The Gambia

The main migration policy instruments:

Non-exhaustive list of key policy documents relating to migration:

• 1966/1967: ratification of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
• 1979: the ECOWAS Protocols relating to the Free Movement of Persons, the Right of Residence and Establishment (1979, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990).
• 1980: ratification of the 1969 AU Convention Governing Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa.
• 2003: ratification of the 2000 Protocols on Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants.
• 2007: Immigration Act.
• 2007: Trafficking in Persons Act.
• 2017: National Migration Policy.
• 2018: ratification of the 1990 Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.

The main ministries in charge of migration affairs:

• Ministry of Interior: in charge of immigration and emigration; entry clearance and visas; passport issuance; the Professional Standards Unit (established in 2008 as a means for Gambians and non-Gambians to lodge complaints when their rights have been violated by an immigration officer) and developed the National Migration Policy.
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad: in charge of consular assistance; bilateral, regional and international agreements on migration; identification and repatriation of Gambians living abroad; an Ad hoc division in charge of involving Gambian communities abroad in national development strategies.

Sources:

• ICMPD and IOM (2016): A Survey on Migration Policies in West Africa. Second Edition. https://fmmwestafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/en-A_Survey_on_Migration_Policies_in_West_Africa_EN_SOFT2nd.pdf
• IOM (2018): IOM holds a Sensitization Workshop on The Gambia’s New National Migration Policy (Accessed on 21/09/2018). https://rodakar.iom.int/news/iom-holds-sensitization-workshop-gambia%E2%80%99s-new-national-migration-policy
• United Nations DESA-Population Division and UNICEF (2014): Migration Profiles - Common Set of Indicators. https://esa.un.org/MigGMGProfiles/Indicators/indicators.HTM

Last update: September 2018