The Uganda Chief of Mission from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Alhaji Sanusi Tejan Savage, has said that migration is inevitable, necessary, and desirable for migrants and host populations.
According to Sanusi, migration is necessary in terms of meeting labor demands and ensuring the availability of skills and enthusiasm in the economies of societies.
He made these remarks while speaking at the recently concluded 7th Uganda-United Arab Emirates Convention over the weekend, held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel Deira, Dubai.
“This includes me, who left my home country of Sierra Leone three and a half years ago and now lives and works in Uganda,” Sanusi said.
He noted that migration is desirable for migrants and host populations alike when governed humanly and fairly as a path to the realization of human potential.
Adding to that, Sanusi said conferences of this nature are of great interest to the IOM because they concern migrants and migration.
“IOM acts together with its partners in the international community to uphold the human dignity and well-being of migrants, encourage social and economic development through migration, assist in meeting the growing operational challenges of migration management, and advance understanding of migration issues,” Sanusi added.
He added that IOM dreams of a world where migration happens out of informed, deliberate choice and not out of desperate necessity, because across the world it strives to ensure that migration is safe, orderly, and inhumane.
Sanusi disclosed that IOM involves working with diasporas, such as the Ugandan diaspora in the UAE and elsewhere in the world, on aspects such as diaspora mapping, where communities are researched to understand their demographics, skills, and potential contributions.
“It includes mobilization of Diaspora communities for causes like disaster response, development projects, and peace building. IOM creates platforms where members’ in the Diaspora can actively participate in initiatives that benefit their countries of origin,” said Sanusi.
IOM works to increase public awareness about the risk of human trafficking and supports the government in undertaking efforts to reduce trafficking.
