As Africa seeks to facilitate safe, orderly and dignified migration on the continent, it has to contend with a myriad of the opportunities and challenges that migration presents in an increasingly dynamic environment; more so given the fact that the bulk of migration in Africa is intra-continental. The AU Commission is cognizant that the ability of AU Member States and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to capitalize on the opportunities that migration presents, and mitigate its negative impacts; and their ability to manage all aspects of migration and to engage with other continents that are destinations for African migrants, pre-supposes the presence of robust migration governance systems: the legal and policy frameworks and institutional arrangements for managing migration in a coherent manner.

Further, in 2018 the AU Member States adopted the Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community Relating to the Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Right of Establishment. The implementation of this protocol demands migration governance systems that are sound at both Member State and REC levels.

Against this backdrop, a Workshop on Strengthening the Migration Governance in Lesotho kicked off on 7 December 2021 in Maseru, the Kingdom of Lesotho. The purpose of the workshop is to review and validate the «Strengthening Migration Governance in Lesotho» report, and to familiarize the migration stakeholders in Lesotho on the work of the newly established migration centres: the African Migration Observatory, the African Centre for the Study and Research on Migration, and the Continental Operational Centre in Sudan.

The workshop was officiated by the Ag. Director of the African Centre for the Study and Research on Migration, Dr. Lang Fafa Dampha, and the Deputy Principal Director for Home Affairs of the Kingdom of Lesotho, Mrs Mamakopoi Letsie. 

Dr Lang Dampha, Ag. Director of the African Centre for the Study and Research on Migration commended the Kingdom of Lesotho for being the first country which has requested support from the African Union Technical Assistance Facility on Migration Governance, to strengthen the country’s institutional mechanisms in managing migration.

The technical assistance encompassed strengthening the country’s institutional mechanisms for managing migration, that is, the Lesotho National Consultative Committee (NCC). To this end the AU Commission completed the following tasks:

1. The proposed legal status, vision, mission, strategic objectives, terms of reference and structure of the NCC;
2. A draft 3-year indicative strategic plan of the NCC;
3. A draft activity plan of the NCC for year 1 of the 3-year indicative strategic plan of the NCC; and
4. A draft Advocacy Strategy of the NCC.

The above documents have been compiled in the mentioned report, and the AU Commission and the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho are hosting a workshop to validate the report. Attended by members of the Lesotho NCC, the workshop will continue till the 8 December 2021.

The expected outcomes of the workshop include the following:

1. A validated “Strengthening Migration Governance in Lesotho” report.
2. Resolutions with timelines on how the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho will move forward with strengthening the national institutional mechanism for managing and coordinating migration in line with the recommendations of the “Strengthening Migration Governance in Lesotho” report, and a road-map on the same.
3. An appreciation (by members of the NCC) of the work of the African Migration Observatory, the African Centre for the Study and Research on Migration, and the Continental Operational Centre in Sudan, and how Lesotho can tap into the services provided by the three migration centres.

For further information please contact:

1. Mr. Sabelo Mbokazi, Head of Division: Labour, Employment & Migration |   E-mail: MbokaziS@africa-union.org
2. Mr Peter Mudungwe, Migration Advisor | Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development | Tel: +251 115 517 700 | E-mail: MudungweP@africa-union.org

For media inquiries, please contact:

1. Mr. Yannick Gael Kameni Ngankam | Communication Officer | Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development | E-mail: kameniy@africa-union.org
2. Mr. Gamal Eldin Ahmed A. Karrar | Senior Communication Officer | Information and Communications Directorate | E-mail: GamalK@africa-union.org

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

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