About THAMM

THAMM, which stands for “Towards a Holistic Approach to Labour Migration Governance and Labour Mobility in North Africa”, is an international cooperation programme implemented by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the Belgian Development Cooperation Agency Enabel and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. Enabel has joined the THAMM programme in August 2020 and the French Office of Immigration and Integration (OFII) in January 2022. This programme is co-financed under the North Africa window of the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF) by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The ILO and the IOM implement four of its five Specific Objectives (see below) on funding from the European Union.

THAMM proposes to approach labour migration holistically, in terms of both technical dimensions (governance frameworks, skills recognition and qualification, statistical data and information systems) and end beneficiaries (integration of foreign workers into labour markets and assistance to national workers seeking employment abroad).

The THAMM Programme builds on the experience of the implementation institutions in North Africa and beyond to foster mutually beneficial migration and mobility for North African countries. The programme addresses both the South-North and the South-South dimensions of labour migration and mobility through regional dialogue and cooperation. Planned over 48 months, it covers three countries: Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia and is inclusive of and open to other North Africa countries for sub-regional activities which will be invited to this regional conference.

The Programme is aligned with existing policy frameworks at global levels (Sustainable Development Goals, Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration) and regional (African Union Migration Policy Framework Plan of Action 2018-2030) and in line with national priorities as identified through a series of preliminary consultations and national workshops with relevant national stakeholders conducted in the preparation phase.

Furthermore, the Programme contributes to Objective (3) “Improved migration management in countries of origin, transit and destination” of the EU Trust Fund for Africa and in particular to the Priority Action II – Advancing mutually beneficial legal migration and mobility of the Operational framework of the North of Africa window. The action is also aligned with the Valletta Action Plan Priority Domain 2 “Legal migration and mobility”, and with the Communication on the Delivery of the European Agenda on Migration that sets legal migration channels with third countries via pilot initiatives as a strategy for achieving concrete results.

The Overall Objective of the Action

to increase mutually beneficial legal migration and mobility and this is addressed through the following specific objectives

SO 1

Policy, legislative, institutional and regulatory frameworks in the field of legal migration and mobility in particular those aiming at enhancing migrant workers' rights and combatting forced labour, child labour and slavery are progressively established

SO 1
SO 2

Mechanisms for assessment, certification, validation and recognition of migrants' skills and qualifications are improved

SO 2
SO 3

Migration related knowledge and data management in the field of legal migration and mobility is improved

SO 3
SO 4

Mobility Schemes are established and/or improved

SO 4
SO 5

Cooperation between relevant stakeholders in the field of legal migration and mobility, in particular job placement, is improved

SO 5

SO 1

Policy, legislative, institutional and regulatory frameworks in the field of legal migration and mobility in particular those aiming at enhancing migrant workers' rights and combatting forced labour, child labour and slavery are progressively established;

SO 3

Migration related knowledge and data management in the field of legal migration and mobility is improved;

SO 5

Cooperation between relevant stakeholders in the field of legal migration and mobility, in particular job placement, is improved.

SO 2

Mechanisms for assessment, certification, validation and recognition of migrants' skills and qualifications are improved;

SO 4

Mobility Schemes are established and/or improved;

References

[1] See more detailed data in the Conference Concept Note.

[2] https://erf.org.eg/publications/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-middle-eastern-and-north-african-labor-markets-employment-recovering-but-income-losses-persisting/

[3] https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/37412/9781464817359.pdf

[4] https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—africa/—ro-abidjan/documents/publication/wcms_791949.pdf

[5] See results from THAMM Impact of COVID-19 on Tunisians and Moroccans Abroad, 2021. In the IMPACT assessments, the reasons were analysed which are in the case of MOR: increase in the use of regular channels and in the case of TUN: those in a better economic situation were behind the stable remittance flows (as COVID did not have a big impact on their salaries).

[6] From Tunisia; https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2022/08/25/migrants-plus-de-2-000-mineurs-tunisiens-arrives-clandestinement-en-italie-depuis-janvier_6138978_3212.html ; from all North African countries, see: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/infographics/migration-flows/

[7]Communication from the Commission to the EP, the Council, the EESC and the CoR on the Delivery of the European Agenda on Migration, COM (2017) 558 final.

ILO THAMM Pages: https://www.ilo.org/africa/technical-cooperation/WCMS_741974/lang–en/index.htm

IOM THAMM Pages: https://morocco.iom.int/le-royaume-du-maroc-et-l%E2%80%99union-europ%C3%A9enne-ont-lanc%C3%A9-le-programme-%C2%AB-pour-une-approche-globale-de-la