Introduction
Under the same “Integrating Migration into National Development Plans: Towards Policy Coherence and the Achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at National and Global Levels” project as Ghana, a process kicked off in Ethiopia to mainstream migration into national development policies in 2018. The objective was for government partners to strengthen their capacities in implementing coherent migration and development policies in Ethiopia, in the context of the 2030 Agenda.
Methodology
- Awareness raising and capacity building on migration and the SDGs: Holding sessions to raise awareness of migration in the SDGs and build the capacity of government stakeholders to take action.
- Establishment of a dedicated migration-SDG body: Establishing an inter-agency body to manage the migration-SDG process.
- Activities to be decided: Based on migration and development priorities identified by the body above, a number of interventions will be developed and implemented.
Awareness Raising and Capacity Building
As a first step in the project, a joint awareness raising and capacity building training was organized in February 2018. This was aimed at government stakeholders from different ministries and was carried out in close collaboration with the National Anti-Trafficking and Smuggling Taskforce Secretariat under the Attorney General’s Office. Ministries represented included the Central Statistical Agency (CSA), Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA), Ministry of Federal Urban Job Creation Opportunity and Food Security, and others.
The objectives of the training were to introduce stakeholders to migration in the SDGs, sensitize them on the concept of migration mainstreaming, and build their capacity to design concrete ways to mainstream migration. The training was also carried out to help determine the nature and composition of the working group to lead the rest of the migration-SDG process.
Participants were introduced to the different entry points of migration in the SDGs, including where targets explicitly included migration, as well as where migration was a cross-cutting theme in Goals. Participants explored linkages between migration and different sectors, and discussed them in the context of migration and development issues in Ethiopia. The training walked participants through several methods to mainstream migration into national development planning. Following this, participants brainstormed how to design migration interventions relating to selected SDG targets in their particular sectors. To do this, they first identified relevant existing laws, policies and frameworks, and based on these frameworks discussed possible interventions.
Institutional Set Up
An existing inter-ministerial National Anti-Trafficking and Smuggling task force secretariat helped lead the initial steps of the project, given its involvement in migration-related issues in Ethiopia. However, the next step after holding the training is to formally establish an institutional set up to lead the rest of the migration-SDG process forward.
To establish the leadership and coordination structure of the future process, consultations were conducted with different ministries. The aim was, as far as possible, to build on existing migration governance structures and coordination mechanisms instead of establishing new ones. Discussions have focused on how to adapt the Anti-Trafficking and Smuggling task force and expand its scope so it can lead the SDG-migration process. For example, the task force secretariat could lead and coordinate the process in conjunction with one ministry. As of July 2018, the process to establish the way forward is ongoing.
Once the institutional set up is decided, several activities will be undertaken, including developing a country report regarding migration-SDG objectives, suggesting and carrying out mainstreaming steps, and helping track progress on migration-related SDG targets.
Conclusion
The project succeeded in raising awareness of concepts and practices around migration in the SDGs, and building capacity for national stakeholders to take them forward. Further, because activities to date have included different ministries, chances of achieving policy coherence in migration have been significantly boosted. Under the framework of the project, once the institutional set up is finalized, a number of mainstreaming initiatives will be implemented.