Story by Memory Chamisa
THE Government has launched the Zimbabwe National Migration Policy which seeks to promote safe and orderly migration.
The National Migration Policy is a collaborative effort that involves key stakeholders, including the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Launching the policy in Harare this Wednesday, the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Honourable Kazembe Kazembe highlighted that the policy is set to protect women and children on migration issues.
“Conflicts around the world continue to exacerbate the asylum and refugee crisis creating challenges to various states to facilitate passage or serve as host to refugees. The increasing vulnerabilities of women and children in these global flows remain a sad and painful predicament.
“It is against this background that migration issues can no longer be relegated to policy peripheries but must constitute core socio-economic and political considerations. The National Migration Policy is set to improve, coordinate by managing migration in Zimbabwe, safeguard and respect the human rights of all migrants regardless of their status.
“The policy reflects the government’s progressive appreciation of the role of migration in national development. This National Migration Policy, therefore, gives impetus to the aforementioned policies by providing a framework through which migration matters are streamlined and managed in Zimbabwe in a coherent and coordinated manner across policies, laws and institutions.
“The Zimbabwe National Migration Policy is strongly guided by the country’s National Development Strategy 1 which envisages a Prosperous and Empowered Middle Income Society by 2030. It serves as a bold and transformative policy framework underpinning the drive towards the attainment of Vision 2030.”
International Organisation of Migration Chief of Mission Mr Mario Lito Malanca reiterated the need for African countries to commit to addressing migration challenges on the continent.
“The policy was developed through an inclusive, whole-of-government participatory process and is premised on the African Union (AU) Migration Policy Framework for Africa and the Plan of Action (MPFA) which provides comprehensive and integrated policy guidelines to AU Member States and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to take into consideration in their efforts to promote migration and development and address migration challenges on the continent.
“The Government of Zimbabwe has thus taken important steps, at policy, legal and institutional levels to address migration concerns, to integrate migration in the development context and to bring coherence to the migration-related policies by conceiving the Zimbabwe National Migration Policy. This overarching policy represents an integrated, coordinated, and holistic framework to manage migration for national development.
“The National Migration Policy will address drivers of migration through building resilience, reducing forced and irregular migration, facilitating safe, orderly, and regular migration and safeguarding and respecting the human rights of all migrants, regardless of their status.”
The National Migration Policy is set to improve, coordinate the management of migration, and safeguard and respect the human rights of all migrants, regardless of their status in Zimbabwe.
