Kick-off for Dialogue on Egypt and Transit Migration

A pioneering seminar with the theme of Egypt and Transit migration took place in Cairo, Egypt on 7-8 June 2010. The seminar was first of its kind and was organized jointly by the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights and International Organization for Migration. Finland was the donor to the seminar, as migration is an important topic for Finland from the perspectives of its Human Rights and Development Policies.

The event brought together researchers, experts, officials, and representatives of the civil society and media to discuss this current and challenging issue, addressed also by the UN Human Rights Commissioner related to the incidents along the Israeli-Egyptian border.   

The purpose of the seminar was to serve as the starting point for a broader discussion on transit migration. The seminar consisted of presentations on the trends of migration in Egypt and in the Northern Africa region, legal aspects and the challenges of migration, respecting the human rights of the migrants, and migration related phenomena such as human trafficking.  

Transit migrants in North Africa largely come from the Sub-Saharan Africa, including the Horn of Africa, where the low living standards, poverty, conflicts and disasters are among the root causes for migrating. From Egypt the transit migrants aim towards European countries and neighboring countries such as Israel. For a part of the migrants Egypt is also a destination country.

Adjunct Professor of Universities of Helsinki and Tampere, Finland, Dr. Arno Tanner brought Finnish expertise to the seminar by lecturing on the trends of migration in North Africa, and the future trends of migration in Africa at large. According to Tanner, the migratory flows in the region will increase in the future due to, among other things, hunger and desertification, and human rights abuses. Dr. Tanner also linked the phenomenon of migration to a larger context of development. 

At the end of the seminar a list of recommendation was drafted based on the discussions. The recommendations emphasized cooperation between countries of origin, transit and destination, increasing dialogue among countries of transit, addressing the root causes to migration such as conflicts in the region, the human rights of the migrants, and the role of civil society in assisting the migrants.