As the 23 January opening of the 14th GFMD Summit approaches, we look back on the central role of African civil society in GFMD preparations, and map the key priorities for African non-state actors for the GFMD and into the future.
The 14th Summit of the 2023-24 Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD)* takes place on 23-25 January 2024 in Geneva. 120 civil society delegates from around the world will participate in the Summit as part of the GFMD Civil Society Mechanism (CSM) coordinated by ICMC, including 11 delegates representing African civil society.
A far broader group of African civil society stakeholders has been engaged in formal GFMD preparations since the start of 2023. Alongside other non-state actors**, African civil society representatives have taken a leading role in the year-long, global program of self-organised civil society GFMD preparatory events and activities, together known as the ‘Road from Abuja to Geneva.’
The road to and from Abuja
The 2023 GFMD Civil Society ** process was formally launched at the Abuja Civil Society Forum, held in Abuja, Nigeria, from 30 January to 1 February 2023. A joint initiative of the Pan-African Network in Defense of Migrants’ Rights (PANiDMR) and four other African civil society and diaspora networks (AFFORD, ECDPM, GRFDT, and ITUC-Africa), the Forum was hosted by PANiDMR and its member, the Civil Society Network on Migration and Development in Nigeria. It brought together representatives of African civil society from all regions of Africa, and included participation from trade unions, youth, the GFMD Business and Mayors mechanisms, government representatives, and international and African migration agencies.
“The origins of the Abuja Forum are really to be found at the strong representation of African non-state actors at the first International Migration Review Forum***, held in New York in May 2022,” recalls Lukmon Akintola, Knowledge Advisor at the Global Centre for Climate Mobility. “We held a side event at the Nigerian embassy, and this was really the beginning of our seeing the importance of better coordinating ourselves, in order to have a collective voice that highlights the perspective of African non-state actors in migration and development.”
Abuja Forum discussions focused on three of the six GFMD priorities for 2023-24: climate change and mobility, labour migration, and diaspora, selected due to their relevance for Africa. Key discussion outcomes were set out in Building the Road from Abuja to Paris: the Abuja Statement, published on 1 February. The Abuja Statement reaffirmed civil society’s commitment to engaging in the 2023 GFMD process, outlined the current challenges Africa and its diaspora are facing, and made recommendations for action by governments in the three thematic policy areas.
“The statement is a pretty comprehensive document that built on prior consultations and discussions amongst African non-state actors,” says Akintola. “While other migration issues have of course arisen for Africa over the year since, the statement has really helped us to engage African Member States and other stakeholders along a core, consistent set of civil society priorities for the GFMD.”
In July 2023, the Abuja Report further documented critical takeaways from the discussions, capacity-building, and group work sessions of the Abuja Forum. Throughout 2023, African non-state actors have additionally collaborated on a series of four thematic policy brief publications, presenting African non-state actors’ perspectives on the engagement of local actors in the global climate mobility agenda, policy options to guarantee human security in relation to climate change and mobility in Africa, the role of diaspora for narratives and culture, and the importance of civil society contributions to shaping migration narratives within the GFMD process.
African voices at the GFMD: building capacity and climate literacy amongst Member States
At the 2024 Summit, civil society participation will be restricted to only two civil society delegates able to actively participate in each roundtable discussion. “This speaks to the wider issue of shrinking space for civil society at the international level, and means that a lot of people doing great work will not be able to meaningfully contribute to the roundtable discussions,” says Akintola. Acknowledging the role of States as core GFMD participants with the platform to raise key issues at the Summit, African non-state actors have devoted significant time and resources to building understanding and awareness of the GFMD priority areas amongst African Member States.
Ongoing advocacy at the national and regional levels was supplemented by a November 2023 event in collaboration with the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS). “We took them through some of the core GFMD thematic areas, particularly that of climate change and mobility,” recalls Akintola. Akintola locates these efforts in wider actions to improve climate literacy in the context of migration. “Climate literacy is important for all stakeholders, including non-state actors, but it is especially crucial for policymakers on the African continent,” he explains. “Climate-related mobility is a new concept for them, despite the fact that we are living this reality every day, and this means that migration and climate policies largely operate in silos. We’re trying to help States bring these issues together, so they can understand how climate change impacts migration and develop some policy coherence.”
African civil society delegates are additionally planning a preparatory meeting with African Member States in Geneva, directly ahead of the GFMD Summit. “This is where we hope to do some of the finer preparation for the issues States will push during the Summit, and we really hope for a good attendance from States across the continent,” says Akintola.
Building partnerships from the ground-up: multilevel migration governance in the African context
Throughout the ‘Road from Abuja to Geneva,’ civil society actors have consistently pointed to the need to improve and expand multilevel partnerships for migration governance and, in particular to ensure the meaningful inclusion of local actors. In the African context, the engagement of local actors in designing and implementing solutions in relation to climate change and mobility is especially crucial.
