The Commissioner General (CG) of the Liberia Immigration Service (LIS), Atty. Stephen Zargo, has returned to the country following his recent participation in a two-day Migration Dialogue for West Africa Forum, held in Lagos, Nigeria.
The session was designed to formulate strategies in enhancing the capacities to manage migration challenges confronting the region.
According to information gathered, there is a need for ECOWAS to engage the issuing authorities in Guinea and Ivory Coast to align the existing National Biometric ID with the adopted specification of the ENBIC as a tool to create awareness on the right of entry for community citizens, and information centers should be established at various borders to enable travelers have access to information regarding valid travel documents and other relevant information.
During the session, the issue of validity period of the ENBIC deployed in members states was highlighted to be in conformity with the adopted period of ten years.
Members states are being encouraged to allocate special purpose funding toward ensuring the necessary infrastructure is in place at the borders in order to apply the use of technology in enhancing border management, with the need to engage key actors in the private and public sectors in executing border management initiatives in order to leverage on their expertise and resources.
It was recommended that heads of immigration in conjunction with the Attorneys General in member states initiate the process of aligning immigration laws in their respective states to reflect the decision taken by ECOWAS authority of Heads of States and Government on the abolition of the 90-day residence permit.
Accordingly, member states were also encouraged to emulate the current practice in Ivory Coast, which enables community citizens the right to reside and establish businesses using their biometric identity card or international passport issued by their respective countries; and harmonize the training curriculum for border operatives in all members states.
The security workshop was held under the theme, “Acceleration of the Implementation of the ECOWAS National Biometric Identity Card (ENBIC) and the Abolishing of 90-Day Resident Permit for Community”, conducted on May 30—31, 2024.
In the context of the directorate of free movement of persons and migration, the recent security meeting was organized to address migration issues confronting members states in the sub-region. Countries that attended the meeting were Benin, Ivory Coast, The Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Guniea Bissau, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
The opening ceremony was done by Albert Siaw- Boateng, ECOWAS Director for Free Movement; the second speaker was Ebima Mboob, the newly appointed Director General of the Gambia Immigration Service (GIS); and the third speaker was Attorney Stephen Zargo, Commissioner General of the Liberia Immigration Service (LIS). The session was chaired by David Adebambo, Deputy Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS). There were series of presentations made during the security session, to include integrated border management in the region, establishment of regional integrated border management strategy, strengthening national integrated border management structures, among other topics.
Speaking upon his return, the LIS boss noted that Liberia stands to benefit from all the issues highlighted during the meeting in Lagos, Nigeria.