Policymakers in Eswatini are responsible for formulating laws, implementing legal instruments and overseeing the executive arm of the government. In 2022, the IOM Development Fund (IDF) approved the project titled Technical assistance for the development of a national migration policy in Eswatini. The overall objective of the project is to have in place and adopt a document that facilitates and supports the management of migration in a way that contributes to the achievement of the Global Compact on Migration (GCM) Objectives (particularly Objective 1) and Sustainable Development Goals (particularly Target 10.7). 

In order to contribute towards the overall objective, the project aims to support the government of Eswatini in developing a national migration policy that is well-informed and meets international standards for the betterment of migration management in the country. In this context, a 5-day training on the Essentials of Migration Management (EMM2.0) was held on 27 - 31 March 2023 to enhance the skills and knowledge of Eswatini government officials who would then be drafting the migration policy. 

Twenty five Eswatini government officials with migration-related policy functions attended the training, representing various Ministries, including: the Ministry of Home Affairs; Ministry of Tourism and Environment; Deputy Prime MInister Office; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Health; His Majesty Correctional Services; Ministry of Labour; Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force; Royal Eswatini Police Service; Ministry of Tinkhundla & Administration; Coordinating Assembly of NGOs and Business Eswatini.

 Participants were trained on various aspects of migration management, such as the Global context of international migration; International frameworks on migration; Migration management and the policy cycle; Migration and development; Trafficking in persons; Migration, environment and climate change; Facilitating pre-arrival, passport and visa management; Regulating migration and border management; Labour migration; International migration law and human rights of migrants; Smuggling of migrants; and finally, Child migration. 

The sessions were facilitated by Wonesai Sithole, IOM Regional Policy and Liaison Office based in Pretoria and Allegra Sary, IOM Programme Officer based in headquarters.