Bamako – On Wednesday 27 March 2024, the United Nations Network on Migration in Mali section set up its thematic working group on protection of migrants in situations of mobility.

Established by the United Nations Secretary General in 2018 and launched in Mali in 2020, the United Network on Migration aims to support the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. Its action plan for Mali established three working groups, each covering a specific theme. Working Group 1 is dedicated to promoting evidence-based discourse, policies and planning on migration. Working Group 2 focuses on ensuring the protection of migrants on the move, while Working Group 3 seeks to facilitate regular migration, decent work and enhance the positive effects of human mobility on development. Thematic groups 1 and 3 have been active since 2021 and 2022. The launch of Working Group 2 marked the operationalization of all bodies planned by the Network in Mali. 

“By launching Working Group 2, we are giving our network an important tool for action in the field of migrant protection,” said Aminta Dicko, Programmes and Liaison Coordinator for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Mali. Under the co-chairmanship of IOM and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the working group will facilitate information sharing, cooperation, and capacity building to improve migrant protection.

“The partnership, through this working group, will certainly enable better coordination of interventions and the strengthening of synergies with a view to protecting migrants on the move in Mali, particularly the most vulnerable, including women and children,” said Aida GHORBEL, Child Protection Specialist at UNICEF Mali.

For the IOM, migrants in vulnerable situations should receive the protection and assistance they need. From 2017 to date, at least 45,000 Malian and international migrants have received assistance from IOM Mali and its partners under the Assisted Voluntary Return programme, which is an important protection measure for vulnerable and stranded migrants wishing to return to their country of origin.

“Despite the encouraging results, there are still many challenges, particularly in terms of referrals, mental health and psychosocial support, as well as economic reintegration. We should make this new working group the pillar of concerted and better coordinated action to improve the protection of all migrant workers on the move in Mali,” said Olivier GROSJEAN, IOM a.i. Chief of Mission in Mali.

The new thematic working group of the United Nations Network on Migration in Mali will support government initiatives. It is supported by the European Union under the Migrant Protection, Return and Reintegration Programme for Sub-Saharan Africa (MPRR-SSA).

***

For more information, please contact:

IOM Mali Public Information Unit. Email: bquenum@iom.int, Tel.: +223 90 50 00 06.