Dakar – On January 18, 2024, the Steering Committee (COPIL in French) for the Migrant Protection, Return and Reintegration Programme in Sub-Saharan Africa (MPRR-SSA) of the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) in Senegal held its first meeting at the Ministry in charge of Senegalese Abroad, thus marking a significant milestone in the programme’s implementation. The meeting, co-chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Senegalese Abroad (MAESE) and European Union Delegation in Senegal, brought together representatives from MAESE, the Ministry in charge of Senegalese Abroad, European Union Delegation, National Committee for the Management of Refugees, Returnees and Displaced Persons (CNRRPD in French), National Agency for the Promotion of Youth Employment (ANPEJ in French), Direction de l’Entrepreneuriat Rapide (DER), Fonds de Financement de la Formation Professionnelle et Technique (3FPT), Centre National de l’Orientation Scolaire et Professionnelle (CNOSP), France Office for Immigration and Integration (OFII in French), Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Direction Générale d’Appui aux Sénégalais de l’Extérieur (DGASE).

The meeting aimed to review and validate the COPIL’s terms of reference as well as formulate strategic recommendations that are essential to the programme’s implementation.

Ms Valeria Falaschi, IOM Chief of Mission in Senegal, praised the partnership between IOM and the European Union, expressing her gratitude to all stakeholders. Ms Harmonie KOUTSIVITIS, Deputy Chief of Mission of the EU Delegation in Senegal, recalled EU’s commitment to assisting vulnerable migrants, underlining the importance of supporting them in their reintegration process: “In Senegal in particular, the focus should be on vulnerable migrants stranded in Sub-Saharan transit countries, to ensure that they can receive specialized protection tailored to their needs. But more importantly, we need to support them in their reintegration process through individual and sustainable assistance in their country of origin,” she declared.

After the opening remarks, the next step was to validate the terms of reference of the MPRR-SSA Steering Committee, showcase the main results of the MPRR-SSA programme implementation in Senegal, as well as the challenges and lessons learned, and finally discuss and make strategic recommendations deemed important for the programme’s implementation.

At the end of the workshop, eight (8) strategic recommendations were made including (i) Hold meetings with the various actors to better harmonize migrant reception at the airport; (ii) Encourage the Senegalese Government to facilitate the accommodation of returnees upon arrival to ensure that administrative procedures run smoothly, by identifying and setting up migrant reception centres; (iii) Plan and organize joint visits to migrant projects in the various regions, preferably in the first quarter of 2024; (iv) Consider the possibility of using the institutional support budget line for consultation frameworks instead of providing material support; (v) Strengthen discussions with local authorities through the Association des maires du Sénégal (AMS) to better involve local authorities in providing support for vulnerable returnees, for example by facilitating access to land; (vi) Build the capacity of reintegration actors in IOM’s migrant management tools; (vii)The European Union Delegation should facilitate meetings between partners funded by the EU, in a bid to promote synergy of action and complementarities; (viii) Advocate for the integration of the ‘vulnerable returnees’ component into target partner interventions (3FPT, DER, EMPLOYMENT DIRECTORATE, etc.).

The Migrant Protection, Return and Reintegration Programme in Sub-Saharan Africa is funded by the European Union and aims to consolidate the achievements of the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration.

For more information, please contact:

Dr Ousmane DIALLO NTIECHE, Field Coordinator, IOM Senegal nodiallo@iom.int

Halima Aminata COURO DJIGO, Media and Communications Lead, IOM Regional Office for West and Centra Africa hdjigo@iom.int.