent as a whole and places its migration programs within the continental agenda as well as ensuring coordination with other ranks on the continent. Director general, the commissar IOM partnership is underpinned in particular on the realization of the importance of the linkage between migration and trade in furtherance of the regional integration agenda. Commissar therefore values its excellent partnership with IOM and looks forward to strengthening the same within the framework of IOM's continental strategy on migration in Africa. We have, we have ever need to create a witness of this nexus between development and migration. Commissar further recognizes that migration holds considerable potential for social economic development for countries of origin and destination alike for individual migrants and their families. It is not worthy that commissar free movement protocol stipulates that a genuine common market shall only be achieved when the citizens of member states can move freely within the common market. Commissar therefore regard IOM as a reliable partner in the effective implementation of these instruments of commissar for the benefits of the region and commissar citizens. In saying this director general, we at commissar are happy with our partnership with IOM given its strategic spread, its geographic spread on the continent as well as the world and also noting that all commissar member states are also IOM member states. As a regional organization that focuses on the attainment of sustainable development through trade and investment, we are quite aware that for us to increase inter-regional trade covering both goods and services and investment, we need to effectively implement the provisions of our treaty and other legal instruments aimed at facilitating movement of persons, especially in terms of labor migration. Some of these issues we need to consider and I do hope that they are part of the IOM's continental strategy include but are not limited to the protection of migrant rights, resolving the issues of portability of migrants' earnings such as reducing the cost of remittances and actually reducing the cost of migration and combating xenophobia. We should also not forget that in order for us to have evidence-based policies and effective programs on migration, we need to have reliable statistics and a mechanism for member states and regional economic communities on the continent to be able to share information and data on labor migration. Commissar member states under Article 164 of the Commissar Treaty made a commitment to mainstream labor migration in the commissar economic integration agenda. The commitment by commissar member states provides for a number of modalities of doing this, which brings in the issue of flexibility for facilitating labor migration. Such modalities include individual measures, bilateral measures, and multilateral measures undertaken by commissar member states. It is in this context that we have seen that some of the commissar member states have been the first to open up for migration without visas for the entire African continent. I'm therefore pleased to inform you that through these modalities, commissar member states continue to take steps to promote labor migration. Director Geno, distinguished participants, I am quite aware that the issue of migration per say comes with challenges, and we should be sensitive to the fact that as we promote labor migration in our region, we also be alive to the vices that come with it, such as human trafficking and human smuggling. We have to strengthen the regulatory frameworks for labor migration to be able to address such vices. Lastly, as you are aware that one of the challenges that the continent is facing is the issue of demographic fix, especially with the huge youth explosion. It is a challenge that's in providing jobs for the youth. This is therefore a challenge that one country alone cannot address on its own, but the continent as a whole in partnership with the world. Hence, I do hope that the IOM continental strategy will provide a platform for cooperation to address job deficiencies through policy and programmatic interventions that we intend contribute to the development of our region, meaning the commissar region and the entire African region as a whole. In conclusion, Director Geno, your excellencies, I wish IOM a successful launch of its strategy and look forward to deepening cooperation in the implementation of the strategy in partnership with you, Director Geno, and the entire IOM family, especially within our region in southern Africa, as well as at the country level in Zambia, with the African Union, other region economic communities, and United Nations agencies such as the International Labor Organization, UNHCR, UNODC, and others which I don't have time to mention. I thank you, Director Geno, and your excellencies for your attention. Thank you very much for the opportunity to share with us the commissar policies and high flagship initiatives that you are having with IOM and the strengths of the cooperation that you are having with our offices in the region. Now I have the opportunity to give the floor to Mr. Raj Mohajir representing the Secretary General of the Indian Ocean Commission. Please, you have the floor. Hello. Hello. We hear you. Go ahead. Thank you very much. IOM Director Geno, the Commission on Social Affairs of the African Union Commission, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, all protocols observed. It is indeed a great pleasure to intervene on behalf of the IOC Secretary General who could not participate with us today. IOC is indeed very pleased to join other speakers to congratulate the IOM for the continental strategy for Africa 2020-2024. Migration is and has been an international continuous phenomenon and the world as it is today is the result of such a continuous and permanent phenomenon. We view migration as a very important time for development and IOM is an important institution as a vector for promoting development but also more reportedly for building capacity for ensuring migration as a development strategy. At this juncture of COVID pandemic, collaboration with IOM becomes even more important. First of all, with the advent of the free trade area of continent Africa but also as a tool for facilitation, for circulation, crossword mobility and trade in this