African Migration Observatory, Direct Response of Marrakech Compact

The African Migration Observatory in Morocco is a direct response to the Marrakech Compact, and in particular its first objective, which is to collect and use accurate data to develop policies based on factual knowledge, says the Report of King Mohammed VI, Leader on the issue of Migration, on the follow-up to the operationalization of the African Migration Observatory in Morocco, presented Sunday before the 35th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly, held in Addis Ababa.

“I have sought to ensure that the main goal behind the operationalization of the African Migration Observatory is for the Continent to take ownership of the migration issue and of the various dynamics it implies inside Africa”, the Sovereign said in this report, presented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad, Nasser Bourita.

“Another aim for me was to deconstruct the negative perception of migration by establishing a new, positive and objective approach to the issue, while highlighting the human element as a lever for the Continent’s development”, the Sovereign noted in the report, adding that from design, to development to implementation, “Morocco has spared no effort to carry out each one of the steps aimed at turning my proposal to set up the African Migration Observatory into a reality”.

The inauguration of the Observatory also demonstrates Africa’s capacity to be a frontrunner with regard to the new migration governance advocated by the Compact. Thus, at a time when African migration is being stigmatized and associated with binary conceptions, “Africa has positioned itself as a key player in the implementation of the Compact,” the document points out.

The actual setting up of the African Migration Observatory, which is the very first AU institution to be based in Morocco, has certainly been a first major step in this direction, the report adds.