Legal identity is pivotal to inclusive migration governance in Africa: ECA

Stakeholders from about a dozen African governments, civil society outfits and international development organizations recently explored ways through which legal identity can be put at the heart of effective and inclusive migration governance on the continent.

These reflections marked a five-day workshop in the Zimbabwean capital Harare, organized by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). The event had the collaboration of the African Union Commission (AUC), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a sub-regional organization grouping countries of the Horn of Africa.

The stakeholders gathered to examine workable strategies for improving legal identity and migration data systems.

Walter Kasempa, an AU/IOM Migration Ambassador, was one of the speakers at the workshop who underscored the importance of legal identity in the inclusive management of migrant populations as well as other vulnerable groups in Africa such as minorities and people living in border communities.

Kasempa emphasized that if African governments must put in place inclusive migrant management systems, legal identity is definitely the road to reaching that goal. He added that migration should not be seen as a bane but rather a blessing because many migrants in Africa are young people who are at the “forefront of innovation leveraging technology, advocacy, and entrepreneurship to create new pathways for social and economic inclusion.”

The reasons for their mobility notwithstanding, Kasempa believes migrants must, as a matter of policy, be included into formal systems in their host countries and communities, so as to enable them enjoy the array of human rights they are eligible for.

Another speaker, Christian Oldiges who’s chief of the Social Policy Section at ECA, advised that any migration policy that intends to be transformative and inclusive must have the youth as a part of it.

“Legal identity must be recognized as a governance tool for poverty reduction as well as a public good, key to accessing rights, services and protections that every person is entitled to, regardless of their migration status,” he asserted.

Discussants also noted that effective legal ID systems can be a great opportunity to leverage migration within Africa in the context of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA) which highlights inter-African mobility among the continent’s 1.3 billion citizens as one of the drivers of economic growth.

Gideon Rutaremwa, a representative of the head of ECA’s Demographic and Social Statistics Section, and Peter Mundangwe, an AUC Migration Governance expert, also shared their thoughts on the issue as reported by ENA. They stressed the need for properly documenting migrants who, without legal ID, are locked out of several vital services in domains such as education, employment, healthcare, and justice.

“We cannot talk about regional integration, free movement or inclusive growth while half a billion Africans remain undocumented. Getting this right is a foundation for everything else,” Rutaremwa is quoted as saying.

Experts hold that every proper national ID system is anchored on effective birth registration where Africa still has a lot of catch-up to do.

During the Harare workshop, a Digital Identity Toolkit was launched by the IOM to serve as a guide and practical resource for the implementation of inclusive national digital ID programs.

Article Topics

Africa  |  African Union  |  digital identity  |  immigration  |  International Organization for Migration (IOM)  |  IOM Digital Identity Toolkit  |  legal identity  |  UNECA  |  union