Casablanca, 8 April 2025 - Governments along key migratory routes across North, West and Central Africa reaffirmed their commitment to enhance cooperation in combating human trafficking and strengthening protection mechanisms for victims during a Cross Regional High-Level Forum held by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on 7 and 8 April in Casablanca under the framework of the Regional Development and Protection Programme (RDPP).

Over two days, policy and operational actors exchanged best practices, emerging challenges, and explored avenues for more effective inter and intra-regional cooperation on identification, victim assistance and long-term solutions – as well as intersectionality of child trafficking and data analysis being main cross-cutting themes. 

The forum successfully fostered synergies between countries of origin, transit, and destination, promoting cross-regional cooperation on victim identification, protection, and referral mechanisms. 

The event presented the signed Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Morocco and the Government of Côte d'Ivoire and the signed two-year renewable bilateral action plan to foster cross-border cooperation on counter-trafficking between the two countries 

The forum brought together 45 participants representing governments from Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Tunisia, Cote D’Ivoire,  EU representatives, the African Union, Civil Society Organizations, and international organizations including the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). 

Concrete recommendations from the event will be operationalized under the RDPP to continue and maximize the long-term efforts for collective and cross-regional cooperation to end trafficking and assist victims along North Africa migratory routes.  

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For more information, please contact:

In Cairo: rocairomcd@iom.int  

In Dakar: Joëlle Furrer, jfurrer@iom.int