AFRICA DAY - COPENHAGEN 2019

H.E. MR. AMADOU TCHEKO, AMBASSADOR OF NIGER AND DEAN OF THE AFRICAN AMBASSADORS GROUP

THE CELEBRATION OF AFRICA DAY 25 MAY 2019 IN COPENHAGEN

Your Excellency Mrs Trine Thygesen Ambassador and Secretary of State for Development Policy, Mr. Anders Wors?e from Njord Law Firm, Your Excellencies African Ambassadors, Dear Colleagues Ambassadors, Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished Guests.

It’s for me, in my capacity as the Dean of the African Ambassadors of Copenhagen, a great honour and a real privilege to welcome you all warmly to Africa Day 2019.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank and express the gratitude of our Group to Njord Law Firm, who generously welcomed us today in their beautiful premises. By hosting Africa Day, they give us also an occasion to have and appreciate a wonderful view of the city of Copenhagen. I hope it is a beginning of cooperation between Njord Law Firm and our Group.

I would also like to express our gratitude and thanks to the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, particularly to the Africa Department and its counterpart in charge of the Middle East and Maghreb, which always accompanies us in our activities.

Africa Day is celebrated each 25th May across the whole of Africa and in many places in the World by different communities to commemorate the creation of the Organisation of African Unity the 25th May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the leaders from 30 of the 32 Independent African States signed a founding Charter in order to help bring change, freedom and independence to many African countries.

After the creation of African Unity on the 9th July 2002, the tradition continues to be respected each year, all over the world and represents the symbol of the struggle of the entire African Continent for liberation, development and economic progress.

In Denmark, we celebrate Africa Day with our friends. It is an occasion for us to present to our guests the wealth and the variety of the African culture through some performances, culinary dishes and an exhibition reflecting African values and traditions.

As you may know, every year the African Union adopts a theme to be developed and discussed during the celebration of Africa Day. The theme of this year 2019 is devoted to refugees, migrations, returnees and internally displaced persons.

In Denmark, we have decided to just comment on the matter concerning international migration, which has become a concern to many governments, politicians, political parties and ordinary people everywhere across the world.

As you may know, Ladies and gentlemen, people have always moved for centuries from one place to another for many reasons. They have moved from a poor area to a rich one, from rural areas to urban areas, from poor countries to rich ones. They move to find work or new economic opportunities, to follow their animals for better pasture lands, to join their families or to study. Others move to flee conflicts, persecutions or human rights violations. Still others have no choice but to move because of the effects of climate change, natural disasters and other environmental factors. Some people like nomads, move to other areas because it’s just their lifestyle.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a migrant refers to any person, who leaves his usual place of residence, crosses or has crossed an international border or moves or has moved within a country for whatever reason: 1) the legal status of the person, 2) the voluntary or involuntary nature of the displacement, 3) the causes of the displacement and 4) the length of stay.

In view of this definition and according to UN figures, in 2017, the number of international migrants - those residing in a country in which they were not born - reached 258 million (244 million in 2015). Amongst these, 48% are women, 36.1 million are children, 4.4 million are students and 150.3 million are looking for workers.

We know that 31% of all migrants live in Asia, 30% in Europe, 26% in the Americas 10% in Africa and 3% in Oceania.

Concerning the African Continent, it is good to know that despite the images of many young African migrants aboard makeshift boats attempting to reach Europe at the risk of their lives that are regularly reported by the European media, only 12 to 15% of Africans live in Europe and America and only 2% of them are illegal.

About 88% of migrants live in Africa

A close look at all countries is necessary with the issue of international migration. Many of them are both countries of departure, destinations or transit stops.

International migration has a positive or negative impact on the concerned countries, usually both. Thus, the countries of departure and particularly developing countries find in migration an undeniable source of income in view of the large currency transfers made by their diaspora. These funds are used to support the family left behind or to make local investments.

According to World Bank data, the registered transfer of funds to developing countries amounted to $ 431.6 billion in 2015, and these transfers are sometimes larger than the amounts of development aid.

Moreover, when their nationals return, the countries of origin can also get profit from important transfers of skills that are useful for their socio-economic and even political practices. However, international migration also has a very negative impact for these countries. It can be a brain drain or exodus of workforce that sometimes do not return to their countries of origin because they settle permanently in the host countries or, as regularly reported by the media, are carried away by thirst and hunger in the Sahara Desert or by the Mediterranean Sea with regard to African. Thus, at least 46.000 people have disappeared or died during border crossings since 2000. The years 2014 and 2015 are among the deadliest with 5.000 deaths and disappearances per year, of which 70% are recorded in the Mediterranean.

There is no doubt that for the developed countries, migration is a real source of labour. However, they are also a real national concern for them because of the high costs of border surveillance or the detention and deportation of illegal migrants. They are also a source of serious concern for developed countries in terms of integration and the growing development of hostility of some local populations towards migrants who are often seen as competitors to employment, charges for social benefits or threats to their homogeneity and local cultures.

In view of this, the issue of international migration is a real global concern. It concerns all countries and challenges us all. It is why we should apprehend it dispassionately in order to find the appropriate solutions to the satisfaction of all parties involved.

Thank you for your attention.

H.E. MR. AMADOU TCHEKO, AMBASSADOR OF NIGER AND DEAN OF THE AFRICAN AMBASSADORS GROUP DURING THE CELEBRATION OF THE AFRICA DAY 2019