The participants in a photo after the opening session
The Regional Director of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for Southern Africa, Charles Allan Kwenin, has condemned recent attacks on migrants.
According to him, migration cannot be stopped, hence the need for authorities to move from tagging migration as a problem to seeing it as a situation that needs proper management to foster mutual benefit.
“In terms of what is happening in some parts of the world, the xenophobic attacks in some African countries are quite unfortunate and I think it needs to be condemned,” he said.
I am glad that some of the governments have condemned it, but I think it’s important that we educate our government, our people, civil society and everyone to understand that we cannot stop human beings from moving,” the IOM Director added.
He said migration has a lot of benefits including the development of a country which many countries in the West can attest to, adding that creating conditions to facilitate fair and ethical recruitment of migrants to ensure conducive working conditions to protect their rights must therefore be addressed.
Mr. Kwenin was speaking at a day’s seminar in Accra themed, ‘Technical Cooperation on Labour Mobility; diaspora engagement and ethical recruitment through responsible labour supply chain management.
Organized by International Migration Policy Recruitment and Advisory Centre (IMPRAC), the seminar assembled migration experts from Ghana and Mauritius to develop standards to ensure that migrants and potential migrants travel in a safe, dignified, humane and regular manner.
Chancellor for the University of Ghana, Dr Mary Chinery-Hesse, in her keynote address, emphasized the urgency needed for countries to put in place effective and efficient structures in order to get such benefits that come from migration.
“For instance, it is necessary to formalize agreements, put in place stringent measures so that people who go outside the country would not be exploited but given comfortable situations,” she said.
Member of Board of Directors, IMPRAC, Joyce Opoku-Boateng, said technological advancement was facilitating the migration of people in pursuit of their dream.
She said the most illegal migrants including the youth, women and unaccompanied children are often abused while others ended up as victims of human trafficking and stranded migrants.
“It is in light of such atrocities that the IMPRAC is taking steps to provide timely information to migrants and potential migrants to enable them to make informed decisions before during and after their migratory process,” she added.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri