MEDIA ADVISORY

High Level Dialogue on Missing Migrants: Addressing the issue of Missing Migrants in Africa; from Policy to Action

INVITATION TO THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE MEDIA

What: High Level Dialogue on Missing Migrants: Addressing the issue of Missing Migrants in Africa: from Policy to Action 

When: Wednesday, 30^th August 2023, 9.00 am - 5.00 pm (EAT).

Where: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - African Union Headquarters.

Who: African Union Commission in collaboration with International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Switzerland Embassy.

Why: Every year, an alarming number of migrants go missing along the most significant and dangerous migration routes in the world, such as routes traversing countries in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and those bordering the Mediterranean and Atlantic. The ICRC alone has registered more than 64,000 missing persons in Africa along the mentioned migratory routes or when trying to reach Europe or the Gulf Countries. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), at least 75,000 people have died globally since 1996 while migrating, more than 40,000 of them since 2014. In the Mediterranean, almost 23,000 have gone missing since 2013. These are conservative estimates as the real figures are presumed to be considerably higher.

In response to these challenges, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) adopted in July 2021, a historic resolution (486) on missing migrants and refugees in Africa and the impact on their families which is a comprehensive tool that is African focused. However, since the adoption of this resolution in July 2021, there hasn’t been a targeted promotion and engagement with states, decision makers, and key actors toward its implementation.

This multistakeholder event, henceforth, aims to provide an important platform for all stakeholders to deliberate on and put forward decisions, suggestions, and recommendations to ensure commitments toward its faithful implementation.

Objectives:

The main objective of this multistakeholder event is to be able to:

1. Popularize ACHPR 486 resolution which heavily reminds obligations of states to make efforts to safeguard lives and respect the human dignity of missing migrants;
2. Provide concrete suggestions to member states, RECs, and key migration actors, as to how to better address the challenges migrants and their families are faced with; 
3. Identify existing opportunities and ongoing efforts by states to integrate relevant recommendations of ACHPR resolution 486 and; 
4. High level AUC decision makers to be seized of the matter and make relevant decisions towards implementation of the resolution.

Expected outputs:

1. Enhance stakeholder's knowledge and understanding of the specific recommendations of the ACHPR resolutions, and other international legal obligations that protect migrants, missing migrants, and the needs of their families and further ensure that the AU decision makers, its member states, RMs and RECs including other key migration actors and stakeholders are at the highest level engaged in this endeavor;
2. Strengthening stakeholder's commitment to the implementation of ACHPR Resolution 486 on the continent which leads to putting in place Common Africa Position (CAP) on missing migrants championed by ACHPR and HHS of the AUC;
3. Advocate on the need to dedicate a year to missing migrants;
4. To generate a report which could serve as a reference document for the potential production of an African guiding document for member states, RECs, and key stakeholders to use while addressing issues of missing, separated, and dead migrants as shared responsibilities across the board.

Participation at the event:

This event will be a physical one that targets at least 100 participants from the AUC key organs and departments, member states, RECs, diplomatic and donor communities, as well as key migration actors in the continent including research and policy institutes, think-tanks and academia.

Representatives of the media are invited to cover the event

For further information, please contact:

Sabelo Mbokazi I Head of Labour, Employment and Migration Division | Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development | African Union Commission Tel: +251 115 517 700 | E-mail: MbokaziS@africa-union.org | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia|

Beatram OkalanyI Senior Migration Advisor| Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development |

African Union Commission | Tel: +251 11 5517700| E-mail: okalanyb@africa-union.org | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Eliana Huo I Communication Officer | Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development | African Union Commission | Tel: +251 903 406 948 | E-mail: ElianaD@africa-union.org | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Gamal Ahmed I Information and Communication Directorate | African Union Commission I E-mail: GamalK@africa-union.org | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Information and Communication Directorate | African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@africa-union.org |

Web: www.au.int  | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Follow Us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube