Migration

What types of migration are there? 

There are several types of migration and the most common are:

1. Labor migration in 2019 there were more than 169 million international migrant workers in the world.
2. Forced migration or displacement, by the end of 2020, 55 million people were living in internal displacement as a result of conflicts as well as disasters. 
3. Human trafficking and modern slavery the 2017 report estimates that 40 million people were victims of modern slavery on any given day in 2016.
4. Environmental migration around 7 million people in 104 countries and territories were living in displacement as a result of disasters that happened not only in 2019 but also in previous years.

What is migration diplomacy and what is the role of diplomacy in migration? 

Migration is becoming one of the key dimensions of states’ diplomatic relations, especially with the rising numbers of migrants. As migration becomes a more prominent part of foreign policy strategies, countries are using diplomatic tools and procedures to manage the cross-border movement of people. 1

From the perspective of foreign ministries, diplomats, and governments, the challenges to diplomacy are numerous. Above mentioned need to be more proactive in resolving concerns of migration. Promoting dialogue and cooperation are the most important roles of diplomacy. Such is the case concerning issues of migration. It should be conducted on a local and global level by including international organizations and civil society agencies.

This should be handled as an issue with complex inter-linkages with many other subjects and areas, in bilateral, regional, and global relations. It needs to be integrated closely with political, economic, and public diplomacy.

Equally relevant to the issue is Policy formulation. Migration, whether internal or external, is often a major national policy issue. The foreign ministry needs to gain a place at the policy making table to present the external dimension in such debate, and in the decisions that are taken in shaping the national response. On an international level foreign ministries, diplomats and governments need to be active in promoting bilateral and multilateral agreements of migration governance. Finally, civil society agencies should play a more crucial role in formulating policies. 

Inter-cultural sensitivity and empathy for those facing hardship are skills that need to be developed in the training programs for all the personnel handling migrants, documented and undocumented, as also for consular officials. Since these are skills that all professional diplomats also require as part of their basic learning, it is important to build these into the mainstream training programs in foreign service institutes. All other agencies of government also need training in dealing with migrants, and one can only benefit from involving civil society institutions in formulating such training programs.

What are the core issues of migration?

Human mobility is relevant to all countries and creates numerous challenges mainly in terms of human rights. Certain countries are both a source of migration to wealthy nations while also serving as a destination for people from poorer countries or as a transit point to third countries. As we analyze this problem, we observe a number of issues:

Many from developing countries seek economic opportunities in rich countries, willingly undergoing risk, hardship, and danger in pursuit of their dreams. Exploited by agents and middlemen, such migrants use political asylum provisions in the destination states. This window has now largely closed, as Western states have tightened rules. Although they provide services that the local citizens are unwilling to provide (e.g. in agriculture, or dairy farms), they are resented for the strain they place on the social services in the destination states.

An important factor is a demand for skilled labor and working manpower in rich or rapidly developing countries with small populations. Gulf states draw large numbers of workers. Unfortunately, in most cases, they are without their families, with no prospect of resident or citizen rights, and are often exploited.

Some rich developed countries seek foreign experts to overcome demography issues. Such selective harvesting of overseas talent involves both economic and moral issues. Countries that have trained such experts get no compensation for this outflow of capital. On the other hand, it also creates diaspora communities with potential benefits for the origin country. In addition, another aspect of the so-called ‘brain drain’ are young students going abroad for advanced studies. 

Africa has 12 million ‘internally displaced persons’ (IDPs), In October 2009 African Union states signed a new convention that aims to help them. Many are victims of civil strife, famine, and ethnic or religious persecution. Despite the dedicated work of international NGOs, the international community has no sustained focus on this.

Ethnic persecution is not limited to poor countries. To illustrate this point the Roma (also called ‘gypsies’), numbering between six and eleven million, spread across many European states, suffer persisting discrimination and hostility.

Where is international dialogue performed? 

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), established in 1951, is the leading intergovernmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governments and other partners. With 125 member states, IOM works to help ensure the orderly and humane management of migration, to promote international cooperation on migration issues, to assist in the search for practical solutions to migration problems and to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, including refugees and internally displaced people

Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) – The idea of creating a global consultative forum on Migration and Development was proposed by Mr. Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), at the first High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development (HLD) held on 14-15 September 2006 during the UN General Assembly. GFMD has since remained as the largest informal, non-binding, voluntary and government-led process, bringing together expertise from all regions and countries at all stages of economic, social and political developmet.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) works to promote, protect and fulfill the human rights of all migrants, regardless of their status, with a particular focus on migrants in vulnerable situations and at most risk of human rights violations. OHCHR promotes a human rights-based approach to migration, which places the migrant at the center of migration policies and governance, and seeks to ensure that migrants are included in all relevant national action plans and strategies, such as plans on the provision of public housing or national strategies to combat racism and xenophobia.