The New South Institute (NSI), together with the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town, convened a roundtable in Cape Town with International Organization for Migration (IOM) Director-General Amy Pope and leading migration researchers. The meeting brought together experts and advocates to discuss migration governance challenges in Southern Africa.

Alan Hirsch, NSI Research Fellow and Head of the Migration Governance Reform in Africa Programme (MIGRA), led the discussion. Participants reflected on the emerging concept of route-based approaches to migration — a framework that analyses migration across national and regional boundaries, considering conditions and experiences at points of origin, transit, and destination — and their implications for regional cooperation and migration policy.

Context: Amy Pope’s Official Visit to South Africa

The roundtable took place during IOM Director-General Amy Pope’s official visit to South Africa in March 2026, during which she met with ministers, researchers, and civil society to discuss the country’s role in regional migration governance.

South Africa is the largest migrant-hosting country in Eastern and Southern Africa, with approximately 2.6 million international migrants. The broader region is home to an estimated 12.9 million international migrants, representing 43 per cent of all migrants on the continent, according to IOM’s Region on the Move 2023–2024 report. During her visit, Pope emphasised the importance of expanding safe and regular migration pathways as a means of unlocking economic growth while reducing irregular migration.

The visit also marked a milestone moment for IOM’s engagement with the region: the organisation’s 75th anniversary, 25 years of the Migration Dialogue for Southern Africa (MIDSA), and 30 years of IOM operations in South Africa.

NSI’s MIGRA Programme

NSI’s Migration Governance Reform in Africa Programme (MIGRA) has, since 2023, produced a series of research papers examining viable pathways for improving the movement and settlement of people across African borders and for strengthening the quality of migration management. Led by Hirsch, MIGRA’s country case studies — covering South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya, and Nigeria — alongside regional analyses of ECOWAS, SADC, and the African Union, provide evidence-based perspectives on the political, economic, and institutional dimensions of migration governance on the continent.

The Cape Town roundtable represents a continuation of this research-to-policy engagement, bringing MIGRA’s analytical work into direct dialogue with IOM’s operational and strategic leadership at a time of significant policy development in the region.