Policies and Institutions

The main migration policy instruments in Gabon:

Non-exhaustive list of key policy documents in the area of migration:

• 1946/1973: ratification of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
• 1986: Law n°5/86 of 18 June 1986 setting conditions of Entry and Stay of Foreigners in the Gabonese Republic.
• 1986: ratification of the AU Convention Governing Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa of 1969.
• 1998: Law n°05/98 of 5 March 1996, concerning the Status of Refugees in the Gabonese Republic.
• 2000: ratification of the 2000 Protocol on Smuggling of Migrants.
• 2004: Law n°09/2004 of 22 September 2004 on the Prevention and Fight against Child Trafficking in the Gabonese Republic.
• 2004: signature of the 1989 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families on 15 December 2004 (signed but not ratified).
• 2007: French-Gabonese Framework Agreement of 5 July 2007 on the Concerted Management of Migration Flows and Co-Development.
• 2010: ratification of the Additional Protocol to the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children on 22 September 2010.

The main ministries in charge of migration affairs in Gabon:

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation, Francophonie and Regional Integration: in coordination with other concerned administrations, the Ministry is in charge of conceiving and implementing the government’s foreign policy as well as coordinating and leading the external action of the State in conformity with Decree 456/PR/MAEFIR. In this particular context, it is important to highlight that the Ministry includes structures in charge of matters relating to refugees and migrants:

• The National Commission for Refugees: deals with legal assistance, reception of asylum seekers, examination of asylum applications, preparation of protection documents, legal counsel of refugees and asylum seekers, etc.

• The Directorate General of Consular Affairs: deals with the follow-up, the negotiation and the implementation of the Agreements, ensures the protection and the assistance of the Gabonese people who are in transit or established abroad, coordinates entry visa delivery by Gabonese diplomatic and consular posts, coordinates and monitors migration issues (through its Migration Division) in consultation with other administrative bodies. The functions of the Directorate General of Consular Affairs are numerous, and only a few which are related to migration have been listed here.

• Ministry of the Interior and Security, Decentralization and Local Development: is in charge of emigration and immigration affairs; Border Management (Directorate General of Documentation and Immigration); repatriation of persons in an irregular situation; and voluntary repatriation.

Sources:

• Commission européenne (2007): Document de stratégie pays et Programme indicatif national pour Ia période 2008-2013.
• Droit Afrique (2018): Gabon (last accessed 09/2018).
• Gouvernement du Gabon (2011): Rapport pour le Comité contre la torture.
• United Nations DESA-Population Division and UNICEF (2014): Migration Profiles - Common Set of Indicators.

Last updated: November 2018