The UN General Assembly designated the International Migrants Day to be observed on December 18, every year.  Marking the day, the IOM mission in Ethiopia has organized an official event at the Hilton Hotel in Addis Ababa.   The objective of the event was to recognize the contributions made by millions of migrants to the economies of both the host and home countries, while respecting their rights in accordance with international law. It was also the aim of the event to shade light on some of the misconceptions about migration.

After reading the statements of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and IOM Director General William Lacy Swing regarding the Day, a presentation on Global Migration Trends was made to invited guests by Ms Yuko Tomita, IOM Project Development and Donor Liaison Officer. The presentation highlighted the causes of migration, the misconceptions, some of the legal and policy frameworks governing migration and the recent global trends with a focus being given to Africa. 

In Africa, migration is mainly intra-regional.  Rural urban migration is also another trend in the continent and the cycle of migration due to cross-border economic activity and pastoralist traditions is vivid. The continent is also home to more than 40 % of the world’s conflict- induced displaced people.  When it comes to the Horn of Africa, the region is recognized by mixed migration flows. The joint movement of both asylum seekers and irregular/economic migrants – is becoming more and more frequent as migrants and refugees use the same routes and the same smuggling services.  

After the presentation, the session was open for discussion and reflection.   It was highlighted that IOM should continue to promulgate important migration issues in different fora and support individual governments as well as the African Union so that the existing challenges of migration in the continent can be addressed.  Coordination among the different actors is also another important issue raised during the discussion. Meanwhile, the issue of human rights needs to remain at the center of migration discourse and those instruments that govern the migrants’ rights must be accepted and implemented across nations.

In his closing remarks, IOM Ethiopia Chief of Mission and Representative to AU/ECA/IGAD, Mr. Josiah Ogina stressed that it is important to recognize the contributions of migrants’ world wide and better harness the benefits of migration while tackling the exiting challenges.

The marking of the International Migrants Day 2012 inAddis Ababawas attended by Government Officials, Ambassadors, members of the African Union Commission, UN Heads of Agencies, the media, and other invited guests.