Migrants are protected through fair migration governance - ILO
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has said that potential and returning migrants in Nigeria and Ghana are protected through fair and effective labour migration governance.
The ILO Workers Specialist, David Dorkenoo, said this during a workshop to sensitise Trade Union Organisations on labour migration governance recently in Abuja.
According to the ILO, the project “Initiative for Labour Migration, Employment and Reintegration in Nigeria and Ghana (LMER) builds on existing efforts to strengthen labour migration governance, enhance employment prospects of potential or returnee migrants and support the reintegration of returnees.”
Dorkenoo also said that IDPs are equally are as important as migration because when you are looking at migration you don’t only look at migration from the perspective of people flying out of Nigeria to another part of the world.
“But even internally, within the country, where there are challenges, insurgencies and people are displaced equally it is important within the frame work of migration to be able to address the challenges of people that are displaced from their traditional place of abode to other parts of the country in terms of providing place for them to be able to stay,” he added.
Explaining further, he noted that when those who are displaced begin to have access to jobs, “they begin to earn income then they will begin to take care of the basic needs because they can take care of their health, their families and education of their children.”
He urged the government to consider multilateral and bilateral agreements which provide the frame where people can be able to move and earn decent earnings and if they want to come back they can come back and be properly integrated.
He added that “they should also be able to make provision for people who are migrating from outside back into the country. Talking about healthcare providers, a lot of them want to come back, but when they come back how are they integrated within the system.”
He stressed that policy should focus on how migrants can also be integrated to improve social development in the country.