By Awa Macalo
The IOM chief of Mission to The Gambia has talked up the importance of effective migration governance as a key tool to building a peaceful and cohesive Gambia.
“Working together with our sister agencies as the lead agency of the country’s UN network on Migration, we truly believe that effective migration governance is key to a peaceful and cohesive Gambia,” Fumiko Nagano said.
She was addressing a convergence at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre Thursday.
The high-level meeting discussed the National Coordination Mechanism on Migration (NCM) progress report 2020, and some of its work plans for 2021.
The NCM, a government-led inter-agency platform for all migration actors, seeks to address migration issues, and the mainstreaming of migration into national development plans and policy coherence.
Addressing delegates including the Vice President of The Gambia, Nagano gave a detailed synopsis of the NCM.
“The NCM was a concept pioneered in East Africa. Under the guidance of the intergovernmental Authority on development (IGAD), member states had begun establishing inter-governmental mechanisms aimed at coordinating migration policies and interventions. With effective coordination at the highest levels, stakeholders in each country were able to –little by little- reap the benefits of well-managed migration while addressing its associated challenges,” she said.
She disclosed that it was against this development the IOM spoke to the Office of the Vice President.
“[The Office of the Vice President] saw a fantastic opportunity to draw from the experiences and best practices from the other side of the continent, and in November 2019, the Gambia’s NCM was born. Since then, significant steps have been made in such a short span time,” the mission chief said.
Dr Desta Tiruneh, WHO representative and UN resident coordinator, said the NCM will provide a common vision for and to coordinate all “the great work” on migration governance by government and non-government actors alike, while also ensuring efforts to complement each other.
“This is incredibly important, as a piecemeal approach to migration governance will not allow us to maximise the benefits of safe and orderly migration,” he submitted.
The vice president of The Gambia, Dr Isatou Touray, reported that the NCM has initiated The Gambia’s Voluntary National Review Process in meeting the 23 objectives of the Global Compact for Migration.
“We are among 12 of 22 West and Central African countries to do so,” the VP revealed in a keynote speech.
She said: “In taking stock of our progress through two national consultations, we had the opportunity to gather as a group and reflect on our key achievements and challenges thus far, looking into the coming years of prioritising among and implementing the NCM in The Gambia’s unique context.”