difficult context of COVID and the particular situation of opening up of borders in all the countries. We view with very much concern that countries have this tendency to be shutting on their own and it is very important that now we have a very in-depth reflection on how we will be working together with the countries instead of each country deciding on its own on opening up both the border that we can collectively think about how we can work this out in the context of economic recovery and we hope that the COVID will finish very soon. We have between IOC and IOM an MOU which was signed in November 2013 since then we have been working very closely with the IOM office based in Mauritius. We have had already one dialogue on migration facilitated with IOM that we hope that in future we would be having a regular and maybe annual dialogue and migration on particular themes that we can discuss and agree on and that we would further strengthen our collaboration with IOM in other areas as well. We have initiated a very important plan for IOM IOC collaboration within the maritime security initiative of the IOC where we are trying to establish an architecture for maritime security for the western Indian Ocean and where we are working together with the IOM office in Mauritius to develop a specific chunk of a strategy for addressing human trafficking in the region. The other very important activity that we are doing together with IOM but also with ILO and other partners is the SAM project which is supposed to be led by SADEC and on which we hope that we will that will provide much of the necessary capacity for the countries to collectively think and work out on a very organized migration for the development of this region. So this is what I had to say on behalf of the IOC and I hope that we will be very closely linked to the implementation of the continental strategy for Africa and the IOC remains ready to contribute in the way it can and we will be very happy to hear from IOM on how we could be working with us. Thank you very much. Thank you very much and thank you for the opportunity provided to strengthen the dialogue with IOM and to have the regular consultation on issues that are particular importance of your region. So from now I would like to give the floor to Mr. Yerobaldes, Director of the Transitional State Coordination Office at the African Development Bank. You have the floor Mr. Yerobaldes. Thank you Isata, Director-General of IOM Antonio Vittorino, Chairpersons and representatives of the regional economy community here present. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, all protocols are served. On behalf of the President of the African Development Bank Group Dr. Akihumi Adesina, it is a great pleasure to participate in this important dialogue of the IOM. Mr. Yerobaldes, do you hear me? So perhaps we will move to the representative of the Civil Society Organization, Madam Joronjai, the time that we come back to Mr. Baldes. Can you please mute yourself? We have difficulties of your review. Madam Joronjai, are you with us? He himself and his team, so you are part of it, but I also see a certain number of my old colleagues there that I congratulate. I am happy to have been associated, even if it was the last minute of this work. I think it was important that the IOM changes strategy and work, and you do it very, very well. So joining people so easily and making us work in coordination is excellent. Is it good for me to hear you, Madam Kan? Yes, we can hear you very well. Perfect. I wanted to say hello to all of you. You have lost Madam Jai. Yes, it's good now. Thank you very much. I thank you so much for being associated with this work, and I would like to congratulate you on the quality of this galogue, which is extremely fruitful, I think for all of us. And you mentioned what I wanted to mention first, the presence of the Civil Society, indeed, in all the framework that you are putting in place, yourself, at the level of the IOM, as well as at the level of the countries where the IOM is represented and where the African Union works. I have well heard the words of the representative of the President of the African Union Commission, and the words of the representatives of the RECS. I salute the message. I think that everyone is interested, because the IOM strategy for Africa, in reality, but evidently, in a number of issues that all African countries are trying to solve. The first problem that I found in all the conversations is the question of national policy, in the microphone. Madam Kan, Mr. Director General, we think that it is time. We have lost you, Madam Jai. Yes, thank you. I said that we appreciated how much the IOM is present next to countries to hesitate to formulate national policies on migration. We appreciate it and we agree on it. The problem we have is the implementation of these national policies. Most of the national policies, once they have been formulated in general, they are in a office, in a service that people do not use. I think that the IOM could help a companion of these countries to go further in the operational. Once the formulation of this document is ready, it would be necessary that this implementation can be done on the land, and of course, the whole of the actors, including the civil society. That is for the strategy. The second point that I raised from everything I heard was that in fact, you are all confronted with the question of partnership. The partnership between the countries of origin and the countries of reception, but the partnership even within a same country. When we put in place a migratory policy, we have difficulties to put everyone to give each one of them what comes back in this partnership. I think it's good that the IOM also helps countries to build strategic partnerships between the different actors, whether in the RECS or at the level of the countries. The first observation that I had to do after hearing the exposure of one and the other. It was the question of resilience, mobility and governance, as you said, which are the three axes of your strategy. What would also help us, countries, members of African Union and members of IOM, is that they do not revive the regional dialogues, the regional consultation processes that had been put in place for the ones that are dormant, for the others that have not been very, very effective. Maybe