Capacity Building

The AU-ILO-IOM-ECA Joint Programme on Labour Migration Governance for Development and Integration, better known as the Joint Labour Migration Programme in Africa, or JLMP, commenced engagement visits to seven of the eight regional economic communities (RECs) on the continent, as well as to migration corridors in America, Europe and the Middle East so as to support operationalization of the Labour Migration Assessment Committee (LMAC).

The field visits are strengthening the Committee’s overall advisory role and assistance to Member States (MS), the African Union (AU) and RECs to better regulate, manage, and monitor labour migration.

The LMAC consists of representatives from a wide range of partners drawn from RECs, Pan African Parliament (PAP), The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, African Committee of Experts on the Rights of Welfare of the Children, OATUU, ITUC- Africa, Business Africa, ILO, IOM, ECA, universities and research institutions, African Diaspora organizations, and the association of Women Cross Border Traders.

The missions are introducing the JLMP Priority to stakeholders, outlining the mandate of the LMAC, understanding the migrant workers’ labour market situation as well as existing labour migration interventions in countries and regional blocs, and discussing a wide range of issues concerning policies and the legal and institutional frameworks regulating labour migration management in countries and regions. Initial engagements so far indicate the need for regular capacity building for RECs, closer cooperation on different initiatives, and greater coordination amongst partners to promote solidarity in migration management.

These ongoing consultations will run up to September 2019, and future visits will also seek to explore the possibility of a dialogue between the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) and the AUC, besides other mechanisms to strengthen cooperation on labor migration governance.