Views on migration in Sub-Saharan Africa: proceedings of an African migration alliance workshop

Abstract

Migration by the poor is a scorching issue in the world today, both inside their own countries and on the international scene, the world's poor are voting with their feet to escape poverty and make their bid for new lives in new places. Public anxiety is reaching fever pitch in the developed world, xenophobia is spreading, and governments everywhere are struggling to mobilize policies that will enable them to respond humanely and effectively to a rising human tide. How does Africa stand on migration?

As the world's poorest continent, Africa is seeing an increasing number of its citizens migrate from its rural sector to its cities and to new overseas destinations. In spite of new policy thinking from the African Union, African countries have not yet fully prioritised the migration issue in their public policy or through their shared institutions.

Identifying this gap, the African Migration Alliance (a new network of policy researchers for the continent) has held an international workshop to ask the question: What are Africa's policy concerns on migration? In intriguing new research papers the leading migration scholars of the continent give their views on new destinations, free movement of peoples, xenophobia, human trafficking and other migration issues, as they outline public priorities and work toward guidelines for future African migration policies.