Ethiopian Informer
ADDIS ABABA: October 1 (EI) – The Ethiopian government has formally launched its implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) disclosed Tuesday.
Ethiopia, which is one of the 152 UN member countries that endorsed the first ever GCM to address all aspects of international migration that was adopted in December last year, formally launched its implementation of the GCM following a two-day consultation meeting that brought together where more than 70 representatives drawn from a wide range of stakeholders to identify key priorities from the 23 GCM objectives.
Leul Kahsay, Assistant Attorney General and Head of Office of the Attorney General of Ethiopia, and reaffirmed the Government of Ethiopia’s commitment to a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach in identifying priorities and developing national plans on migration.
“Ethiopia was one of the most notable mixed migration countries in the world in an era of unprecedented mobility, being a country of origin, transit and destination for mixed migrants from the region and from within,” Leul said.
The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) is an inter-governmentally negotiated agreement, prepared under the auspices of the United Nations, which describes itself as covering “all dimensions of international migration in a holistic and comprehensive manner.”
Leul, who congratulated the National Anti-Trafficking and Smuggling Taskforce and IOM for organizing the consultation meeting on Ethiopia’s key priorities from the 23 GCM objectives, also stressed that the meeting “will provide a platform for government and other stakeholders to provide inputs into the country’s GCM implementation plan.”
As part of a raft of measures to relax the political space in the country, Ethiopia is currently amending the proclamation governing the operations of civil society organizations.
Officials from the Attorney General’s Office also reiterated that the new law would give organizations wider space to contribute.
According to the UN migration agency, Ethiopia “has taken a leading role in the East and Horn of Africa region in adopting policy measures to facilitate regular migration, as well as to address the challenges posed by irregular migration.”
Ethiopia is host to the second largest refugee population in Africa, sheltering 905,831 registered refugees and asylum seekers as of August 2018, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Jonathan Prentice, coordinator for the UN Migration Network’s Startup Fund for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, also emphasized that the aims of the recently established pooled fund, which he said will soon be available to support initiatives in the area of migration management.
The UN Network for Migration in Ethiopia (UN-MNE), formerly UN Migration Working Group, which brings together more than 19 UN agencies, programmes and funds with migration management mandates, works to ensure effective, timely and coordinated system-wide support to the Ethiopian government to ensure safe, orderly and regular migration.
The priority GCM objectives and activities identified by delegates are being compiled into a draft report of certain recommendations and will be submitted to the National Anti-Trafficking and Smuggling Taskforce of Ethiopia for endorsement, it was noted.
The national taskforce is presently working as the focal structure for migration management issues. The taskforce is also expected to form the basis for establishment of a National Coordination Mechanism on migration in Ethiopia.
Maureen Achieng, IOM Ethiopia Chief of Mission and Representative to the AU, IGAD and UNECA, also commended the National Anti-Trafficking and Smuggling Taskforce and IOM for bringing together a variety of actors to define the country’s migration priorities.
The round of consultations currently being held in countries covered by the Better Migration Management (BMM) program is funded by the European Union (EU), with an aim to provide a platform for governments and relevant stakeholders in East Africa to identify and redefine their priorities in the implementation of GCM objectives.
