“Honouring the contributions of migrants and respecting their rights”
On this International Migrants‘ Day, celebrated each year in memory of the adoption of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (1990), the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission) joins the international community in commemorating this event and recalling that migration has always been and will continue to be part of human history, that it is a consecration of the right to freedom of movement and circulation, a key driver of economic resilience and prosperity.
Despite dehumanising and damaging stories, misinformation and hate speech about migrants, provoking racism, xenophobia, discrimination, exclusion and violence, and their exploitation for political or other ends, migrants continue to play a positive role through their contributions to inclusive growth and sustainable development, enriching societies with their human, socio-economic and cultural capacities.
For many States, migration is essential, particularly for those undergoing demographic changes resulting in an ageing and shrinking population and suffering from labour market shortages.
The Commission, while reaffirming the sovereign right of States to define their national migration policies, takes this opportunity to stress the need to protect all the human rights of all migrants, as guaranteed by the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and other international and regional instruments, irrespective of their migration status, in all situations and at all stages of migration, in order to promote inclusion as underlined in Resolution 565 (2023) of the African Commission.[1]
Again this year, the figures are steadily increasing, and the data on migration and human mobility in Africa - although not systematic - highlight that migration mainly takes place within the African continent rather than across its borders, and that the drivers of migration remain economic inequality, conflict, political instability and the impacts of climate change.
Moreover, as a result of the ‘securitisation’ of migration, mainly for reasons of public order and national security, more would-be migrants are choosing irregular routes, taking dangerous migration routes, some of the deadliest in the world, and often resorting to traffickers, putting their lives at risk and exposing themselves to numerous violations of their fundamental rights, including sometimes through the excessive use of force by state agents.
The Commission is very concerned by the high and growing number of migrants who have died or disappeared during their migratory journeys, and wishes, in the spirit of its Resolution 486 (2021)[2], to remind African States of their obligations to act to prevent them from losing their lives, in particular by facilitating and strengthening search and rescue operations in dangerous border regions through the establishment and improvement of safe, orderly and regular migration channels based on respect for human rights, and by prohibiting refoulements and collective expulsions.
On this special day, the Commission would also like to draw attention to the fact that many migrants on our continent are vulnerable people, women and girls, unaccompanied or separated children, people with disabilities and the elderly, exposed to particular risks, such as trafficking in human beings, child and forced labour, sexual exploitation and gender-based violence. States must therefore step up measures to provide them with optimum protection in line with their vulnerable situation.
Once again, the Commission takes this opportunity, based on the relevant international and regional instruments, but also on its case law, to point out that national laws, policies and practices which penalise people in need of international protection because of their unauthorised or irregular entry and presence and which restrict their freedom of movement may constitute a violation of these instruments.
In this context, the Commission is deeply concerned by the increasing number of cases of detention, including of children, for migration reasons, with repercussions on the health and physical and mental well-being of migrants, and recalls that detention for migration reasons must be an exceptional practice, a last resort, legal and necessary, and must be replaced, whenever possible, by alternatives to detention that are more humane and more respectful of the dignity of migrants.
Finally, in line with the Revised Migration Policy Framework for Africa and Plan of Action of the African Union (2018-2030), the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (2018) and the #StandUp4Migrants Campaign, the Commission wishes to remind African States of their various commitments towards migrants, These commitments derive from universal and regional texts, in particular the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, which guarantees every individual the right to enjoy his or her dignity, reflecting African values, for which the human being is sacred.
This commemoration is also a special opportunity for the Special Rapporteur to reiterate to African States, the African Union, the Regional Economic Communities and other stakeholders, including the private sector, her invitation to implement, in the spirit of African solidarity, the ‘African Guiding Principles on the Human Rights of All Migrants, Refugees and Asylum Seekers’, adopted in 2023 by the African Commission.
Commissioner Selma SASSI-SAFER
Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Internally Displaced Persons and Migrants in Africa
[1] ACHPR/RES.565 (LXXVI) 2023 on the inclusion of refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons and stateless persons in national socio-economic systems, services and economic opportunities and Africa.
[2] ACHPR/RES. 486 (EXT.OS/ XXXI1I) 2021 On missing migrants and refugees in Africa and the consequences for their families.
