Migration has always been one of the key drivers of globalisation. However, confusion over different types of migration, whether legal or illegal, often generates tensions and disagreements amongst countries. International laws and national legislation evolved to bring responses in regulating human mobility but, despite these frameworks, some migrants still face insecurity, discrimination or lack of access to socioeconomic opportunities.
International migration was challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, which strongly impacted human mobility and progress made on migrants' integration. It is expected the pandemic will affect future migration trends and that countries need to anticipate future responses. Aware of these challenges, the Kingdom of Morocco has seized the importance of creating an appropriate national legal framework and became the first country in North Africa to enact a real migration policy in 2013. The National Immigration and Asylum Strategy was thus launched and resulted in more than 50,000 refugees and asylum seekers benefitting from a resident status, allowing them to access the national labour market.
Morocco was also keen on playing a key role pertaining to migration at the international level. Hence, the country hosted an intergovernmental conference in December 2018 under the aegis of the United Nations. It is also planning to host, in December 2020, the 1st African Regional Forum for the Implementation of the Marrakesh Pact, which will serve as the African preparatory meeting for the International Migration Review Forum of 2022. The question remains: what will these forums achieve?
Speakers
Sara BENJELLOUN
Sara holds a PhD in political science. Her academic interests and research work focus on migration from the frames of Euro-Mediterranean relations and public policy analysis. EGE alumna, Sara obtained her doctorate in political science from the Université Grenoble-Alpes in 2019 and holds a master's degree in political science - international relations from the doctoral school of Sciences Po - Paris in 2015. She is currently an associate researcher at the Research Laboratory on Social Sciences PACTE (Public Policies, Political Action, TErritories).
Leonard WANTCHEKON
Professor Leonard Wantchekon is the founding director of the Institute for Empirical Research in Political Economy, which is based in Benin. He is a Visiting Professor at the LSE Firoz Lalji Centre for Africa, Professor of Politics and International Affairs at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, and an affiliate of the Economics Department at Princeton University and earlier taught at Yale University (1995–2001) and New York University (2001 -2011). His work has been featured in many top publications, such as American Economic Review and The Quarterly Journal of Economics.
François Reybet-Degat
François Reybet-Degat is the United Nations Agency for Refugees Representative in Morocco and was the Deputy Director of the UNHCR MENA Bureau prior to this. He also has extensive experience working with UNHCR for more than 20 years.
Moderator
Amal EL OUASSIF
Amal El Ouassif is an International Relations Specialist at the Policy Center for the New South in Rabat, Morocco. Prior to this, she worked as a programme coordinator at the Westminster Foundation for Democracy and served as a consultant in development policies with the office of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Morocco. She is also a former bluebook trainee in the Directorate General of Employment Social Affairs and Inclusion in the European Commission in Brussels.
Partners
LSE Alumni Association Morocco
The LSE Alumni Association Morocco is the official alumni association of the London School of Economics and Political Science in Morocco. It organises a number of events in Rabat and Casablanca each year and aims to help their members network with other alumni and share experiences.
EGE Alumni
Created in 2018, EGE ALUMNI is the Association of laureates of the School of Governance and Economics of Rabat (EGE Rabat) and the Faculty of Governance, Economics and Social Sciences (FGSES) of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P). EGE Alumni aims at bringing together former students of EGE Rabat and the FGSES to exchange views in a dynamic and engaged association.