The Regional Committee on Mixed Migration for the Horn of Africa and Yemen held it’s first meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from the 13- 14 December 2011 at the United Nations conference center. The meeting addressed mixed migration concerns in the Horn of Africa and Yemen, in relation to rescue at sea, smuggling and trafficking of migrants and the role of migration response centers.

The formation of the Regional Committee on Mixed Migration is a direct follow up to the recommendations made during the 2010 Regional Consultations held in Djibouti. The two day meeting enabled the regional Committee to meet for the first time with the intended outcome of improved collaboration between Governments in the Horn of Africa and Yemen as well with international partners to effectively manage migration and improve migrants’ conditions.

Opening the session Ethiopian Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Abdulfetah Abdulahi stated that lack of democracy, unemployment and inadequate payment are some of the main factors for migration in the Horn of Africa. The head of mission and representative to AU/ECA/IGAD Mr. Josiah Ogina on his part said that regional cooperation is very critical to address the challenges of irregular migration and urge participants to come up with recommendations that will benefit all states.

The purpose of the Regional Committee meeting is to improve collaboration between Governments in the Horn of Africa and Yemen as well with international partners to effectively manage migration and improve migrants’ conditions. The committee is made up of representatives from the Governments of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Puntland, Somaliland and Yemen. Hence, participants from each country presented to the plenary on the different activities that their respective government is doing.
 
The meeting also come up with recommendations on support among governments in the sub-region on the issues of rescue at sea, coast guard capacity building and material assistance, awareness raising and assistance for victims, national action plans and cross border data. Moreover, it is recommended that livelihood creation and awareness raising are priorities while creation of more Migration Response Centers in a number of locations, with an emphasis on medical services, family unification, voluntary return and women and children is important.

The Horn of Africa has unique migration challenges. Thousands of irregular migrants perish every year as they attempt to cross borders through dangerous means to escape conflict, drought and economic difficulties. Migrants make the journey from their places of origin through Puntland and Somaliland to Djibouti and across the Gulf of Aden toYemen and the Gulf States. The regional committee acknowledges the dimension of this problem and is placing emphasis on strategic regional initiatives that would ensure a reduction and eventual stop on the loss of lives at sea.