Switzerland, through its State Secretariat for Migration, is partnering the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) to host a two-week Migration Management Course.
In her opening remarks, Swiss Ambassador to Ghana Simone Giger began by quoting Amy Pope, Director General-International Organisation for Migration, who said: “Migration is a transformational force that can facilitate innovation, drive development and catalyse economic empowerment. It is one of the defining issues of our time”.
She said the two-week course will deal intensively with the various facets of migration.
“Switzerland has been supporting this outstanding training centre for many years now, especially in the field of protecting civilians. Nevertheless, Switzerland and particularly the State Secretariat for Migration is now extremely pleased to also partner with the KAIPTC in the field of migration.”
Ms. Giger noted that migration is a diverse and complex phenomenon – with many different causes and just as many different consequences.
She added that governments and societies are constantly asked to respond and keep up with these complex challenges and opportunities that migration implies and which differ from one context to the next.
“This developed migration course therefore tries to deliver a comprehensive picture of the migration phenomenon, with a special focus on the West African region while aiming at discussing regional solutions and encouraging international and regional cooperation.”
The Swiss Ambassador said migration cannot be tackled by any country alone. Switzerland therefore strongly encourages a global approach to migration based on partnership and cooperation.
For his part, Deputy Commandant-KAIPTC, Air Commodore David Akrong, appreciated the Swiss government and Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) for their continued support to this project and other KAIPTC programmes.
Air Commodore Akrong said the reality is that we live in an era of unprecedented human mobility, which neither the current global economic downturn nor restrictive security measures can halt.
He added that trends and patterns of migration in Africa are shaped by many factors: including rapid population and labour force growth, unstable politics, escalating ethnic conflicts, economic decline and environmental deterioration.
“These factors are usually brought about by a mismatch between the rapid population growth and available resources; low level of requisite technology to exploit the available natural resources; and capacity to create employment and jobs at the countries of origin”.
He expressed hope that the Migration Management Course will equip participants with knowledge, tools and skills needed to help reduce the negative effects of migration while maximising positive aspects.
