Stakeholders from various West African countries and regional blocs are participating in a two-week training programme on migration management at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra.
Migration has been a positive activity. Migrants have contributed significantly to the development of societies. However, the continuous flow of migrants in an irregular fashion, their vulnerability to exploitation, and the association of irregular migration with smuggling and trafficking networks are persistent issues of concern.
In view of this, the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration has partnered with the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) to develop the Migration Management Course as a platform for migration practitioners to discuss migration, its challenges, and the way forward in developing action plans and policies to manage the migration process effectively.
Participants are drawn from the migration units of the Interior Ministries, Foreign Affairs, the Immigration Service, gender protection units, and civil society organisations, among others from Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Cameron, Liberia, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The programme, which was launched at the centre, is the second fully fledged academic activity on migration in the West Africa region. Among the topics to be discussed are international cooperation on migration, regional policymaking, migration and gender, migration and development, and human rights legal framework of people on the move. It was developed with support from the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM).
The deputy commandant of KAIPTC, Air Commodore David Anetey Akrong, said that with the world getting increasingly interconnected, the challenge of managing migration had grown dramatically as more people were compelled to move out of their homes by diverse economic, political, social, and environmental factors.
He said such challenges had raised concerns of stemming irregular migration, facilitating regular movements, strengthening migration and development links, and ensuring state security while protecting the human rights of migrants.
In line with that, Air Commodore David Anetey Akrong said the course had been developed to equip participants with the knowledge, tools, and skills to contribute to and improve migration policies and management in Africa, especially West and Central Africa.
The Swiss Ambassador to Ghana, Simone Giger, said migration could not be tackled in isolation by a country and, therefore, called for a cross-country approach based on partnerships and cooperation.
“Switzerland is committed to supporting this course in the future and hopes it will constitute a real added value for each participating country and the region.
The course director, Auguster Ahorsey further said, would offer opportunities to practitioners to learn and critically examine issues at hand and the way forward on how to effectively manage migration, adding that “this way, we can all work together to maximise the development impact for all concerned”.
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