Nairobi - Government Ministers from 6 countries forming the East African Community (EAC)- the Republic of Burundi, the Republic of Kenya, the Republic of Rwanda, the Republic of South Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania, and the Republic of Uganda, senior representatives from the EAC Secretariat and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and other UN agencies are meeting in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital to establish a Regional Consultative Process on Migration (RCP) for the EAC region. 

The 3-day Regional Consultative Process meeting will enable EAC Partner States to have an informal, discrete, non-binding dialogue on migration issues and governance in the region for the first time. The objective of the RCP is to help states move away from a securitized approach to migration and broaden understanding of migration, appreciating that migrants and increased mobility in East Africa can contribute to national development, by reducing poverty and lowering the unemployment rate among the youth, and other benefits. 

There are an estimated 195 million people, including nearly 5 million international migrants, over 2.8 million refugees and asylum seekers, and nearly 2.4 million IDPs in the region, with all countries being nations of origin, destination and transit for migrants, the displaced, and other groups on the move.  

With an increase in the number of labour migrants from the region to destinations like the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), increased climate induced forced displacement and migration, conflict driven migration, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mobility, an RCP on migration for the region is timely. The hope is that the RCP dialogue process can respond to migration challenges in the region and maximize the development opportunities migration can bring.

The EAC region would not be the first Regional Economic Community in Africa to enhance its approach to migration governance through an RCP. The Migration Dialogue for West Africa (MIDWA), the Migration Dialogue for Southern Africa (MIDSA), the Migration Dialogue for the Intergovernmental Authority on Development Region (IGAD-RCP), the Migration Dialogue from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa Member States (MIDCOM) and others are operational.

It is hoped that the establishment of a RCP for the EAC region will lead to policy makers addressing migration in a wholistic manner, creating intergovernmental networks to consult on migration governance to promote migration and development. 

That it will lead to the enhancement and the protection of migrants' rights, improved labor migration, migration and health, migration, and security (counter smuggling, human trafficking and other cross-border crimes); and migration and environment, and finally supporting the 2016 New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants and the Global Compact for Migration.

A Ministerial meeting on the final day of the 3-day meeting will see the adoption and launch of the RCP on Migration by Partner States. Ministers from the six countries of the EAC, senior representatives from the EAC Secretariat and IOM are all expected to sign. 

Speaking ahead of the meeting, the EAC Secretary General, Hon Dr Peter Mathuki, said “The RCP will present a significant opportunity to improve the governance on migration, to address challenges associated with contemporary migration, and to strengthen the contribution of migrants and migration to sustainable development in the region.” 

“The RCPs are the results of the recognition by states for the need to continuously dialogue and cooperate on migration issues at the state and regional levels. Through the EAC-RCP, states will address migration in a holistic approach and build effective consultation networks on migration governance and policy frameworks that promote migration and development,” said Mohammed Abdiker, IOM Regional Director for the East and Horn of Africa. 

The gathering to establish and operationalize the EAC-RCP has been organized by the EAC Secretariat and IOM. 

For more information, please contact: Yvonne Ndege, Regional Communications and Spokesperson East and Horn of Africa on yndege@iom.int / Phone:  +254797735977.