Mozambique - Delegates from the Labour Ministries of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe are meeting in Maputo today to launch an IOM Development Fund (IDF)-backed project: “Developing a Roadmap to Facilitate South-South Labour Mobility.”

The two-day meeting, which began yesterday, aims to familiarize the Labour Ministries of South African Development Community (SADC) member states with the IDF-backed labour migration initiatives of others and their national context.    

It will also offer them models for the management of circular migration, prioritising gender, human rights, and social protection considerations; and create a roadmap to enhance labour migration practices in the region, according to IOM Mozambique project manager Jason Theede.

Participants are expected to discuss challenges, including a lack of effective data collection, analysis, reporting and exchange systems; a lack of inter-institutional coordination mechanisms and inter-state / cross-border cooperation; and limited capacity to develop and implement labour migration programmes tailored to each country’s specific national context.

This regional project and the complementary national projects form part of a broader effort within the Southern Africa region to help SADC Member States to manage labour migration in a comprehensive manner. It will lead to the development of important frameworks and tools for the region, including a labour exporting framework, intra-SADC model for a pilot circular migration programme, and a regional roadmap that will serve to elaborate on the current SADC Labour Migration Action Plan (2013-15), thereby helping to map the way forward.

The project is funded by IOM’s IDF. The IDF was established through an IOM Council Resolution in November 2000. It serves as a unique global resource for eligible IOM member states to develop capacities in migration management by providing seed funding. Over 480 IDF projects are currently implemented in over 112 countries worldwide with a budget of USD 8.5 million.

For further information please contact Katherina Schnoering at IOM Mozambique. Email: kschnoering@iom.int - Tel. +00258 863 511 806