Migration in the Horn of Africa is largely characterised by movements within the region itself. There are more than 5.7 migrants and approximately 18 million internally displaced people, refugees and asylum seekers in the respective countries. Human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants remain significant threats to people on the move and a key challenge to migration management.
The Better Migration Management (BMM) Programme accompanies national authorities and institutions to strengthen safe, orderly and regular migration in the Horn of Africa by applying a human rights-based approach. To date, more than 50,000 migrants and victims of trafficking have benefited from protection services and assistance supported by the programme.
Objectives
The programme aims to enable national authorities and institutions to facilitate safe, orderly and regular migration, and address human trafficking by applying a human rights-based approach.
BMM works on three interconnected pillars
- migration governance to establish a political basis for regionally harmonised migration management
- effective institutions to address and reduce human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants
- protection for victims of trafficking and vulnerable migrants
The project seeks to
- contribute to a human rights-based management of migration and mobility on national and regional level
- strengthen cooperation between countries of origin, transit and destination in the Horn of Africa
- improve the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking
- enhance an effective and coordinated protection and assistance of vulnerable migrants and victims of trafficking, involving governmental and civil society actors
Project activities
The programme reaches its objectives through a number of activities
- supporting the development and formulation of national migration policies and legislation in line with international conventions
- training on investigation and prosecution of human trafficking, for example forensic trainings, mock trials, etc.
- capacity building on integrated border management, anti-human trafficking and identification and referral of victims of trafficking
- financial and technical support to Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to strengthen their services to migrants, such as accommodation, food and medical and psychosocial care
- development and implementation of referral mechanisms and standard operating procedures to support migrants and victims of trafficking efficiently and according to their needs
Results
- assistance to approximately 50 000 migrants and victims of trafficking
- 22 new or revised national migration policies, strategies and legal frameworks
- 11 host communities formulated recommendations on improved migration governance, engaging about 2 660 people
- more than 23 700 actors supported in improving migration governance, for example through the regulation of work and residence rights for migrants and strengthened cross-border cooperation
- about 13 340 actors participated in trainings on investigation and prosecution of human trafficking and integrated border management, curricula developed and embedded into the regular curricula of 17 national training institutions of law enforcement agencies in 5 countries
- regional network established of about 100 CSOs working in protection and anti-human trafficking
Implementing partners
- British Council
- CIVIPOL
- Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
- International Organization for Migration (IOM) UN Migration
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
- Expertise France (in phase 1)
- Italian Department of Public Security (in phase 1)
- Project duration
- 1 Apr 2016 - 3 Sep 2025
- Project locations
- DjiboutiEthiopiaEritreaKenyaSomaliaSouth SudanSudanUganda
- Overall budget
- €122 000 000
- EU contribution
- €105 000 00086.1% of the overall budget