AFRIDU Convenes High-Level Abuja Dialogue on Migration, Demands People-Centred African Response By Raymond Enoch
The African Diaspora Union (AFRIDU) is set to convene a High-Level Strategic Dialogue on the Effect of Migration on African Citizens, bringing governments, United Nations agencies, development partners, regional institutions, civil society, academia and African Diaspora leaders to Abuja to confront the growing humanitarian, security and development consequences of migration across the continent.
The strategic dialogue, scheduled for October 5, 2026, at the Army Resource Centre and Suites, along Kubwa Expressway, Maitama District, Abuja, will seek to push migration beyond the traditional confines of border control and security towards a broader framework centred on human rights, dignity, protection, peace, development and sustainable opportunities for African citizens.
AFRIDU, a Pan-African organisation committed to advancing the welfare, rights and aspirations of Africans and people of African descent, says the dialogue comes at a critical point as conflict, insecurity, poverty, climate-related pressures, political instability, persecution and humanitarian crises continue to drive displacement and migration across Africa.
The organisation argues that for millions of Africans, migration is no longer simply a question of moving from one country to another in search of jobs or better opportunities, but increasingly a matter of human security, citizenship, survival, dignity and fundamental rights.
It is against this backdrop that AFRIDU is positioning the Abuja dialogue as a platform for strategic action rather than another forum for policy declarations.
The meeting is expected to examine coordinated African and international responses to migration and forced displacement, with particular attention to refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, vulnerable migrants, women, children and young people who often bear the greatest burden of displacement.
AFRIDU is also calling for stronger human-rights-based migration governance capable of protecting African citizens while promoting lawful mobility, combating exploitation and trafficking, strengthening communities and unlocking the economic and developmental benefits of migration.
A major thrust of the dialogue will be addressing the root causes of forced displacement, including conflict, insecurity, poverty, climate change and social exclusion, while strengthening regional cooperation around peace, security, social inclusion and sustainable development.
The organisation maintains that Africa must fundamentally rethink the way it approaches migration.
According to AFRIDU, the continent cannot afford to treat migration solely as a security challenge when its consequences simultaneously affect humanitarian protection, economies, communities, development and human rights.
The dialogue will consequently seek to move African migration policy from crisis response to strategic action, fragmented interventions to coordinated solutions, and policy rhetoric to measurable commitments.
AFRIDU is equally placing the African Diaspora at the centre of the conversation, arguing that Africans abroad represent a strategic resource capable of contributing to migration governance, investment, knowledge transfer, economic opportunities and sustainable development on the continent.
The planned engagement will also recognise the role of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other regional and international institutions in refugee protection, humanitarian intervention and the search for durable solutions to forced displacement.
AFRIDU believes that sustainable progress will ultimately depend on political will and sustained partnerships involving African governments, regional institutions, international organisations, development partners, civil society, academia, the private sector and the African Diaspora.
The Abuja dialogue is therefore expected to generate practical pathways towards stronger protection systems and more orderly, safe and humane migration governance, while ensuring that the interests and dignity of African citizens remain at the heart of policy decisions.
For AFRIDU, the underlying message is clear: Africa’s migration crisis cannot be solved by borders alone.
The continent needs systems that protect people before, during and after displacement, create legitimate opportunities for mobility, address the conditions compelling people to leave their homes and ensure that migration contributes to peace, prosperity and sustainable development.
As the organisation prepares to bring key stakeholders together in Abuja, it is calling for renewed African leadership and continental cooperation to build a migration framework that puts people first.
