Business
THE Economic Commission for Africa, ECA, has concluded a validation workshop aimed at improving migration statistics and promoting “Good Legal Identity” for migrants in the East and Horn of Africa. This initiative is part of a Joint AUC -ECA project titled “International migration in Africa: Shaping a positive narrative and removing barriers to mobility.”
The workshop, which involved experts from the ECA’s Gender Poverty and Social Policy, GPSPD, and the Africa Centre for Statistics, ACS, focused on validating critical findings from national assessment reports on the interplay between good legal identity and migration governance in Ethiopia, Uganda, and South Sudan, while also offering training on a comprehensive toolkit for effective good legal identity management. Aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 16.9, which emphasizes good legal identity for all, the workshop sought to address pressing challenges at the nexus of migration and good legal identity.
Sanusi Tejan Savage, Chief of Mission for the International Organization for Migration, IOM, in Uganda, highlighted the importance of proper identification for migrant integration into local communities, facilitating access to essential services like humanitarian aid, education, and financial resources. He stressed that IOM’s efforts to enhance Good Legal Identity frameworks are critical in compliance with the Free Movement Protocol and the African Continental Free Trade Area, AFCFTA.
Simon Peter Nsereko from the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Uganda noted that nearly 500 million Africans lack government-issued identities, with a significant portion being children under 18. He emphasized that the absence of documentation increases vulnerability and restricts access to vital services.
William Muhwava from the African Centre for Statistics, ACS, ECA emphasized the need for integrating migration statistics with legal identity frameworks, asserting that good legal identity should be a fundamental right for all.
For his part, Michael Tefera, representative from Ethiopia Immigration and Citizenship Services, ICS, underscored the necessity of robust policy frameworks to facilitate access to good legal identity.
Similarly, Wani Francis Lasu Noah from South Sudan’s Directorate of Civil Registry, Nationality, Passports, and Immigration highlighted the importance of creating systems for vital statistics and producing quality disaggregated migration data, marking the workshop as a significant step toward that goal.
Participants reviewed the reports from Ethiopia, Uganda, and South Sudan and refining methodologies, and looked into fostering collaboration to develop comprehensive frameworks for good legal identity with a focus on actionable recommendations.
The workshop was also aimed at improving policy discussions on good legal identity and strengthening member states’ capacities to develop frameworks to support migrants’ legal identities and prevent statelessness in the East and Horn of Africa. This marks a vital step towards helping migrants secure their identities, uphold their rights, and foster inclusive societies.
A.I
Dec. 13, 2024
Tags:
