Stakeholders from around 12 African governments, civil society costumes, and international development organizations have recently explored how legal identities can be placed at the heart of effective and inclusive migration governance on the continent.
These reflections marked a five-day workshop in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, hosted by the Economic Committee of Africa (ECA). The event was accompanied by the cooperation of the African Union Commission (AUC), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the Intergovernmental Agency on the Development of Regional Organizations Grouping Territories in the Horn of Africa (IGAD).
Stakeholders gathered to explore viable strategies to improve legal identity and migration data systems.
AU/IOM immigration ambassador Walter Kasempa was one of the speakers at the workshop, highlighting the importance of legal identities in the comprehensive management of immigrant groups, and the importance of minorities living in border communities and other vulnerable groups in Africa.
Kasempa emphasized that if African governments must implement a comprehensive immigration management system, legal identity is undoubtedly the path to reach that goal. He added that migration should not be seen as a trouble, but rather as a blessing, as many migrants in Africa are at the forefront of innovation that utilizes technology, advocacy and entrepreneurship to create new pathways for social and economic inclusion.
Despite the reasons for migration, Kasenpa believes that immigration must be included as a policy issue in the formal system of host countries and communities.
Another speaker, Christian Alljazz, chief of the ECA's Social Policy Section, advised that immigration policies intended to be transformative and inclusive must have youth as part of it.
“Legal identity must be recognized as a governance tool for poverty reduction and as the key to accessing rights, services and protections that everyone is entitled to, regardless of public goods, migration situations,” he argued.
The debate also said an effective legal identity system could be a great opportunity to harness migration within Africa in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AFCFTA), which highlights 1.3 billion citizens of the continent as one of the driving forces of economic growth.
Gideon Rutaremwa, director of the ECA's demographic and social statistics section, and Peter Mundangwe, an expert on AUC immigration governance, also shared their thoughts on the issues reported by the ENA. They highlighted the need to properly document immigrants who have been blocked from several key services in the domains, including education, employment, healthcare, and justice, without legal IDs.
“We can't talk about regional integration, free movement or inclusive growth, but half a billion Africans remain undocumented. Getting this right is the foundation of everything else.”
Experts believe that all the right domestic ID systems are locked into effective birth registrations where Africa still has a lot to do.
At the Harare workshop, the Digital Identity Toolkit was launched by IOM, serving as a guide and practical resource for the implementation of a comprehensive National Digital Identity Program.
Article Topics
African Union | Digital Identity | Immigration | International Organization for Immigration (IOM) | IOM Digital ID Toolkit | Legal Identity | Uneca | Union
