Senior Government officials from SADC member states have concluded a three-day regional technical Migration Dialogue for Southern Africa (MIDSA) Conference at the Bingu International Conference Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe, Malawi, on 2 July 2014. The conference was aimed at taking stock of actions undertaken at national and regional level to address mixed and irregular migration, reflect current trends in the region and share best practices among member states and other regional partners.

The government of the Republic of Malawi hosted the conference with support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Secretariat, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Members of the diplomatic corps, cooperating partners and other regional and International Organizations also attended the meeting.

The meeting was officially opened by the Minister of Home Affairs from the Government of the Republic of Malawi, Honorable Paul Chibingu, MP.

In his opening remarks, the Minister called upon member states to reflect on the Dar es Salaam Action Plan and take stock of achievements made and gaps in the implementation of the plan. This will enable member states to come up practical interventions to ensure effective and efficient migration management in the region.

Member states reflected on the progress made in the last four years on the implementation of the 2010 Dar es Salaam Action Plan on mixed and irregular migration and related MIDSA recommendations. The action plan contained six key priority areas detailing concrete activities that member states had pledged to pursue.

While notable progress has been made on all six-priority areas, such as the adoption of trafficking legislation in almost all the countries in the region and the adoption of international and regional instruments governing migration related issues; member states recognize more can be done to ensure a better protective environment for refuges, asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants in mixed flows.

Coordinated regional interventions and cooperation in the management of mixed migration are essential parts of a sustainable response to the challenges of mixed and irregular migration in the SADC region. Delegates reached a consensus that a regional action plan to address mixed and irregular migration should be developed in the SADC region.

Member states agreed on a roadmap that will lead to regional coordination and harmonization of approaches on mixed and irregular migration in Southern Africa. The roadmap will outline a series of activities and milestones to guide the successful adoption of the proposed draft Regional Action Plan into an official SADC framework on mixed and irregular migration to ensure ownership and accountability by member states.

Having reflected on previous efforts in the region to address mixed and irregular migration, in particular the Dar es Salaam plan of action, member states agreed that, the plan remains relevant and feasible. Member states underlined the need for concrete set of activities, as well as a clearly defined process for successful implementation of the action plan. Delegates stressed that the SADC Secretariat has a pivotal role to play in facilitating and coordinating the roadmap for the successful implementation of the proposed Plan of Action.

Delegates also affirmed their commitment to the sustainability of the MIDSA forum with the SADC Secretariat taking a leading role towards ensuring synergy with existing official SADC processes.

“IOM and its partners are committed to support Member states in their efforts to develop and implement a formal SADC Regional Action Plan on Mixed and Irregular Migration, and will work closely with the SADC Secretariat to this end ”says Charles Kwenin, IOM Regional Advisor for Africa to the Director General.

The MIDSA conference is supported by the US State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees Migration (PRM) and the Government of the Republic of South Africa.