Migration Dialogue for Southern Africa (MIDSA)

Migration Dialogue for Southern Africa (MIDSA)

           

Type:  Regional Consultative Proces on Migration (region covered: Africa)

Association with regional or multi-stakeholder organization: Southern African Development Community (SADC)

Established: 2000

Objectives
The Migration Dialogue for Southern Africa (MIDSA) creates a framework for a regular migration dialogue among the Member States of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), to enhance inter-state cooperation in an effort to improve migration governance through:

  • Discussion of migration issues among SADC Member States in an informal seeting, sharing experience and challenges, and finding solutions collectively, to improve migration management in the SADC region.
  • Promotion of the positive aspects of migration among SADC Member States; and
  • Development of regional institutional capacities to improve migration governance while strengthening the capacity of Governments to meet their migration challenges in a comprehensive, interactive, self-reliant and, ultimately, sustainable way.
Current Thematic Focus
Specific areas of focus include:
  • Border management
  • Combatting human trafficking
  • Combatting migrant smuggling
  • Irregular migration
  • Plow migration
  • Migrant health
  • Migrants' rights
  • Migration and development
  • Return and readmission
  • Migration governance
  • Unaccompanied migrant children / separated children
Members
Member States  (16 States)
 
Angola
Botswana
Comoros
Eswatini
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Lesotho
Madagascar
Malawi
Mauritius
Mozambique
Namibia
Seychelles
South Africa
Tanzania
Zambia
Zimbabwe

Note: Founding Members: Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Chairing Country :
Current Chair: Tanzania
Past Chair: South Africa, Namibia, Eswatini

Observers
Observer States (9 States)

Australia
Canada
Denmark
Netherlands, The
Norway
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States of America

Observer Organizations (6 Organizations referred by MIDSA as "partner organizations")

  • African Union Commission 
  • International Labor Organization (ILO)
  • Save the Children International
  • United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
  • United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
  • United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Secretariat
IOM provides technical and administrative support to the MIDSA.

Contact information
Mr Wonesai Sithole 
Regional Policy and Liaison Officer
International Organization for Migration Mission in South Africa
 
Website
Https://ropretoria.iom.int/regional-cooperation
 
Meetings
June 25-28, 2019 Windhoek, Namibia, Senior Officials' and Ministerial Meetings, “Regional Migration Governance and Sustainable Development: Priorities for the Southern Africa Region”
September 11 - 13, 2018, Pretoria, South Africa, Senior Officials 'Meeting “Enhancing Migration Governance in the Southern Africa Region: Harnessing the Youth Dividend for Sustainable Development and Regional Integration” June 27-28, 2018, South Africa, Senior Officials' Meeting
September 2-4, 2017, Ezulwini, Eswatini, Ministerial Meeting "Addressing Mixed Migration in Southern Africa: Linking Protection, Immigration, Border Management and Labor Migration".
August 16-18, 2016, Gaborone, Botswana, Technical Meeting: Addressing Mixed Migration in Southern Africa: Linking Protection, Immigration, Border Management and Labor Migration ".
July 7-9, 2015, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, Ministerial Meeting under the theme, “Addressing Mixed and Irregular Migration in the SADC region: Protection of the Unaccompanied Migrant Child”. FInal Declaration ( EN | FR | PR ).
August 27-29, 2012 - Balaclava, Mauritius, Technical Meeting to bring together Southern African Development Community (SADC) Permanent Secretaries responsible for issues of migration and their counterparts responsible for labor mobility. 
 
Main Documents
2015 Ministerial Declaration, Victoria Falls ( EN | FR | PR )
 
MIDSA Workshop Reports:
 
MIDSA Workshop Report and Recommendations: