Cairo, Egypt - Migration and development are two deeply linked issues, with migration directly affecting the achievement of each sustainable development goal. As a result, mainstreaming migration into policy planning at the central and local levels, in all key sectors of governance, can not only enhance migration contributions to development, but can also ensure that the potential impact of migration is taken into consideration in sectoral policies.

In the past decade, some countries around the world have mainstreamed migration into their national development plans, UN development assistance frameworks, and sectoral policies. Nevertheless, it is often at the local level where migration effects are felt most strongly, and hence the need for mainstreaming migration into local policy planning. This approach can help harness the benefits of migration, and at the same time address its impact.

Mainstreaming migration into national and local policies is particularly important in Africa, where migration, both voluntary and forced, is a central component of current population dynamics. Moreover, out of the 36 million African migrants on the continent, 19 million  have moved across borders and live in another African country. As a result, most African countries today are either a source, a transit or a destination for migration, or a combination of all three. Many migrate due to a complex set of drivers, including protracted conflict, instability, violence, and lack of social and economic opportunities in countries of origin. Furthermore, displacement within Africa has become a major feature of the region.

In recognition of the above, CCCPA, in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), organized a workshop on mainstreaming migration in development policies, on 16-19 June 2019. The workshop, which brought together 16 North African officials from Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, is the first in a series of workshops to be organized for African decision and policy makers.

Held during the Egyptian chairmanship of the African Union (AU), the workshop is part of Egypt’s effort to operationalize the revised AU Migration Policy Framework and Plan of Action (2018-2030). For that purpose, the workshop covered a wide array of issues, including the migration and development nexus, the international legal framework of migration, strengthening migrants’ agency as protagonists in local development, the role of local and national authorities in facilitating the integration of migrants, and mainstreaming migration and development into national and local level planning.