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LABOUR MIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION AND BORDER MANAGEMENT CAPACITIES IN THE EAC REGION ENHANCED BY IOM THROUGH T.O.T WORKSHOP

LABOUR MIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION AND BORDER MANAGEMENT CAPACITIES IN THE EAC REGION ENHANCED BY IOM THROUGH T.O.T WORKSHOP

IOM, the UN Migration Agency in Tanzania, in close cooperation with IOM’s African Capacity Building Centre (ACBC) and the Tanzania Regional Immigration Training Academy (TRITA) in Moshi, facilitated a 5-day Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop (19 - 23 March 2018) on labour migration and Immigration and Border Management (IBM) for EAC Members States Government officials.

The workshop sought to complement the on-going initiatives implemented by the EAC Secretariat and EAC Member States to enhance trade and labour mobility within and beyond the Region through improved efficiency of border-crossing procedures at One-Stop-Border-Posts (OSBPs) and enhanced harmonization of legislative frameworks in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and the United Republic of Tanzania.

William Ongeri, Principal Employment Officer at the Kenyan Ministry of Labour stated that “Kenya has benefited a lot from IOM through capacity building training in various fields from Labour to Counter-trafficking.” “Continued partnership with the IOM will allow us, African States, to effectively and efficiently manage migration in our countries”, he added. “The gender component in Labour Mobility is a key factor that should be taken into consideration in our planning processes when to better our migration management systems at both national and regional levels”, Muhongerwa Stella, Senior Immigration Officer from Rwanda further added.

Marcellino Ramkishun, IOM ACBC Senior Migration Management Specialist, stressed that “within an economic union, the free regulated movement of the migrant and their labour skills can lead to an overall increase in their living standard and lives as members of the Diaspora. This in turn converts to remittances when sending money back to their home States, increases the standard of living of the recipient – with food education and medical care often being the priority for the recipient”. “Regulating and controlling labour movement accrues benefits for migrants in origin and destination States”, he added.

The ToT workshop was held under the East African Community Secretariat (EAC Secretariat) project entitled “Supporting Labour Mobility in the East African Community: Operationalizing the Common Market Protocol Provisions on the Free Movement of Persons and Labour” aimed at contributing to the operationalization of the East African Community Common Market Protocol (EAC CMP), particularly provisions related to the free movement of people and labour.

For more information, please contact:

Ms. Catherine Matasha, IOM Tanzania Email: cmatasha@iom.int Tel: +255 22 260 2782

Mr. Marcellino Ramkishun, IOM ACBC Email: mramkishun@iom.int Tel: +255 2727 53 488