South Africa has renewed calls for the African Union (AU) to implement its 2015 resolution to convene a continent-wide Conference on migration, saying the issue requires a collective African response rather than focusing on individual countries.
Speaking in Pretoria on Wednesday, International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola said migration discussions should address the root causes of irregular migration, including climate change, economic conditions, peace and security, democratic governance and regional integration.
His comments came after the 49th Ordinary Session of the AU Executive Council decided not to include migration on the agenda of the upcoming AU mid-year review meeting.
Lamola said the proposed conference should promote mobility and development across Africa while strengthening the continent’s capacity to manage migration flows. He also called for discussions on tackling anti-migrant sentiment, xenophobia, discrimination and violence.
He stressed that migration is a continent-wide challenge, noting that South Africa, Egypt and Côte d’Ivoire are among the main destinations for intra-African migrants, and said the AU should revive the 2015 resolution instead of treating migration as an issue unique to South Africa.
Lamola added that South Africa would continue cooperating with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights during its planned visit to discuss migration-related issues.