IOM and Government of Zimbabwe to Host 2025 Migration Dialogue for Southern Africa (MIDSA)

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe – 21 October 2025 - Ministers, Senior Government Officials from across the sixteen (16) Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and civil society, will meet in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, from 24-27 October 2025, to strengthen cooperation on migration governance and policy development across Southern Africa, under the auspices of the Migration Dialogue for Southern Africa (MIDSA).  

Themed “Promoting Regional Integration Through Sustaining Safe, Regular, and Orderly Migration in the Southern African Region,” the four (4) day dialogue will examine emerging migration dynamics such as climate-induced mobility, children on the move, alternatives to detention, mutual recognition of qualifications and skills, youth migration, labor mobility, and the growing need for data-driven migration policy solutions.  

MIDSA has served as a regional engagement platform to strengthen cooperation on migration governance and policy development across Southern Africa for the past 25 years. MIDSA has progressively enabled cooperation, integration and policy alignment in the region, thereby facilitating socio-economic development for the over four hundred (400) million SADC citizens.  

This year’s dialogue will be hosted by the outgoing SADC Chairperson, the Government of Zimbabwe, at the Elephant Hills Hotel, Victoria Falls, alongside IOM and UNICEF. Zimbabwe is a Global Compact on Migration Champion Country which has made remarkable strides in migration governance having successfully formulated coherent migration related policies ingrained with tremendous potential to maximise on the benefits and minimize on the threats implicit in migration.

The event will feature interactive technical sessions from 24-26 October 2025 designed to; promote inclusive stakeholder engagement, identify key migration challenges and formulate evidence-based recommendations for improved migration governance in the region.  

A Ministerial session will thereafter follow on 27 October 2025, where SADC Honorable Ministers from the Ministries of Home Affairs, Labor, Education and Environment, together with other key actors, alongside representatives of the African Union Commission, UN agencies and other Regional Economic Communities (RECs), seeking to endorse outcomes of the technical sessions, further reaffirm commitments to regional integration, and collectively align regional efforts in the implementation of the Global Compact for Migration (GCM) objectives which aim to make migration safe, orderly, and regular.

MIDSA 2025 will also serve as a preparatory ground for the 2026 International Migration Review Forum (IMRF), a strategic global review mechanism on the progress made in the advancement of GCM objectives globally.   To highlight the importance of this meeting and the opportunities therein, the following citations provide critical points of reflection:

The Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage - Zimbabwe is on record affirming that:

"Regional integration is best promoted through people integration. Our collective resolve should be anchored on ensuring the integration of member states in the SADC bloc if the vision to promote safe, regular and orderly migration is to be realized”.

Frantz Celestin, the IOM’s Regional Director for East, Horn and Southern Africa said:

“By working closely with the International Organization for Migration, SADC Member States can transform migration into a catalyst for regional integration and sustainable development,”. He asserted that “IOM’s technical support and policy expertise helps our region strengthen border governance, protect migrants’ rights, and address emerging challenges such as climate-induced mobility. Together, we can ensure that migration within Southern Africa is safe, orderly, and beneficial for all.”  

The UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Etleva Kadilli said:

“Children on the move across Southern Africa are among the most vulnerable, facing risks of violence, exploitation, and detention. Yet, they are also resilient and full of potential. By supporting SADC Member States, we are working to ensure that every child, regardless of their status, is protected, included, and empowered. Together, we must invest in systems that uphold children’s rights, strengthen cross-border collaboration, and ensure that migration becomes a pathway to opportunity, not adversity.”

At the end of the 2025 MIDSA event, the Ministers are expected to adopt a joint communiqué outlining priority actions to enhance regional migration governance, strengthen cross-border collaboration, and promote inclusive, rights-based migration policies across Southern Africa.