International Migrants Day 2018 - Message from Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Abstract

The international community adopted the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, which marks an important step towards a comprehensive, integrated and long-term response to the challenges faced by migrants around the world. This year’s International Migrants Day reminds us of the importance of treating all migrants with dignity, a message that has particular resonance for my home continent. As Chair of the HighLevel Panel on International Migration in Africa, I am saddened by the continued portrayal of African migrants as desperate hordes escaping poverty and disasters and undermining the status quo in their host nations. This has no bearing on the bulk of African migration, which, similar to trends in other regions, remains a driving force for social, cultural and economic development. At the regional level, the African Union is also making progress to facilitate the free movement of migrants and refugees through the Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community Relating to Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Right of Establishment. These efforts will be further strengthened with the ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement, which will boost intra-regional trade and spur accelerated economic development and integration.