Representatives from African countries, the United Nations (UN) as well as the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) took part in a two day conference to deliberate on issues relating to African migrants. Concerns regarding the protection of their fundamental human rights as well as exploitation of the vulnerable were raised during the meeting.
The meeting ran from the 31st of August to the 1st of September, 2021 and focused on migration and human mobility within and beyond the African continent. Felipe Gonzalez Morales, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights of migrants, while speaking during the meeting noted that the global pandemic alongside socio-political conflicts, climate change amd food insecurity were some of the debilitating factors that coerced people to move in and out of the African continent.
Mr. Gonzalez noted that migration has been criminalised in certain countries culminating in irregular entry through smuggling and trafficking, Nasser Bourita, the Moroccan Foreign Minister, lamented on the exploitation of vulnerable migrants.
Felipe Gonzalez appealed to countries not to fall back on the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to linger on the implementation of the goals detailed in the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM).
The outcomes of the conference will be detailed in a report presented and discussed during the Global Review of the Implementation of the GCM next year.
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