On Wednesday 22 October 2025 in Nairobi, Kenya, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), with support from the ILO, convened its Third Ministerial Meeting on Labour, Employment and Labour Migration. The gathering brought together ministers responsible for labour, employment, interior and migration from IGAD Member States, alongside representatives of social partners, regional organisations and development partners.

The meeting concluded with the adoption of a comprehensive Ministerial Communiqué that lays out concrete commitments to strengthen decent work, improve labour mobility governance, and enhance protection for workers - including migrant workers - within and beyond the IGAD region.

Key commitments include:

• Recognition of social dialogue as a cornerstone for effective labour and employment governance.
• Commitment to ratify and implement international labour standards and promote free movement of person for better protection of rights of migrant workers’ rights.
• Strengthening fair recruitment by aligning with the ILO Fair Recruitment Initiative and the AU Fair and Ethical Recruitment Strategy (2024) to combat abusive and fraudulent recruitment and employment practices.
• Expanding social protection to cover all workers, including migrants, those in rural and informal sectors, and those affected by climate change.
• Accelerating the development of a common regional position on Bilateral Labour Agreements (BLAs) among IGAD Member States.
• Ensuring access to protection services for all migrant workers, including those in irregular situations, such as access to justice, accurate information, and effective remedies.

Ministers also expressed concern over growing irregular migration across the Red Sea Route - one of the most dangerous migration corridors globally - and endorsed a whole-of-route approach to address root causes, dismantle trafficking networks, and expand safe and regular migration pathways.

The Communiqué further welcomes initiatives to strengthen labour governance, such as regional labour mobility observatories, interoperable identification systems, and the proposed IGAD Single Visa Initiative to promote mobility, trade and integration.

Finally, Member States agreed to launch Phase II of the EU-funded programme on free movement of persons and transhumance in the IGAD region and confirmed that the fourth Ministerial Conference will take place in Juba, South Sudan, in 2027.

The adoption of this Communiqué marks an important step toward advancing decent work, safeguarding rights and improving migration governance across the IGAD region and beyond.