NEW YORK — The United Nations migration agency said on Tuesday that it has concluded a training program aimed at assisting East African states to strengthen migration governance and migrant protection capacities.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that in cooperation from the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), it organized the two-week program that covered topics such as labor migration and border management, international migration law, and migration and development.
In a statement issued in Nairobi, the IOM said the training aimed to enhance migration governance and migrant protection in the IGAD region, which comprises Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
“The training provided us with an opportunity to learn about current developments in the IGAD region, and I believe that we gained very relevant knowledge especially now that IGAD member states are in the process of developing national policies on migration and border management,” said Mary Mideva Kezzah, from Kenya’s Ministry of the East Africa Community, Labor and Social Protection.
Thirty-four attendees were selected from institutions belonging to the National Coordination Mechanisms. They include interior, foreign affairs, and labor ministry officials, lawmakers, and officers of immigration and police services from IGAD member states.
The first draft of the document will be launched at the next training for IGAD participants from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3 in Tanzania.
IOM Tanzania Chief of Mission Qasim Sufi the ACBC has been upgraded to host a forensic laboratory and the Migration Information and Data Analysis System training facility.
“The ACBC is eager to provide technical support to you in English, French, Arabic, Portuguese and Kiswahili,” he added.
