APS : Tuesday, 31 July 2018
ALGIERS-The African civil society parliament has recently chosen Algeria to host the 2nd international Conference on irregular migration on 19-21 November 2018 in Algiers
following a selection among five African candidate countries.
In a statement to APS on Tuesday, President of the conference organizing Committee, Ali Sahel hailed the decision of the African civil society parliament which is based on many criteria, notably “the country’s experience acquired in the organization of major international events, accommodation facilities and highly qualified human resource.”
“Africans reached a level of maturity enabling them to freely organize such events,” affirmed Sahel, stressing that the organizing Committee seeks to bring together more than 400 participants from 40 African countries.
Guinea, which hosted the first edition of this conference, passed the baton to Algeria last Friday through Former country representative of the African Civil Society Parliament, Ives Magloire.
“Algeria is one of the most experienced countries in the migration movement. Therefore, the African Civil Society Parliament trusts the country for successful 2nd edition,” Ives Magloire said at a ceremony in Conakry.
“Today, we are handing over the conference flag in the hope that the mistakes of the first edition will be corrected,” he said.
The 2nd international conference on irregular migration will be themed “Preparing Africa for the challenge of the migration crisis and the continent’s economic and social development,” and will bring together African civil society players, state and private economic operators, researchers and academics, as well as representatives of public institutions.
UN organizations, particularly those present in Algeria, such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will also be invited to the event, said the president of the organizing Committee.
The conference is expected to culminate in solutions to deal with the illegal migration scourge.
“Participants will focus on the importance of the economic development of the African continent through industrialization and processing activities that reduce unemployment and precariousness, the root causes of illegal migration,” stated Sahel.
“Illegal migration is a worrying scourge that concerns African countries. It particularly affects African youth, hence the need for industrial development programmes that provide job opportunities,” Sahel stressed.
“In order to achieve this goal, we intend to bring together economic operators and civil society activists to create synergies between Africans,” he continued.
The holding of this event in Algiers will be sponsored by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Union (AU) as well as all agencies that are potential actors in Africa’s development and stability.
