Dakar, 14 October, 2024 – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) Network of Legal Experts on Migration in West and Central Africa’s (NoLEM) launched its inaugural publication analyzing trends in migration and detention. The event, held in person, also marking the second-ever annual meeting on 14 October 2024, brought together legal experts and authors of the report, members of the NoLEM Steering Committee , Honorable Judge Modibo Sacko, Vice-President of the African Court of Human and People Rights, Carolina Gottardo, Executive Director of the International Coalition Detention, IOM staff members, UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel,   other UN representations and representatives from other international organizations, civil society, and donor countries.

“Thinking about migration from an African perspective, by Africans, is the lever on which this Network is based,” Professor Abdou Khadre Diop, president of NoLEM, said at the meeting. “It's not an easy lever to activate, of course…But thanks to the determination and experience of its members, the Network is seeking to position itself as a key player in knowledge production. Today is the occasion to celebrate and launch this first publication on the detention of migrants.”

The report, titled Analyzing Migrant Detention Legal Frameworks: Perspectives from West and Central Africa, comes as the culmination of a year of hard work since the topic was chosen at NoLEM’s September 2023 meeting. In her remarks at the launch event, Ms .Edlira de Andres, Project Manager on behalf of Ms.  Ana Eva Radicetti, Deputy Regional Director for IOM West and Central Africa, praised the growth of NoLEM as an advocate and voice of expertise in the domain of migration legal frameworks since the group’s inception in 2022.

“As captured in the publication Analyzing Migrant Detention Legal Frameworks: Perspectives from West and Central Africa, I would like to highlight NoLEM’s pioneering role in its efforts to address the critical legal gaps around migrant detention,” she said. “The publication aims to offer a comprehensive analysis of existing national legal frameworks in West and Central Africa, identifying the key barriers and gaps.”

The Honorable Judge Sacko stated that this publication by the Network could serve as a resource for various jurisdictions in African countries to strengthen the protection of migrants' rights through a human rights-based and gender-sensitive approach. This publication, which will certainly not be the last, will also be made available in the library of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, accessible to judges, staff, and all visitors to the Court.

In addition, the IDC Executive Director emphasized on the importance of Alternatives to Detention (ATD); rights-based ATD are more humane, do not affect compliance, and are a fraction of the costs of immigration detention.

The report delves into a number of issues that migrants in the region face regarding detention. According to the NoLEM experts, these can include arbitrary or prolonged detention, human rights violations, and significant barriers to accessing justice for those detained. Some key recommendations identified by the publication include the adoption of clear legal frameworks, the improvement of detention conditions, and the promotion of compliance with international human rights standards.

For more information on migration and detention, find the report here: Analysing migrant detention legal frameworks: Perspectives from West and Central Africa

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For more information please contact:

Edlira de Andrés, Network of Legal Experts on Migration in West and Central Africa, edeandres@iom.int