Morocco and the African Union signed, on Monday in Marrakech on the occasion of the Intergovernmental Conference on Migration, the headquarters agreement of the African Migration Observatory, a proposal by King Mohammed VI in his capacity as AU leader on the issue of migration, endorsed by African heads of State. The agreement was inked by minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Nasser Bourita, and chairman of the African Union (AU) Commission, Moussa Faki, who is attending the Marrakech Conference (10-11 Dec.) that was marked by the adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. The African Migration Observatory, which will be based in Rabat and whose work is based on the triptych «understanding, anticipating and acting», will have the task of collecting information and developing its exchange as well as facilitating coordination between African countries on migration issues. In a statement to the press, Faki stressed that this Observatory is an important tool for analyzing the phenomenon of migration and for obtaining reliable statistics that are specifically African. «It is time for Africans to manage this (migratory) issue on their own», said Faki, highlighting Africa's strong adherence to the Global Compact on Migration, which includes «important provisions to protect migrants». Migration is now at the heart of the Global and African Agenda, he noted, adding that the adoption of this Global Compact on Migration in Marrakech is the best illustration. For his part, Bourita recalled that the King had proposed the establishment of an African Migration Observatory, an idea that was subsequently endorsed by African heads of State in July in Nouakchott at the 31st AU Summit, before being included in the Marrakech Compact. The Observatory is the beginning of the implementation of the Global Compact on Migration, which emphasizes that better knowledge of this phenomenon will lead to better management, Bourita said.
