The ACP Observatory on migration is officially launched in a ceremony foreseen for 25-27 October 2010 which will gather relevant figures from the political, economic and cultural fields both in the EU and the ACP countries.

This Observatory is a new institution created, in partnership with the European Commission, to provide reliable data and information on migration flows in ACP countries.
The objective is to design better policies to enhance the migration contribution to development. It aims to produce data on South-South migration flows in the ACP countries for migrants, civil society and policy makers and to improve research capacities in ACP countries with a view to improving the situation of migrants and to strengthen the migration and development nexus.

Available data on ACP migration is scarce. In many countries, the lack of relevant information has serious political consequences, since migrants’ need cannot be taken into account by policy makers. Migration is widely considered to present one of the factors influencing development but in many cases it has not been included in development strategies because of the lack of reliable data.

The ACP Observatory on Migration will consider the lack of data and information by improving knowledge on migration flows between the ACP countries for policy development. Under the Secretariat of ACP States, the Observatory will introduce an innovative approach to enhance research capacities in ACP countries and provide policy makers the tools to improve their action. Information will be provided to general public to improve knowledge on migration issues. Research will focus on the protection of migrants’ rights through several research topics including forced migration, labour migration, migration and health, remittances and migration and climate change.

The Observatory will create a network of research centres and private researchers to provide reliable and harmonized data on migration in ACP countries for policy makers and civil society. It will focus its attention on the situation of migrants and promote the inclusion of migration in development strategies of the target countries. Although the Observatory is currently based in Brussels, Belgium, it will be installed later in one of the 79 ACP countries.

Source : Internet website of the ACP Observatory on Migration