Labour Migration and Human Development

As the leading intergovernmental organization in the field of migration, IOM supports the states to facilitate regular labour migration, integration and trainings for migrants in addition to carrying out activities for Diasporas relating to remittances, community development and skills transfer.

In 2018, the Regional Office for West and Central Africa launched the Youth, Migration and Employment Strategy in West and Central Africa.

Labour Migration

IOM’s programmes and interventions focus on protection and support services for labour migrants and their families by promoting labour mobility as an alternative to irregular migration. In this region – especially in Mauritania, Senegal, Mali and Cameroon – IOM has supported labour migration management political and capacity building initiatives by raising awareness, disseminating information, facilitating recruitment and state cooperation.

Migrant Trainings

IOM prepare labour migrants prior to their departure in order to facilitate their integration in host countries. Training programs provide information on host countries and help migrants acquiring required skills, especially linguistic skills, for them to be able to fit in their new environment and to fully express their professional, legal, technical, social and cultural skills.

These pre-departure activities reduce migrants’ integration process costs and time, enabling them to become autonomous and active members of host societies as quickly as possible. Hence, these initiatives reduce the level of vulnerability for many migrants and foster their effective participation in host communities.

Migrant Integration

IOM supports political initiatives and strategies regarding social, economic and cultural integration of migrants in their host countries. Successful integration requires mutual adjustments as well as the respects for the rights and obligations of both migrants and host communities.

To promote harmonious coexistence between migrants and host communities, IOM carries out information and awareness-raising activities with migrants and host communities for a better mutual perception, supporting programs for migrants to improve their skills in host countries, campaigns on migrants’ rights and duties in host countries, and studies on integration policies and practices.

Migration and Development

IOM aims at enforcing the positive impact of migration on host communities and communities of origin in terms of development. To this end, IOM carries out programs to facilitate transfers of skills from members of Diasporas to their countries of origin, remittances at lower cost and Diasporas’ investments in productive sectors of countries of origin. In all the communities, IOM re-enforces institutional capacities and supports the development of policies and mechanisms taking into account migrants as development actors. The MIDA Program (Migration for Development in Africa) has been carried out in several countries, such as Chad and Congo, in order to enforce capacities and develop potential synergies between African migrants’ profiles and the countries’ needs.