Lesotho: Migration is a Powerful Driver of Sustainable Development-Speaker

The Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr. Tlohang Sekhamane says the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development recognizes that migration is a powerful driver of sustainable development for migrants and their communities.

He said this when officially opening the workshop for Members of Parliament (MPs)on Migration Governance and Management held at Hlotse in Leribe on Tuesday.

He said migration is a complex and ever-growing phenomenon which demands a holistic approach and effective address, saying managing the impacts of migration requires interdependence amongst all countries to achieve significant benefits for global welfare.

He noted that the benefits of migration should not be seen only from the perspective of what migrants can bring to any given territory, adding that the relationship between migration and development is much more complex:  the political, social and economic processes of potential destination countries will also determine how, where and when migration occurs.

“As outlined in the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), migration is a multi-dimensional reality that cannot be addressed by one government policy sector alone, a whole-of-government and a whole-of-society approach to comprehensively integrate migration and development into policymaking and programming is critical in the area of migration,” he stressed.

Mr. Sekhamane mentioned that migration, well-managed, can be both a development strategy and a development outcome.

He, therefore, expressed gratitude to IOM for supporting Members of Parliament to better understand how all governance areas are interrelated and are affected by migration and to what extent other sectoral policies facilitate or impede migrants’ ability to contribute meaningfully to society.

Also Speaking, the Head of Office of the International Organisation for Migration, Ms. Eriko Nishimura said the workshop is intended to inform parliamentarians on the importance of migration.

She noted that this workshop will help the Parliamentarians to conceptualise strategies that will enhance migration positively.

The four-day workshop is expected to end on Thursday.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Government of Lesotho.

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