IOM could help countries, members of certain regions, of certain clusters, to revive these regional dialogues. The question of geostrategic, I also raised. In the interventions of one and the other, it is clear that the question of migration should be managed in a much more geostrategic way, including spaces, including the interests of countries that are more rich than others, including countries that have great, great waves of migration and regular migration, as of regular migration. And on the same occasion, I would take the opportunity to say that, in fact, COVID-19 has not prevented people from leaving. I have heard of Madam Gagne, but the West Africa, here in Senegal, this morning, we put in place 450 migrants who have been intercepted on our coasts, the Senegalese coasts, nothing in two months. I find that irregular migration does not have any time to wait, and it would be good for us to be able to find a solution and a geostrategic solution to this problem. The last point I wanted to raise is the question of data, Madam Gagne. All African countries are filling up, all our inter-African structures are also filling up. And yet we have researchers, we have statisticians, we have great think tanks that work on data, and it would be good that the IEM is interested in them and see with them how we can put a system in place that can allow us to collect data that are updated and to share them as much as possible so that all decision makers can take the knowledge at the moment where they make political decisions about migration. That's enough work, there is a lot of work, I finish what I wanted to say. There is a lot of work to be done, but I want to congratulate you, Madam Gagne, congratulate Vitorino, also the DG, and tell him that we are available also to bring you the inputs that we know and that we have, but there is still work to be done. I thank you. Thank you very much, Madam Diorenda, for this opportunity, especially the fact that you raised a few aspects of work that we could do in partnership with the civil society and to advance certain issues. You mentioned the geostrategic questions that you raised, the dialogue of your regional, you raised the important and human question of migration, the regular migration, so we have a lot of aspects on which we have to work together to be able to move forward on the migration issue. I see that Mr. Baldé is connected, I will give him the opportunity to share with us his perspective, the perspective of the African Development Bank, you have the word, Mr. Baldé. Mr. Baldé, it makes me know that there are connection problems, you have the word, Mr. Baldé, and due to this interruption- Can you hear me? I'm not getting any sound from my hand. Yeah, we hear you well and loud. Do you hear me? We hear you well, Mr. Baldé. Please check if you are not muted. Thank you. Yeah, it's fine, we hear you. I can just read out my statement and then I will connect you. Thank you, Aisata, the general of IOM, Antonio Vitorino, African Union commissioners here present, chairpersons and representatives of the regional economic communities here present. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, all protocols observed. On behalf of the president of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinuma Desina, it is a great pleasure to participate in this important virtual launch of the IOM Container Strategy on Migration for Africa 2020-2024, and we wish to express our gratitude by IOM for the opportunity. As previous speakers said, the strategy has come at a time when the whole world is dealing with the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has derailed Africa's positive growth trajectory. In this vein, the African Development Bank recognizes a negative impact on stranded migrants and posting communities as a result of protection measures and borders to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and potential reintegration challenges that can come with returns. There is an urgent need for collective concerted efforts to rebuild Africa, and indeed, in the context of our theme today, facilitate voluntary, safe, orderly, and regular human mobility on the African continent. The African Development Bank is at the forefront of this rebuilding work. The bank responded swiftly to the COVID-19 pandemic. The approval of a $10 billion COVID-19 rapid response facility to address the fiscal crisis countries faced and project investments of causing the effects of the pandemic on people's livelihoods and economic activities. In addition, the bank also issued what is now an outwitting $3 billion social bond on the global market. Given its comparative advantage in infrastructure development, the bank will invest in quality, economic, and health infrastructure as we continue on the road to sustained recovery and growth for the continent. As we all know, African youth are not only the future, they are also already peace builders and drive positive change in our societies and communities. For that to remain and to avoid our youth becoming susceptible to illegal and counterproductive behaviors or get recruited by terrorist organizations, we need to create more opportunities for young women and men in terms of skills, as well as decent jobs. The bank's jobs for youth in Africa strategy envisions to create 25 million jobs for youth and empower a total of 50 million youth by 2025. In this regard, the bank is committed to unleashing the full potential of Africa's youth. As President Adesina said during his recent inaugural statement for his second term of office, and I quote, the saddles of youth unemployment and migration out of Africa must give way to a glowing light of successful youth-driven businesses across Africa. Africa's youth must stay in Africa, develop Africa, and project Africa's future, unquote. For this end, the bank will support the establishment of youth entrepreneurship investment banks and accelerate the scale of youth engagement in agriculture and agribusiness. As mentioned in the IMF content strategy launched today, the total international migrant stop on the African continent in 2019 was around 30 million people. It is in this regard that we believe that the strategy rightly points to the complexities and dynamics this involves on the peace, development, humanitarian nexus, as well as the linkages between migration and development. So certainly today's high-level launch and the IM content strategy itself are particular relevance for us at the African Development Bank. