AU’s solution to ongoing African migration crisis

Addis Ababa. Visa free movement across Africa could greatly reduce migration to Europe, official said.

The African Union Commissioner for Social Affairs, Dr Mustapha Sidiki Kaloko, said free movement of Africans within the continent would reduce the number of migrants risking their lives on dangerous journeys.

“If we have alternatives within the continent, then you don’t risk your life with a dangerous journey [out of the continent],” Dr Kaloko said in Addis Ababa Friday.

“For instance, Rwanda and Mauritius have registered economic benefits by allowing Africans visa free to their countries. If you move freely within Africa, trade will also be encouraged,” he told journalists on the sidelines of the African Heads of Sate Summit.

The commissioner urged member states to follow the examples of Rwanda and Mauritius by creating opportunities for Africans within the continent to boost their economies, while reducing the number of those who die during the risky journeys to Europe.

Dr Kaloko further noted that the African Union was focusing more on programmes that bring lasting solutions to the African migration crisis.

“We are not in the business of crisis management concerning migration. “We are trying to build the future Africa focusing on programmes such as employment and education,” he said.

Reports show that hundreds of thousands of Africans died while making dangerous journeys to seek better livelihoods in Europe and other developed countries.

The United Nations Higher Commissioner to Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that last year alone, some 1,500 Africans died attempting to make the journey from Libya to Europe. (NMG)