Forced Migration in the OIC Member Countries:
Policy Framework Adopted by Host Countries
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has the potential to ensure refugees’ access to social rights, benefits, and durable solutions,
but implementation continues to be a challenge.
Figure 5: Forced migrant populations in OIC countries in West Africa
Source: UNHCR, “Population Statistics”
Note: The international forced migrant population is calculated to be the number of refugees, people in refugee-like situations,
and asylum seekers residing in a country.
2.4.1. Migration dynamics in West Africa
West Africa holds a longstanding culture of mobility, in which short-term migration has long
been used to adapt to recurring environmental events, such as seasonal droughts.82 Migration
flows are mixed, driven by factors like political instability and low-level violence,
environmental factors, and a lack of economic opportunity. This makes it difficult to discern
which migrants may qualify for humanitarian protection - a large population of forced
migrants do not meet the 1951 Convention criteria, yet are highly vulnerable for other
reasons. Most of these flows are intra-regional, with Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana serving as
primary destinations, though some migrants travel further afield to destinations in North
Africa and Europe.
Circular migration in West Africa: A mix of forced and economic migration
West African migration flows are typically intra-regional, reflecting long-standing traditions of
mobility between countries.83 In the mid-2000s, UNHCR estimated that there were ten times
82 Benattia, Armitano, and Robinson, Irregular Migration between West Africa, North Africa and the Mediterranean, 20.
83An extreme example of this pan-West African migration would be the Tuareg, a nomadic pastoralist group who have
traditionally travelled between lands now split amongst the territories of Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Algeria and Libya.
Similarly, the Hawsa population is split between Niger, Nigeria, and other neighboring countries, leading to frequent
movements to meet with family or other tribe members. Merise Jalali, “Tuareg Migration: A Critical Component of Crisis in
the Sahel,” Migration Information Source, May 30, 2013