There is a growing consensus that complex transnational migration challenges that we are facing today cannot be managed by one state or actor in isolation. In addition, there are a variety of actors – ranging from families to smugglers, employers to diaspora members – who play roles in where and how people decide to migrate.
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) are in a better position to provide accurate, grassroots intelligence regarding the conditions under which migrants transit, work and live. With their grassroots knowledge, they can also guide migration policy making and monitor the effectiveness of policies and programmes targeted to migrants. In addition, since they operate outside government, they are also uniquely positioned to meet the needs of vulnerable groups including irregular and returned migrants.
CSOs can be catalysts to bring local level experience and migrant orientated perspectives into higher level political dialogue, and this can contribute to the establishment of a better system which not only addresses issues of migrants rights but also manages migration flows more effectively in order to achieve an orderly and safe movement of people.
While there is the clear need for deeper partnerships with civil society, there is a wide gap in linking CSOs and other migration management stakeholders in Ghana. Considering that very few CSOs have the capacity and resources to operate at the national and regional levels, it is helpful to support their efforts to operate as effective networks.
To mark International Migrants Day and the end of week-long celebrations, the GIMMA project hosted a meeting, Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society, to bring together Civil Society Organizations actively involved in addressing issues of irregular migration on 18 December 2015.
The meeting provided a timely opportunity to discuss practical and sustainable solutions for ongoing and future interventions as well as to foster further collaborations among key stakeholders. The participants also provided valuable inputs and recommendations for upcoming information campaigns on safe and legal migration.
This meeting was made possible by the funding from the European Union through the Ghana Integrated Migration Management Approach (GIMMA) project.
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