“We often think of local stakeholders as cities and local authorities, but for us it’s also religious leaders and traditional rulers, and they too must be integrated into these wider policymaking and governance processes,” Akintola explains. “This is not solely an international issue – it also needs to happen at the national level, where these stakeholders are de facto migration governance leaders but do not have a seat at the table in terms of either migration or climate change.”
Akintola clearly describes the impact of this failure to engage the full range of local stakeholders. “These actors are first responders in emergencies and key developers of adaptation solutions, and they have data and insights that we miss out on by not including them,” he says. “If they’re not involved, we also miss out on the opportunity to fully implement all the shiny ideas we discuss in international venues like Geneva and New York – it’s a real disconnect.”
Beyond financial remittances: rethinking diaspora
African civil society perspectives on diaspora have formed a core part of collective advocacy and priority-setting in the lead-up to the GFMD Summit.
“It is true that most national policies in Africa are concerned with what diaspora can bring in terms of financial remittances,” says Akintola. “We have put a lot of work into helping States see it more broadly, including by expanding the definition of remittances to take in the transfer of skills and knowledge, investment, and philanthropic efforts by the diaspora to improve things at the community level in their countries of origin.”
African non-state actors, and civil society in particular, have long pointed to the wider contribution of the diaspora to enriching the human, social, and cultural life in countries of origin, transit, and destination. By bringing their cultural heritage and knowledge of their countries of origin to destination countries, diaspora communities and organisations build bridges and foster mutual understanding. The diaspora additionally plays a central role in advocating for migrant rights in destination countries, in particular labour rights for migrant workers and migrants living in undocumented situations, and in reclaiming cultural heritage linked to restitution and reparations.
Akintola highlights the responsibility of countries of origin to support the diaspora and speak to the issues they face in relation to their rights and well-being. “This is why we try to engage stakeholders such as consulates in the discussion,” he explains. “More broadly, it’s about trying to make Member States see that the diaspora is part of the political structure, economy, and social fabric of our countries, which with the right support and inclusion has the capacity to contribute to our collective stability going forward.”
Challenging inaccurate narratives of African migration
Throughout preparations for the GFMD, African non-state actors have prioritised actions to challenge negative and inaccurate narratives of African migration.
“Negative narratives exist in relation to migration in general, but in the African context it’s particularly striking how they run contrary to evidence,” says Akintola. “The majority of African migration takes place within the continent, for example, with comparatively far smaller flows to Europe. But this is not the narrative in Europe, and this misinformation is the basis for many harmful migration policies.”
African non-state actors emphasise the positive impact that conceiving of the diaspora in its fullest sense can have for challenging prevalent narratives. In this approach, promoting the cultural, academic, creative, linguistic, political, and social contributions of the diaspora, including those of second, third, and fourth generations, moves the discussion beyond narratives of problematic migration from Africa, and directly challenges narrow notions of diaspora as solely foreign labour that generates financial resources for countries of origin.
“The diaspora form a core part of our efforts as non-state actors, including our work to challenge inaccurate migration narratives,” Akintola explains. “Our key messages now are about how diaspora can work with States – how are they engaged, what is their agency, and how can their contributions be supported in the most comprehensive way?”
‘It’s a process’: African civil society hopes and predictions for the GFMD Summit
Although much of African civil society’s preparation for the GFMD has focused on developing the capacity of Member States to engage in the Summit and ensuring a strong mobilisation of African civil society and diaspora in the GFMD, Akintola is keen to stress the significant and ongoing work to influence policymaking at the national level.
“The GFMD and instruments such as the Global Compact on Migration are very useful for this national work, because when States feel they are part of something at the international level, it gives us leverage. They see that they need to do something, and we can say ‘you signed up for this, how do you plan to make it a reality?’”
Acknowledging the long-term nature of international processes such as the GFMD, Akintola offers three key hopes for the Summit on behalf of African civil society. “Firstly, it’s about our Member States taking a much more active role at this Summit and in future GFMD processes,” he says. “Secondly, it’s about us as non-state actors being able to use the legitimacy of these international processes to drive more meaningful dialogue and real action for policy change, after the Summit and into the future. And finally, we hope for new impetus to develop and expand partnerships in which important stakeholders are fully integrated, in particular those in affected communities at the local level.”
***
* The Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) is a government-led initiative that brings together States, city mayors, business representatives, and civil society organisations concerned with migration and development issues. Its goal is to discuss a range of topics on migration, propose innovative solutions, share policy ideas, and create partnerships and cooperation in an informal dialogue setting. ICMC coordinates civil society engagement in the GFMD since 2011.
** These ‘non-state actors’ encompass three main categories of stakeholders: trades unions, civil society organisations, and diaspora organisations.
*** The International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) is the primary intergovernmental global platform to discuss and share progress on the implementation of all aspects of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM). The GCM is an international agreement adopted by 152 States in December 2018. As the first-ever global framework for migration governance, it aims to increase international collaboration on all aspects related to migration, including human rights, humanitarian needs, and development.