In 2016, the Ninth Joint Annual Meetings of the African Union Specialized Technical Committee on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration and the Economic Commission for Africa Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from April 4-5), mandated the African Union Commission (AUC) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) to establish a High Level Panel on Migration (HLPM) in Africa to provide overall guidance and support to policy dialogues on international migration in Africa from an African perspective. In lieu of this mandate, the HLPM was constituted and launched in Monrovia, Liberia, on 6 June 2017, by H.E. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who is its Chair.

The Panel is composed of sixteen eminent persons including representatives of government, the private sector, academia and civil society. The panel members are notably selected on their individual capacity and institutional relevance to resolve issues emerging from the migration trend in Africa. Each panel member is represented by a technical committee member who is responsible for the day-to-day responsibilities of the HLPM. The panel is expected to meet at least three times over the course of the life of the HLPM. While the first meeting of the HLPM was held on 15 January 2018, the second meeting, hosted by IOM, will convene on 28-29 May 2018 in Geneva. The panel will meet again in October 2018 to assess progress and will subsequently organize a side event in Morocco at the launch of the Global Compact for Migration. It is anticipated that the main report of the Panel will be submitted at the AU heads of state summit in January 2019; once endorsed by relevant AU decision making bodies including the Executive Council.