Launch remarks · 2 May 2023
Your Excellency, Yoweri Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda, Excellency Ministers, Distinguished Guests,
I am glad to join you and the International Organisation for Migration in the launch of this highly informative report, ‘The State of Migration in East and the Horn of Africa’.
This report is the fruit of successful collaboration between the IOM, the East African Community and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development. I am delighted to confirm that they have produced a highly useful document that will certainly go a long way in enhancing our understanding of the complex and dynamic nature of migration in our region.
It is a comprehensive overview and astute analysis of the migration trends and patterns. It is a timely addition to the common knowledge base of policy makers and practitioners in their quest for evidence-based insights to define the formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of public policy in connection with human mobility and migration.
A distinctive accomplishment of this report is the way in which it has successfully built the connection between human mobility and our most important domestic and regional aspirations, thereby ensuring that various dimensions of migration as a phenomenon are not addressed in isolation from other policy priorities.
I therefore commend the entire team which worked on the production of the report for highlighting the nexus between human mobility and economic development and the positive role that migration plays in regional integration.
Throughout human history, people have always moved near and far in search of opportunities to improve their livelihoods through trade and employment. This has enabled societies to exchange goods as well as labour and skills. Additionally, the existence of the diaspora has made tremendous contributions in increasing the confidence and deepening bonds between communities and nations.
This happens even today. Our region’s momentum towards a common market and our progress towards a federation has been powered by the confidence, solidarity and fraternity that has deepened among the citizens of our countries because of living and working in close proximity among each other.
The ability of people to move across borders makes it possible to trade in goods and services, facilitating wealth creation and socioeconomic development. To the extent, therefore, that we are committed to socioeconomic transformation and regional integration; we are equally irreversibly invested in human mobility.
The development of our regional economic communities, like the EAC and IGAD has highlighted the importance of human mobility and consequently given greater traction and higher importance to the need to ease the movement of people, unlock trade barriers and address persistent challenges to integration.
The management of migration also matters because it provides us with the opportunity to take care of the needs of migrants and integrate gender inclusion in order to promote equality and empower women.
As a nation, Kenya welcomes these hugely significant developments in the right direction because we have a proud history of supporting human mobility to the extent of welcoming refugees to our land. As a consequence, we presently host over half a million refugees and asylum seekers. We are in constant partnership with local and international organisations, including the UNHCR, International Refugee Council, Danish Refugee Council and World Food Programme to provide refugees with the essential services of shelter, food, healthcare and education.
Through the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework, the government seeks to promote self-reliance within both the refugee population and the host communities.
We take pride in our commitment to the protection and assistance of refugees, as well as the progress we have made in promoting this agenda. More critically, we appreciate with gratitude the partnership of organisations like the UNHCR, IRC, DRC and WFP, whose support has been consistent and invaluable.
As long as refugees are on our land, we are committed to ensuring that they are treated with dignity, provided with necessary support, considered and even involved in national development plans in order to facilitate their successful integration.
Kenya is also a signatory to the Global Compact for Safe Orderly and Regular Migration, which commits us to involve all relevant stakeholders at the national, county and community levels in ensuring the implementation of obligations to facilitate human mobility.
The IOM’s outreach programme on migration is a welcome effort to prioritise the mainstreaming of migrant interests and human mobility considerations into national and county development agendas. Thorough stakeholder engagement is vital for promoting greater understanding to facilitate such mainstreaming.
I therefore commend the IOM for the outreach effort and encourage it to extend to cover technical assistance and capacity building in order to appropriately empower stakeholders.
I am delighted to see that the report also covers, in very helpful detail, the existential threat of our time - climate change - which is a pressing matter of human safety and security. Climate change causes extreme climate phenomena and erratic weather, which occasion drought and famine on one end, and flooding and water borne epidemics on the other. These catastrophic events are direct and indirect drivers of forced human mobility with potential to set off or escalate conflict.
We have designated a dedicated state department to deal exclusively with environment and climate change and its foremost priority is to support the government in formulating policies and implementing strategies to address the adverse impacts of climate change, which frequently leads to forced migration and displacement, and the ‘climate refugees’ phenomenon.
As the report rightly indicates, climate change cannot be tackled by one country alone and therefore regional approach is necessary.
I must take this opportunity to congratulate my brother, the president of Uganda His Excellency, Yoweri Museveni for pioneering the landmark, ‘Kampala Ministerial Declaration on Migration, Environment and Climate Change”, which was signed by 15 States including Kenya in July last year. It is my pleasure to reaffirm the Government of Kenya’s full support to the Declaration.
Further, I am pleased to mention that Kenya is preparing to host the first Africa Climate Action Summit in September 2023. This is expected to help Africa solidify its common continental position ahead of the UN Secretary General’s Climate Ambition Summit and COP-28, and to secure concrete action towards a Just Transition to an African era of clean, green industrialisation.
I thank IOM for being one of the front-runners in supporting our common effort in building a sustainable future for all and for ensuring that the mobility dimensions are well integrated in our efforts to tackle climate change.
Once again, I commend the authors, contributors, editorial and production teams for the thorough work that has made this fine publication, “The State of Migration in East and Horn of Africa Report possible.
I invite relevant policymakers in the region to use the report’s analysis and policy suggestions to enhance economic development and advance regional integration through their human mobility dimensions.
I now declare the Report on “The State of Migration in East and Horn of Africa” officially launched.