Joint AU-IOM Continental Declaration and Call to Action on Youth and Migration

In August 2023, IOM's Special Liaison Office to the AU and UNECA, in partnership with the Office of the African Union Youth Envoy and the African Union Commission's Women, Gender and Youth Directorate, hosted a Continental Migration and Youth Consultation in Kigali, Rwanda based on shared visions for the development and empowerment of young people in Africa as well as respective mandates to contribute to the actualization of Agenda 2063. Three days of discussions, reflections, and critical analysis of Africa's most pressing migration issues by youth stakeholders and advocates resulted in the development of a Joint AU-IOM Continental Declaration and Call to Action on Youth and Migration. 

IOM works to harness the critical role of youth in decision-making fitting within broader frameworks of young people’s development on the continent, such as The African Youth Charter and the 1 million Next Level initiative and the African Union’s Women and Youth Financial and Economic Inclusion (WYFEI) 2030 Initiative. 

These frameworks have a high multiplier flagship to achieve its value proposition of reaching 300 million young people with opportunities in education, entrepreneurship, engagement, employment and health and wellbeing (4Es+H). As stipulated in the AU Migration Policy Framework for Africa (AU MPFA), migration is a key driver for economic and social development, a phenomenon that could further promote aspirations towards inclusive growth. Young people's participation in the connections between the flow of people, goods, services, and skills is essential to progress in this area.

The African Union has made great strides in the last ten years in putting into place the key frameworks necessary for the development of youth organizations. Some of these include the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which is now the largest trade bloc in the world and promises to open new pathways for trade as well as the exchange of products and services, and the Free Movement of Persons' Protocol (FMP). The FMP, on the other hand, has as its continental goal the freedom of movement and the secure, orderly, and humane movement of people, commodities, and services. Both frameworks support the pan-African dream for integration and harmonization and facilitate trade, labour opportunities, infrastructural development and cohesive laws that advance human rights on the continent. 

Furthermore, emerging, cross-cutting, issues such as climate mobility, public health, and diaspora engagement and investment have been noted to have influence on the migration contexts of youth across the continent making it essential to frame contextual actions for youth in line with these challenges and how they could impact the migration trends and protection of young migrants.

The US Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM), through the Africa Regional Migration Program (ARMP), and the Government of Sweden, through the AU-IOM Continental Free Movement of Persons Programme (FMP), generously offered their assistance to make this effort feasible.

  • Read more about the event here