Migration in southern Africa: Migration management initiatives for SADC member states

SADC’s 14 member states have diverse historical backgrounds and development levels that occasionally constrain regional integration

International migration in southern Africa has dominated migration literature in sub-Saharan Africa. As other forms of migration appeared on the scene, Botswana and Namibia joined South Africa as major countries of destination. After a decade of controversy over the Draft Protocol on Facilitation of Movement of Persons, the required minimum number of Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states signed, and some ratified, the protocol and thus paved the way for its implementation. Yet certain shortcomings still persist, for instance the poor quality of data. Although meant to inform SADC of the nature, situation and implications of diverse types of international migration, the data is inadequate and disparate. Furthermore, the institutional structures created to implement the protocol once the requisite number of SADC member states ratifies it are inadequate. Analysis of voluntary and forced migration requires knowledge of different types of migration in the context of national legislation and policies that might need harmonisation to facilitate implementation of the protocol. Against this recent positive development, the SADC could well benefit from an analysis of different data sets, in particular censuses and surveys, and gain insightful perspectives on international migration in its area of jurisdiction.

About the author

Professor John Oucho is the Marie Curie Chair, Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations, University of Warwick, Coventry. This paper was presented at the Roundtable Dialogue on Human Security and Migration in Southern Africa, hosted by the Institute for Security Studies and the South African Department of Home Affairs in Pretoria, South Africa, on 25 July 2007.