The Minister for the Interior, Ambrose Dery, has launched the National Coordinating Mechanism (NCM) aimed at revolutionizing migration management and aligning policies to enhance national development plans.
It is also designed to enable the effective implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration (GCM).
Launching the NCM at the Global GCM Champion Countries Dialogue in Accra yesterday, Mr Dery called on stakeholders to join forces in navigating the challenges posed by climate change, conflicts, and violent extremism affecting migrants globally.
He said the GCM served as a secured foundation for the effective management of both international and internal migration and also provides a reliable framework to address the challenges associated with migration on a global and domestic scale.
“In Ghana, the compact is helping us to ensure consistency across policy domains by integrating migration into our national development plans, working with relevant areas and levels of government, including civil society and the academia,” he added.
“Migration has been integrated into our national development policy framework. Further, broad consultations with stakeholders have been held to formalise a National Implementation Plan for the GCM in Ghana,” the minister reiterated.
He said despite the integration of millions of migrants and displaced individuals into national development plans, a significant number had been marginalised.
This situation, he said was intensified by the combined challenges of climate change, conflicts, and violent extremism. Notably, climatic and environmental factors are becoming primary drivers of rural-urban migration, exacerbating food insecurity, and destabilising already vulnerable communities.
He said despite being directly affected by these challenges, migrants were seen as valuable resources in contributing to solutions for the various catastrophic issues they face.
The minister expressed gratitude to the United Nations (UN) System and the UN network on migration, acknowledging their support in managing migration challenges.
He urged participants to forge partnerships aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ensuring tangible and transformative outcomes.
The Director General of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and UN Network Coordinator, Amy Pope, emphasised the need to enhance the development of bio data for a deeper understanding of on-the-ground situations.
She said bio data was crucial for protecting the safety of people on the move, stressing the importance of intensifying efforts to prevent trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation and forced marriage, as well as protecting men and boys from being trafficked for forced labor.
Ms Hope called for a stronger collaboration within and across regions, as it was essential for providing a better protection of the lives of individuals along migration routes.
The ongoing dialogue, she said fostered collaboration, bringing participants together to share experiences and learn from one another.
By Stephanie Birikorang
