This Migration Policy Framework for Africa (2018 – 2030) and its Plan of Action is a revision of the 2006 AU Migration Policy Framework (MPFA). The document considers AU priorities, policies, Agenda 2063, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and international migration management policies and standards. It is a multilateral policy paper with the primary goal of leading to better migration governance. The objective shall be pursued by providing comprehensive policy guidelines to the AU Member States and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and operating in the following main thematic areas: (i) Migration Governance, as said, to facilitate safe, orderly, and dignified migration; (ii) Labor Migration and Education to establish regular, transparent, comprehensive and gender-responsive policies, legislation and structures; (iii) Diaspora Engagement by instituting policies and environment frameworks that foster Diaspora participation in the development of the Continent and their countries of origin; (iv) Border Governance aiming at creating a system of norms, and institutions, including the collaboration of states, society, and non-state actors, for the border management and thus regulate the movement of people and goods across borders; (v) Irregular Migration to prevent migrant smuggling by expanding legal migration pathways and raising awareness of its dangers and permit effective and sustainable return and readmission of irregular migrants; (vi) Forced Displacement, addressing specific groups such as refugees and asylum-seekers, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and stateless persons, by implementing a number of strategies, including integration and reintegration as well as crisis prevention, management, and conflict resolution; (vii) Internal Migration impacting the population distribution in Africa in important ways, with rural-urban migration and the process of urbanization to be addressed through strengthened migration policies and strategies; (viii) Migration and Trade by implementing the Continental Free Trade Area and the AU Free Movement of Persons Protocol to aid trade, continental integration and development. The Policy also includes several cross-cutting issues, some of them crucial to the well-being of the continental population, such as (i) principles of non-discrimination, concerning the measures to ensure the fair and nondiscriminatory treatment of migrants, regardless of their status, with particular attention to preventing discrimination against women, children, older persons, persons with disability and special needs, and members of minority groups; (ii) poverty reduction and improvement of living and working conditions, creating employment opportunities and developing skills that can contribute to addressing the root causes of migration, supporting the economic and social development of the regions (rural and urban), protection of the environment to avoid natural disasters, the encroachment of the desert and soil degradation which are major sources of displacement of people from their natural environment; (iii) health concerns by conducting situation analyses and needs assessments of the health of migrants for planning purposes, with involvement and participation of the most vulnerable, including women and girls, as well as ensuring that migrants have adequate access to health care services by granting access to national healthcare systems and programs; (iv) environmental issues by incorporating environmental considerations in the formulation of national and regional migration management policies to better address environment-related causes of migratory movements, as well as the impact migratory movements have on the environment; (v) gender considerations, to gain a deeper understanding of the gender dynamics of migration, which would enable both policy makers and practitioners to address the special needs of women and men migrants. The Plan of Action annexed to the MPFA (2018 – 2030) documents activities that will be undertaken by the AU Commission during the period to facilitate the coherent management of migration on the Continent within the framework of the new MPFA and it takes into consideration work that is already underway on the continent, seeking to forge synergies with institutions that are working on the identified activities.
2018-05-01