Migration poses a significant demographic challenge, says UN SecGen's ex-special envoy for West Africa

Migration is a very serious demographic problem, former Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for West Africa Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah said during the panel session on "Regional Perspectives: The European Union and its Neighbors" within the framework of the XI Global Baku Forum, Azernews reports.

Ould-Abdallah emphasized the importance of local government in ensuring the security of migrants, noting the precarious conditions they often face due to unemployment, which makes them vulnerable to exploitation by organized crime groups.

He stressed that the underlying issues driving migration, rather than the migrants themselves, are the root causes that need to be addressed.

The XI Global Baku Forum is currently underway, drawing representatives from numerous countries and prestigious international organizations. The forum, scheduled until March 16, serves as a platform for global discussions on various pressing issues, including climate change, food security, nuclear safety, security concerns, and prospects for peace in a fragmented world.

Additionally, discussions at the forum cover topics such as the role of military and economic alliances in global governance, regional perspectives, youth policy, resilience-building against global challenges, inequality, natural resource scarcity, migration issues, artificial intelligence, and emerging security paradigms in the age of drones and cyberweapons.