Background

The Ninth Joint Annual Meetings of the African Union Specialized Technical Committee on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration and ECA Economic Commission for Africa Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development which took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from April 4-5, 2016 on the theme “Towards an integrated and coherent approach to the implementation, monitoring and Evaluation of Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals” recognized the vital role of migration in Africa’s transformation and adopted Resolution No. ECA-L3 on International Migration in Africa which enjoins ECA and AUC, among other things, to establish a High-Level Panel on International Migration (HLPM) in Africa.

Overall Mandate: The objective of the Panel is to profile migration issues and push them to the top of policy agenda by engaging major stake holders and partners. Within this frame of reference, the panel shall propose and recommend and lead the efforts of strategic stakeholders and partners concerned with the promise and peril of inter and intra and international migration.

The Panel therefore is mandated to:

  • increase collaboration and cooperation among African member States, regional economic communities, and international development partners to promote migrants rights and facilitate their movement, and reduce vulnerability of migrants, especially women;
  • engage the policy implication of the state of knowledge in determining the nature and patterns of inter, intra and international migration streams in Africa,
  • assess the impact of irregular migration, in particular in transit countries, and the impact on border communities, assess skilled migration both for countries of origin and of destination and the long-term implications of remittance flows for development;
  • enhance the production of migration-related knowledge to support the conception of evidence-based policies;
  • sensitize policy makers to integrate migration into national plans and strategies; and
  • propose and advocate policies and mobilize support for practices that promote international migration for the development of Africa.

Consequently, the HLPM shall:

  • provide guidance and support to policy dialogues on an African perspective on international migration;
  • create an environment conducive to encouraging the mobilization and effective utilization of political, financial and intellectual resources of migrants for the development of Africa; and
  • raise awareness among African member States and other governments, citizens, and international development partners of the need and workable methods to leverage the benefits of migration for all.