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to use this opportunity to reiterate the bank's commitment for African member countries to support solutions to prevent and address root causes and drivers of forced displacement and irregular migration, as well as to support member countries in their efforts to reap the benefits that are undoubtedly associated with voluntary, safe, orderly, and regular migration. For this end, I would like to be affirmed that there is a clear business case of migration, keep managerial, and manage the social and political contributions of migrants in their hosting communities and societies, to boost innovation and decent jobs, particularly for women and youth, and with it, advance inclusive sustainable development for all Africans. The strategy is comprehensive, and its strategy focuses on areas of shared areas of emphasis, complementary and synergistic with African Development Bank's work streams across the high-fives. We are light up on Africa, feed Africa, integrate Africa, address African, improve quality of lives for the people of Africa. Hence, the emphasis on partnerships in this strategy will not be more relevant. The participation of African Union Commission, regional economic communities, and African Development Bank in this run today, this for itself, as it shows again our mutual commitment to strong concrete and resource-oriented partnerships. I would like to illustrate this commitment with a few examples. In collaboration with the African Union, the bank has been producing an annual visa openness index since 2016, whose objective is to drive continental visa policy reforms that ultimately simplifies visa application procedures, encourages positive reciprocity between African countries and promotes talent mobility in regional tourism, investment, and trade. The visa openness index has helped raise awareness and energize the debate on the importance of free movement of people in Africa by encouraging visa liberalization reforms that unlock tremendous potential with promotion of intra-regional tourism, trade, and investment. The 2020 edition, due to the launch in the next few weeks, starts the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the pace of visa liberalization in Africa. The preliminary data suggesting that, although the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted a massive airport process and various forms of travel restrictions, it did not necessarily affect the pace of Africa's liberalization programs. The visa policy perspective, once airports reopen and travel restrictions are lifted, African countries are expected to resume travel in the same ease as 2019. In addition, remarkable progress on the African continental free trade area is a very promising collaboration with the African Union Commission. And of course, we need to maintain that momentum and advance more quickly together. The collaboration with the IOL provides access to clean water for internally displaced persons, hard to reach rural communities, and vulnerable populations in Somalia that provide over 85,000 households with access to clean water. Ever more crucial during this pandemic is another example. The collaboration with IOM is also extended to the knowledge building, joint workshop on financial empowerment and skills, or organized by IOM and EBRD for the auspices of the MDB platform economy migration. Of course, this will be in March, for example, and manager-level deep dives, synergies, and strengthening collaboration in jobs, skills, level mobility, health, and resilience in June this year between IOM and the African Development Bank. It's an order demonstration of our commitment to collaborate. And of course, building on the past work of the Migration and Development Trust and the ongoing excellent collaboration in the making finance work for Africa partnership, especially in terms of enhanced diaspora engagement by the toolkit on understanding diaspora investment, please together earlier this year with IOM and other partners, we plan to do much more together in terms of non-creation, policy dialogue, and reforms as well as projects. I could share many more examples, but in the interest of time, let me conclude by saying congratulations to IOM for this Africa-dedicated strategy and as the AU Commissioner for Social Affairs said, we all assume ownership of the rollout of the strategy in Africa. We need to jointly ramp up our support, leave the benefits associated with voluntary, safe, orderly, and regular migration and trade. It needs to include prevention of grievances and prevention of conflicts among communities, including upon returns of migrants and possibility states. We need to strengthen social cohesion and peace building in a fragile context and this needs to be mentioned across our knowledge work, cooperation, and community dialogues. In conclusion, we look forward to continuing and expanding the close collaboration with IOM, African Union Commission, and the Indian Economic Communities, the MDB platform on economic migration of forces, and with other co-partners as the wider United Nations family, ICRC, as well as civil society organizations and the private sector in particular. This, of course, includes cooperation in order development partners in our mutual support of African governments and our people. We look forward to scaling up together. Thank you very much for your attention. Thank you too to Dr. Balde and for this opportunity and sorry for the IT again problem that we had. I don't know if you hear me, but I just wanted to convey our great, great thanks for being here with us today and for raising some particular issue that are at the heart of the IOM work with the bank, particularly on the youth entrepreneurship and the youth strategies that you are developing. So we are great here to have this partnership with you and to look at the opportunities to strengthen it in the future. And you have raised many initiatives that you are already having with the IOM, with regard to the Somalia in other countries. So we paid that partnership and we are looking forward to expansion. Now we are reaching the close of this session with the clothing work from the UNECA representative. You have the