By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
The Chief Minister, Jacob Jusu Saffa has launched the National Migration Policy. The policy which contains a comprehensive framework to improve and enhance administrative and legislative procedures towards migration’s management in Sierra Leone sets out several prescriptions on how to address some of the issues towards migration governance in the country.
The Chief Minister during the launching ceremony said that the government places a high premium and great emphasis on human development which helps citizens of Sierra Leone to realize their potential. ‘’The government places not only premium, but an equally great emphasis on human development, and closely linked to this is to facilitate citizens of Sierra Leone to realize their full potential,’’ he said.
Minister Saffa explained that one of the ways to ensure citizens' critical potentials are utilized for their individual and national development is to ensure that the state promotes, and safeguards as required the free movement of individuals both internally and externally. He added that the migration policy addresses issues that relate to diaspora engagement, border management, internally displaced persons, asylum seekers, repatriation and reintegration, migration and national disasters, statelessness, and human trafficking.
The Deputy Head of the European Union Delegation to Sierra Leone, Juan Antonio Frutos said that the adoption of national migration public policies and managing migration in a comprehensive way is key to addressing migration in all aspects. ‘’The EU remains strongly committed to better management of migration together with our partner countries, based on the shared and common responsibility of countries of origin, transit, and destination. We stand ready to support the efforts of Sierra Leone in this area,’’ he stated.
A representative from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Mangeh Sesay said that young people in Sierra Leone see migration as a way out of poverty, noting that it has become a threat to national development, peace, and security if it is not well managed. “So the IOM is very pleased to support the development and launch of the National Migration Policy. The policy will now be the basis for better migration management and governance in the country,’’ he added.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (31/01/22)
