Xenophobic Attacks: IOM Director Allen Kwenin Wants Gov't’s Educated On Migrants Safety

The Regional Director of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for Southern Africa, Mr. Charles Allan Kwenin has said governments, civil societies, and citizens need to be educated to deal with abuses of migrants, notably xenophobic attacks.

The recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa has gingered the need for protection and the attraction of opportunity to continue to drive international migration.

In a bid to find potent ways of dealing with all the problems associated with migration, the International Migration Policy Recruitment and Advisory Centre (IMPRAC) brought together relevant partners including; governments, International Organizations, private employers, Academia, Civil Society, and Diaspora Associations on Thursday to dialogue at a half-day seminar in Accra, Ghana.

Speaking to the media at the program, Mr. Allen Kwenin bemoaned how migration has become toxic in the phase of some people from parts of the world when it used to be the basis on which some countries developed in the past.

Having established that migration is not a problem to be solved but a human reality to be managed, he further indicated, “In terms of what is happening in some parts of the world, the xenophobic attacks in some European countries, in some African countries is quite unfortunate and I think it needs to be condemned”.

The IOM director added, “Am glad that some of the governments have condemned it but I think it's important that we educate our government, our people, civil society and everyone to understand that we cannot stop human beings from moving”.

Participants at the end of the seminar under the theme, ‘Technical Cooperation on Labour Mobility; with particular focus on Ethical recruitment through responsible labour supply chain management’, would have the opportunity to explore areas of cooperation to provide needed capacity as well as providing the necessary rights and protections to workers and their families during recruitment, while working abroad and upon return to their country of origin.