African stability threatened by mass migration

Mass migration in Africa will threaten the region’s stability if it continues unchecked or unabated, a conference in Addis Ababa heard on Monday. Millions who flee conflict or economic crises pose enormous burdens on their new host nations, the four-day meeting on migration and trafficking was told. The meeting - organised by the International Migration Policy Programme (IMP) - brings together top officials from dozens of African countries who will draw up an action plan aimed at curbing migration and introduce a continent-wide policy to tackle the crisis. In Africa, there are an estimated 16 million migrants and 13 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). Hassen Abdella, who heads Ethiopia’s Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MOLSA), said many migrants were “maltreated” and deprived of basic rights. He also warned that trafficking, which he described as the “demeaning side of migration” was a particular menace to children who were used as cheap labour or in prostitution. He called for strengthening law enforcement in order to combat criminal gangs who prey on children and urged greater help from the international community. “This will not be an easy task as human smuggling has become a lucrative business and the capacity of African states is not strong enough to meet the challenge,” he said. Among the fears surrounding mass migration is the further spread of the AIDS pandemic which is crippling the continent. African officials are backing plans for boosting border controls such as greater data collection on would-be travellers and strengthening checks on travel documents. They are also looking at targeting known trafficking routes and international criminal gangs through strengthening legislation.