Promoting a Regional Corridor Approach to Coordinated/Integrated Border Management in Eastern and Southern Africa

The expansion of trade and transport corridors throughout Eastern and Southern Africa brings economic growth and increased human mobility and cross-border migration. One Stop Border Posts (OSPB) are being established along these corridors to facilitate and speed up the movement of goods and persons. OSBP are also considered to be an important trade facilitation tool. To date, emphasis has been placed on OSBP customs issues including the reduction and removal of barriers that slow down the movement of goods across borders and along trade corridors. Less focus has been placed on human mobility, in all its facets at the border, including dimensions of security, health and protection, including particular considerations for female traders. For borders posts which have yet to become OSBP, which are located on central corridors, similar challenges exist in terms of border management including infrastructure, procedures and capacity.

The Governments of Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe (all COMESA Member States) have requested the assistance of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to support the development of interventions that provide practical and timely responses and improve understanding regarding the relationship between trade, migration, and transport and trade corridors.

The overall objective of the proposed project is to increase participating governments’ capacity for coordinated/integrated border management within a regional corridor approach. IOM, in partnership with the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) will achieve this objective through the following two outcomes: i) Immigration and Customs policy makers and practitioners possess a better understanding of the interrelationship between trade facilitation and human mobility, within a transport corridor approach. ii) The OSPB at Chirundu, and border post at Mwami/Mchinji are capacitated and officials are better able to manage migration.