By: Mariama Njie
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) Wednesday, 23rd December, 2020 launched the migration policy document.
The launching of the policy was held at the International Conference Centre, Bijilo.
Speaking at the official launching of the policy, Ms Fumigo Nagano, IOM mission chief, said in “simple and direct terms, the Gambia has now achieved target 10.7, the most important indicator on migration we can find under the SDGs. This long-standing belief is informed by the fact that migration is a reality as old as human civilization; and has in turn informed lOM’s support to its Member States and migrants and to ensure migration takes place in a humane, dignified and regular manner.”
She disclosed that the launching of the National Migration Policy also comes against relatively recent major developments in migration governance, both in the African continent and at the global level.
“I would like to mention two ground-breaking initiatives that started in 2018 in this regard: the Free Movement of Persons Protocol spearheaded by the African Union and the Global Compact for Migration both of which The Gambia took part as a sovereign state,” she said.
She stated that national migration policy would play a very key role in not only contextualizing these regional and global instruments but also would serve as an indispensable tool to operationalize and implement the ground-breaking instruments.
The task of making migration humane and dignified, she said, has become even more pressing with the increasing complexity of the migration dynamics, evolving challenges facing migration management, and vulnerabilities migrants encounter during their journeys.
So “it is in this context IOM encourages its member states on a comprehensive approach to migration governance. Noting the critical steps taken last year to establish a National Coordination Mechanism for Migration, as IOM warmly welcomes the launching of the National Migration Policy for an effective migration governance system in any country,” she added.
According to her IOM strongly believes that the Global Compact for Migration presents an opportunity to improve the governance of migration and to address the benefits and challenges associated with today’s migration.
The IOM Chief Mission therefore commended and congratulated the Government of the Gambia in general, and Ministry of Interior for this important achievement.