The Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General and United Nations Coordinator, M'Baye Babacar Cissé, on Tuesday, 11 November 2014, took part in the opening ceremony of an Inter-ministerial seminar on the National Strategy for Migration Policy in Côte d'Ivoire.



Speaking at the event, the Representative of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), David Coomber, said that migration is the corollary of discussions and the opening of societies and provides a response to all sorts of needs, investments and knowledge and the transfer of technologies which are vital for human and states development. « However, if migration is not managed and if there is no effective control at borders this could bring about misunderstandings between migrants and their hosts which will in turn lead to problems whose consequences could be disastrous," he said.



This is why, Mr. Coomber added, IOM, true to its vocation, is trying hard to provide Côte d'Ivoire with its expertise in an effort to improve its ability to deal with migration and for the country to become more efficient in monitoring its land, sea, river and air borders.



For his part, Babacar Cissé welcomed the initiative to develop a migration policy which he said was in line with the global vision on human development. « This initial project to draw up a strategy will contribute to the development of the economic potential of the country by resorting to the competencies of the Ivorian diaspora, qualified human resources, as well as foreign investors who want to help in the development of Côte d'Ivoire », he said. Mr. Cissé added that the final document which will be produced at the end of the seminar will contribute to the social stability and interior security of the country, as well as participate in regional integration in which Côte d'Ivoire has a lot of interest.



The Representative of the Minister of the Interior, Cheick Daniel Bamba, Directeur de cabinet, said that an influx of migrants could represent a threat with the risk of terrorist groups, criminal networks and disease coming into the country. « It is not a question of stigmatizing foreigners by accusing them of being responsible for all that is bad in the country but about setting up an efficient system of managing migration and of strengthening controls on our borders. Because migration has an impact on the public policies of a State and vice versa. It is therefore essential to define a national strategy on migration policy," he said. Mr. Bamba then said that the migration policy of Côte d'Ivoire « must be based on the double concept of legal migration carried out according to established text and useful immigration which benefits the migrants and Côte d'Ivoire, economically and professionally ».



The seminar, which ends on 13 November, will tackle various themes including the integrated management of migration, borders and the role of IOM in Côte d'Ivoire and West Africa, managing borders and transborder criminality, Work migration in Côte d'Ivoire, child labour, migration and health, as well as managing refugees and stateless persons.