IGAD used a high-level Migration Day convened in Djibouti City on October 26, 2026, to press for tighter alignment among national migration programmes, regional frameworks, and global commitments such as the Global Compact for Migration. The event, held under the patronage of Djibouti's Interior Minister H.E. Mr. Omar Abdi Said, brought together senior government officials, regional and international organisations, development partners, and civil society actors to review progress and chart priorities for the partnership between Djibouti and the European Union in migration governance.
Speaking on behalf of the IGAD Executive Secretary, H.E. Ambassador Moussa Meigague, Director of IGAD's Health and Social Development Division, said migration is closely connected to regional integration, peace and security, employment, trade, public health, climate resilience, and sustainable development. He noted that the IGAD region has always been characterised by mobility, with people moving in search of employment, trade, education, protection, pasture, water, and economic opportunities, and that well-governed migration can support economic growth, skills development, and social cohesion. At the same time, he acknowledged that mobility in the region continues to be shaped by conflict, insecurity, climate change, displacement, unemployment, trafficking in persons, migrant smuggling, and limited access to regular pathways.
IGAD outlined its current support to member states through the IGAD Regional Migration Policy Framework and the IGAD Migration Action Plan 2025–2029, which addresses displacement, climate-related mobility, migrant protection, free movement, transhumance, migration data, effective governance, and gender-responsive programming.
A joint presentation by IGAD and the International Labour Organization highlighted progress under the Support to Free Movement of Persons and Transhumance in the IGAD Region, Phase II (FMPT II) project. The session covered advances on two protocols adopted by the 72nd Extraordinary Session of the IGAD Council of Ministers on 24 June 2021: the Free Movement Protocol, which progressively facilitates entry, labour mobility, residence, and establishment; and the Transhumance Protocol, which supports cross-border pastoral mobility as a driver of livelihoods, climate resilience, food security, trade, and peaceful coexistence. Participants discussed ongoing national processes towards signature, ratification, and domestication of both instruments.
Discussions also addressed the irregular migration crisis along the Eastern, or Red Sea, Route, reaffirming the Tadjourah Call for Action, which calls for stronger cooperation, migrant protection, action against criminal networks, and expanded regular pathways.
Marking the fifth anniversary of Djibouti's National Migration Coordination Office, participants called for stronger complementarity among migration programmes to align them with national priorities and reinforce institutions. IGAD commended Djibouti's role as host of the IGAD Secretariat and as a country of origin, transit, and destination, describing it as strategically significant for regional migration cooperation.
Participants highlighted the value of a Humanitarian–Development–Peace Nexus approach, connecting immediate humanitarian assistance and migrant protection with long-term development, institutional resilience, and peacebuilding. In his closing remarks, Ambassador Meigague emphasised that national ownership, institutional capacity, and alignment with national priorities must guide future migration cooperation.
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