On the occasion of the 18th annual Regional Seminar on International Humanitarian Law, co-hosted by the ICRC and the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation, the Pretoria Delegation launched the latest issue of the International Review of the Red Cross on Migration and Displacement. The launch took place at a gala dinner on Thursday 6 September, which brought together participants from the IHL Seminar (government representatives from 14 African countries), the diplomatic community based in Pretoria, as well as other interlocutors of the ICRC Regional Delegation for Southern Africa.
Watch the interview with Aimee-Noël Mbiyozo.
The launch focussed on the issue of migration from an African perspective, and began with a short intervention by the ICRC covering an overview of the IRRC issue on Migration and Displacement, an outline of the work of the ICRC in migration, and an introduction of the keynote speaker. The keynote speaker, Senior Researcher on Migration for the Institute of Security Studies, Ms Aimee-Noel Mbiyozo, addressed the launch on the protection of migrants in the region. She highlighted Africa's unique migration context as well as the reality that the majority of Africans who migrate remain on the African continent. She also noted that Africa has a long history of understanding the benefits of migration and of creating tools that reflect this, but lamented that the current quality of the dialogue and progress towards solutions are beneath African standards. Ms Mbiyozo concluded by calling on the guests in the room to work to re-claim the African migration narrative.