Kenya and three other African human rights bodies have raised alarm that migration policies in Southern Africa are failing, warning that a security-heavy approach is worsening risks for migrants rather than protecting them.
Marking International Migrants Day on December 18, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), together with counterpart institutions from Ethiopia, Mozambique and Zambia, said the Southern migration corridor has become increasingly dangerous due to weak protection mechanisms and limited legal pathways.
Rather than focusing on enforcement alone, the commissions urged governments to confront the deeper causes pushing people to move, including conflict, climate shocks and shrinking economic opportunities across sub-Saharan Africa.
“Migration is no longer a simple journey from one country to another. It is complex, mixed and often desperate,” KNCHR chairperson Roseline Odede said. “When states treat migrants purely as a security threat, they expose vulnerable people to abuse, exploitation and even death.”
The regional bodies noted that stricter border controls have driven migrants into irregular routes controlled by smugglers and traffickers, blurring the lines between asylum seekers, labour migrants and victims of human trafficking.
According to the commissions, this shift has left migrants with little access to justice, health services or legal protection as they move through countries of origin, transit and destination.
“Protecting borders without protecting people is a dangerous imbalance,” said a joint statement from the National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs). “Human rights must be at the centre of migration governance.”
The rights bodies called on African governments to adopt rights-based migration policies, ratify international conventions on migrant workers, and expand fair labour agreements that are gender-responsive and inclusive.
They also pledged to strengthen cross-border cooperation, monitor violations and engage directly with migrants to ensure their voices shape future migration policies.