The Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States

PRESS NOTE  Brussels, 3 April 2006

The 1^st meeting of ACP Ministers in charge of Asylum, Migration and Mobility will be held at ACP House, Brussels, on 13 April 2006 to discuss the link between migration and the sustainable development of ACP countries. The Ministers will adopt a declaration on migrants and mobility and a plan of action for its implementation.

The ministerial meeting will be preceded by a preparatory technical meeting on 11 and 12 April 2006 to discuss general issues related to migration in ACP States and based on the main themes of the meeting, namely, the formulation of a draft policy for capacity building in the management of migration and the promotion of information policies targeting potential migrants, in the framework of the implementation of the Cotonou Agreement.

In this framework, in addition to the elements to be taken into account for the creation of a virtual Observatory for Migration and Development and the Role of the diasporas in the development of the countries of origin, two Working Groups on the themes Migration and Development/Migration and Regional Integration; as well as Migration and the Mobility of Human Resources/Migration and the Fight against Crime will discuss issues arising from these themes.