The International Organization for Migration (IOM) office in Zimbabwe is implementing a migration governance project, Promoting Migration Governance in Zimbabwe, which seeks to contribute to the establishment of a migration governance framework in Zimbabwe that supports State and non-State actors to manage migration in a migrant-centred, gender-sensitive, rights-based and development-oriented manner. As part of the project, IOM commissioned a migration governance technical needs and capacity assessment in order to: (a) better understand the existing national migration institutional and policy frameworks, gaps and overlaps; and (b) proffer recommendations for strengthened migration governance systems and processes. The assessment was rooted in the principles and objectives of the IOM Migration Governance Framework, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union Migration Policy Framework.

The migration governance technical needs and capacity assessment report summarizes the migration institutional and policy frameworks, regulatory structure and coordination mechanism, which are part of the migration governance framework in Zimbabwe. The report notes that migration governance in Zimbabwe is set within legislative instruments enshrined in the national constitution and various pieces of legislation, which include the Immigration Act and the Trafficking in Persons Act, among others. Zimbabwe’s migration-related institutional frameworks include the National Diaspora Directorate and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Secretariat. Zimbabwe’s migration governance structure currently consists of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration, which is the overarching migration coordination framework, complemented by sector-specific interministerial committees. The report presents recommendations towards strengthening migration governance in Zimbabwe, which include the establishment of the Sector Policy Review Committee and the National Migration Coordination Directorate.