floor, Mr. Aiberu. If I have correct you your name, Adlam Aberi Yemen. Please you have the floor. Thank you. Thank you very much. Excellencies, distinguished representatives, all prior protocols observed. I join you today to deliver the closing remarks of Dr. Vera Songgwe, who unfortunately could not be with you today. So I will proceed to deliver her remarks as follows. I am glad to be here with you today, marking this significant milestone for efforts to harness migration as a development opportunity for Africa. I would like to add my words to the prior speakers in congratulating IOM on this momentous milestone. We at the UNECA greatly appreciate the close working relationship that we have had with IOM and continue to have with IOM on various initiatives. I am glad to note that the strategy also does highlight and reference some elements of our ongoing collaboration. Looking forward, we also anticipate to further strengthen that relationship, especially as we work together to examine the impacts of COVID-19 on migration and in the ongoing global compact for migration review process. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis with considerable impacts on the continent, including all aspects of development, as well as migration. And so the work of IOM in the strategy's time horizon between 2020 to 2024 will undoubtedly also be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, we do know that in the Africa region, remittance flows are expected to decline by 21% in 2020. This will have a major impact on Africa, where remittances account for 3% of the region's GDP. In this regard, and as part of our ongoing collaboration, we look forward to building synergies and linkages between the implementation of the strategy and ECA's extensive work on COVID-19 in Africa. We take note of the clear focus of the IOM strategy on African priorities and perspectives, which is important in advancing Africa's thrust and intention of leveraging the free trade agreement, free movement protocols and regional integration, and resulting in intra-African migration that supports economic development. I would also like to commend IOM for the Africa Migration Report released recently, entitled Africa Migration Report Challenging the Narrative. The report reiterates the important need for evidence-based and nuanced understanding of African migration dynamics, and the African continent's own approach to dealing with migration. Thereby, refuting myths and sensational views on migrants and migration from Africa, we need to keep echoing this message and ensuring that it is a central principle for migration-related efforts in the region. I have no doubt that IOM's strategy will advance such understanding and Africa perspective further and play a significant role in ensuring that migration is indeed a development driver for Africa, especially as the region seeks to accelerate implementation of the sustainable development goals in the context of the decade of action from 2020 to 2030. At ECA, we are committed and determined to further strengthen our collaboration with IOM and other regional and sub-regional bodies on the migration agenda, including in the context of the African Union-UN framework on implementation of Agenda 2063 and the SDGs. ECA's sub-regional offices across Africa that work closely with regional economic communities will be particularly well-placed and ready to support such collaboration. There is also great potential for synergy with some of ECA's continental initiatives. For example, ECA is working with the African Union on digital identity, digital trade, and digital economy to support member states to fully harness the digital potential and exploit the benefits of digitalization for the continent's development. There is no doubt that digital technologies offer opportunities for Africa's development, but also for harnessing migration and its potential. And so this requires us to also keep in mind the AU digital transformation strategy for the continent. I very much look forward to harnessing the many opportunities that exist to leverage migration in the context of the African continental free trade area. Of course, our collaboration with IOM on various fronts, including the joint labor migration program for Africa, is an excellent opportunity for us to continue jointly advancing the migration agenda for the continent. We look forward to the continued collaboration, we congratulate IOM once again, and we look very much forward to the implementation and concrete operationalization of the strategy in the context of and related to the global compact on migration in the continent. Thank you very much. Welcome to you. Thank you so much, Ms. Yamaru, for this statement, closing statement that I cannot add anything to it because it has summarized all the areas of cooperation, all the important areas that ECA is already doing in the continent and how IOM and ECA can help the continent to reach out to some important initiative. You raise some of them, notably the digital aspect of our work and the agenda that the continent is advancing on free trade and the free movement of person. And you raise as well the labor migration project that IOM is undertaken with ILO and the AUC, and that is an important project to help our youth and on labor migration to be something that is anchored in the agenda of our work. And I cannot go expending on areas that you have raised in your closing remark, but only to thank you, to thank Dr. Verasong for this opportunity of providing the closing remark and then to thank all the participants and all the high-level participation of today's meeting and to allow me to thank you all on behalf of the Director General who has to run up for another meeting at four o'clock, and fortunately to say that we are looking forward to working together in improving the migration situation in the continent through this continental strategy, but also through the regional strategies that are also developed in the framework and to highlight the specificities of the region as well and to have this opportunity of creating the Africa we all want and we are working for. So thank you very much for being with us today and for this wonderful discussion that we had and the opportunity, as you said, to implement it concretely on the ground. Thank you for all and goodbye. Thank you very much for having us. Goodbye.