Bawumia calls for broader research on migration

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia on Thursday stressed the need for broader research on migration to enable the formulation of effective policies to deal with that key facet of the globalised world.

He said with issues of migration high on the global, African and Ghana’s agenda, researchers ought to increase their engagement on the issue and collaborate more to find solutions to migration and mobility that had become major human development issue.

The Vice President made the call at the opening of the United Nations University (UNU) WIDER Development Conference jointly organised with the Africa Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana, Legon.

Noting the release in 2016 of Ghana’s first National Migration Policy aimed at providing a framework to manage migration for sustainable development, Dr Bawumia said Ghana was continuously monitoring the need for effective policies in that area.

“It is not surprising that these issues are high on the global agenda, high on the African agenda, and high on the Ghanaian agenda,” he said.

The Vice President said he was pleased to see many researchers drawn from many different countries at the conference and was optimistic that their diverse experiences would speak to key issues regarding internal migration, urbanisation, internally displaced persons, irregular migration, migrant smuggling, labour migration; return, re-admission, reintegration of emigrants, border management, refugees and asylum-seekers among others.

“We hear a lot on the international stage about South-North migration. My understanding is that over the next two days you will focus, in particular, on South-South movements, which are larger and perhaps more significant in terms of numbers of people involved.

“There is a great deal to learn in such international collaboration and research exchange,” he said.

The Vice President said the conference demonstrated UNU-WIDER’s strength in bringing together researchers and policymakers from across the world “to share experiences of what works, and what can be done better.”

He said Ghana was a strong believer in the values of the United Nations and as an institution of the United Nations University, UNU-WIDER exemplified success in mobilising research and promoting dialogue to bring fresh ideas to the policy table.

Prof. Ernest Aryeetey, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, said most countries in the world had not fully comprehended the impact of migration and mobility for policymaking.

He said as more attention was being given to issues of migration, both locally and internationally, the situation ought to be critically analysed to inform policy worldwide.

Finish Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Pirjo Suomela-Chowdhury, called for an end to political rhetoric, urging wider engagement on the issues that underpin migration and mobility with their repercussions on national development.