Prioritise border management, migration policies - Immigration officer urges ECOWAS states
The Head of Operations at the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Deputy Commissioner of Immigration (DCOI) Justice Amevor, has called on ECOWAS member states to prioritise border management and migration issues in national policies.
He said migration and border management had not received the needed attention in spite of increasing population movements and security concerns across the sub-region.
Speaking at a media sensitisation workshop on the ECOWAS National Biometric Identity Card (NBIC) in Accra last Tuesday, Mr Amevor said poor attention to migration governance could create future challenges for member states.
“Have you ever heard any political party talking about issues of border management and migration in their manifesto? They don’t talk about it,” he said.
Mr Amevor said governments must focus on ensuring that citizens and non-citizens are properly documented to strengthen border security and migration management.
He said this would strengthen regional data-sharing systems to help combat crime and improve migration management among ECOWAS countries.
He further urged the media to intensify discussions on migration, trafficking, smuggling and free movement issues instead of over-politicising radio and television discussions.
“Things like issues of free movement could be discussed. Let people know their rights as community citizens,” he added.
Border communities
Mr Amevor also called for special attention to be given to border residents whose livelihoods depended on daily cross-border trade.
He explained that many residents living within border communities crossed frequently into neighbouring countries to conduct business and support their families.
“We want to draw an identification and give border residents some advantage,” he said.
He cited the special gate established at Aflao for border residents as one of the measures introduced to ease movement for people living near the border.
Security concerns
An official of the ECOWAS Border Management and Migration Division, Obinna Ajugun, said that although the ECOWAS region remained the front-runner in the implementation of free movement protocols in Africa, security concerns continued to affect implementation.
He said emerging security threats within the Sahel region had led some member states to adopt restrictive measures that undermined commitments to free movement.
“There are fears in terms of opening up your borders,” he said, adding that “we keep having emerging security concerns”.
Mr Ajugun explained that ECOWAS continued to engage member states through technical meetings, advocacy missions and ministerial platforms to address implementation challenges associated with border management and migration.
2030 target
Mr Ajugun said ECOWAS had set a target for all member states to fully implement the biometric card system by 2030.
He said member states were currently at different stages of implementation, with some facing financial and technical challenges.
Mr Ajugun added that ECOWAS was intensifying sensitisation and training programmes for immigration officials and border operatives to improve acceptance of the biometric card across the sub-region.
“We cannot leave it to member states alone. We support member states on it,” he said.
He expressed optimism that the increasing adoption of the card, particularly by Nigeria, would encourage wider implementation and acceptance among member states.
