WE, participants of the North Africa Regional Conference, held in virtual format, on April 18, 2024, under the presidency of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Togolese Republic, as a prelude to the 9th Pan-African Congress, scheduled from October 29 to 02 November 2024 in Lomé around the theme “Renewal of Pan-Africanism and the role of Africa in the reform of multilateral institutions: mobilizing resources and reinventing itself to act”;
REPRESENTING our national Governments, local and regional bodies and civil society organizations;
RECOGNIZING the strong role and commitment of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, in His capacity as Champion of the African Union on the issue of migration, in the development and implementation of the African Agenda on Migration , putting forward a new vision in the management of African migration and governance in Africa;
WELCOMING the efforts deployed and the work carried out by the Togolese Republic and the High Committee in charge of the Agenda for the 2021-2031 Decade of Roots and the African Diaspora aimed at supporting African diasporas in a logic of co-development and shared growth;
WELCOMING also the relevance of the theme “Pan-Africanism and Migration” of this regional conference in Rabat and the excellent conditions in which the work took place;
WELCOMING the current renewal and renewed interest in a renewed Pan-Africanism which will contribute to further uniting the initiatives of African countries and other stakeholders as well as mobilizing them around noble and common causes;
STRESSING the need to strengthen cooperation, integration and unity of action on the African continent in order to promote better migration governance;
RECALLING the importance for African countries to align their national migration management strategies with the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2063 of the African Union;
INSISTING on the importance of strengthening the role of Regional Economic Communities as central pivots of the actions of the African diaspora on the continent;
REAFFIRMING the important role of the African Union for the orderly and coordinated management of migration by establishing a number of mechanisms including the Migration Policy Framework for Africa (MPFA) and its Action Plan 2018-2030;
RECOGNIZING the progress made at the global level since the adoption, in Marrakech, on December 10, 2018, of the “Global Compact for Safe, Regular and Orderly Migration” (GCM), as well as by the United Nations General Assembly, on December 19, December 2018, and intended to cover international migration in all its dimensions through a global and comprehensive approach;
RECALLING the achievements and advances of African cooperation in the management of migration, and reaffirming our commitment to make our contributions to global reflections with a view to providing appropriate solutions adapted to the specificities of the African continent to the challenges represented by the phenomenon migratory;
RECALLING the achievements and advances of African cooperation in the management of migration, and reaffirming our commitment to make our contributions to global reflections with a view to providing appropriate solutions adapted to the specificities of the African continent to the challenges represented by the phenomenon migratory;
RECOGNIZING the need to strengthen relations between the African diaspora and the continent with a view to further involving Africans abroad and Afro-descendants in the quest for prosperity and economic and social development;
STRESSING the need to develop and implement more programs and projects offering the Diaspora and Afro-descendants more chances and opportunities on the continent;
AWARE of the contribution of the diaspora and Afro-descendants in promoting the African continent abroad and of the importance of bringing about a profound change in the narrative about African diasporas;
IDENTIFYING the root causes and opportunities of migration and the need to invest more in the development of the African continent;
INSISTING on the importance of strengthening the role of Regional Economic Communities as central pivots of the actions of the African diaspora on the continent;
WE AGREE on the following conclusions and recommendations:
– REGARDING PANAFRICANISM, MIGRATION AND GOVERNANCE
●WORK in the interest of our continent by encouraging African countries to strengthen their regional cooperation to better manage migratory flows through Regional Economic Communities (RECs);
●IMPLEMENT harmonized policies and coordination mechanisms on migration and governance;
● MOBILIZE the ways and means necessary to bring about a change in the narrative on human mobility and migration;
● MAINTAIN close, local contact with the various generations of migrants and Afro-descendants;
● MOBILIZE migrants and Afro-descendants as part of the renewal of Pan-Africanism around the question of reform of multilateral institutions and better representation of Africa in global governance;
● REITERATE the need for the Continent to equip itself with reliable and verifiable data on migratory flows and trends in Africa
● CALL, in this regard, on the African Migration Observatory (OAM) to strengthen the capacities of Member States in the collection of reliable data and statistics relating to African migration;
● ADDRESS the underlying causes that drive African citizens to migrate, targeting poverty, discrimination and displacement due to climate change and natural disasters;
● COMBAT vulnerability factors as well as violations of human rights and international law in matters of migration;
● ENSURE the right to life in the context of migration while guaranteeing access to essential services and eliminating all forms of discrimination;
● ENSURE that bilateral and multilateral agreements with partners are consistent with human values and African objectives in terms of migration management and governance;
● DIVERSIFY and EXPAND avenues for safe, orderly and regular migration, taking into consideration the specific needs of vulnerable migrants.
2-REGARDING PANAFRICANISM, MIGRATION AND DIASPORA
● RECOGNIZE the substantial contribution of the African Diaspora to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular target n°10 of the Sustainable Development Goals;
● ENCOURAGE the commitment and positive contribution of the African diaspora to the economic, social and cultural development of their countries of origin, by facilitating the transfer of skills, investments and knowledge;
● PROMOTE investment opportunities for diasporas in their countries of origin and across the continent.
● ENCOURAGE African States to establish national strategic plans on money transfers in receiving countries with a view to highlighting priority areas for improving the formalization of transfers;
● REAFFIRM the relevance of the Rabat Declaration, resulting from the Forum on reducing remittance costs in the African Diaspora, held in Rabat on January 12, 2023 and CALLS FOR:
o IMPROVE communication and collection of strategic data relating to remittance flows and the characteristics of African markets to inform the action of decision-makers;
o PROMOTE the channeling of remittances towards productive investment, in particular through adapted programs providing local support, incentive and support measures as well as financial products capable of channeling more of their financial flows towards economical activities ;
o PROMOTE a conducive and favorable environment from a legal and legal point of view, guaranteeing market efficiency and a reduction in the cost of money transfers, through the diversification of channels and the elimination of exclusivities.
o CREATE synergies between the Diaspora, local authorities,civil society and the private sector in African countries, in order to implement development projects, and promote the integration of migration into sectoral development strategies at the national, regional and international level
● DECIDES to submit the conclusions and recommendations of the Rabat regional conference, entitled “Rabat Declaration” at the 9th Pan-African Congress in Lomé