This chapter also briefly explores the idea of an overarching expression of policy. Policy objectives and intentions are organized in a strategy – a plan covering all areas of migration management. They are usually the product of, and articulated by, political actors, but not always. Plans of action containing individual policies and programmes are developed to operationalize the strategy. This chapter examines some tools for strategy development (see National migration strategies in this chapter).
Policymaking at any level ideally would be evidence-based, be responsive to other related areas of national policy, reflect the international context and international obligations, and embody ideas related to national values and identity.
Who makes policy?
Policymaker is a general term that covers a range of people who are engaged in the processes of formulating policy and designing ways to implement it. At the broadest level this includes politicians and their advisers, government officials and actors from various institutions including advisory bodies and parliamentary committees. For the purpose of EMM2.0, however, policymaker describes the non-political level government officials with migration-related policy functions. These officials could be working in migration, justice and interior ministries, other social policy ministries such as health and education, refugee processing authorities, social services and integration ministries, foreign and consular ministries and authorities that control economic development and government spending. They may be working in national-level government or subnational levels of government, depending on how government and authority is organized. They may include those whose more substantive responsibility is implementation and oversight.
Other actors that play an influencing role are non-governmental. Lobbyists, citizen and interest groups, academics, intergovernmental organizations, think tanks and businesses often act as policy advocates and/or policy analysts, and may be engaged in providing technical support to the policymaking efforts by gathering and synthesizing evidence and identifying choices. Advocacy can be complicated as the migration field is broad, cutting across many public policy sectors, and advocates may pursue a single interest area (such as labour protection, or concern for trafficking victims).
Policy analysts examine the state of existing law and policy, including:
- international instruments to which the State is signatory
- international practice in related or similar areas of national policy
- implications such as policy costs and required legal instruments
- instruments used by national and subnational government, and their effectiveness and impact
What are policy instruments?
For the purposes of EMM2.0, policy instruments are devices used by governments to guide their actions and to achieve their intended policy objectives. Decisions on these policy instruments and the form they take come after the policy objectives have been formulated. Policy instruments can take many forms and, collectively, should contribute to coherence of purpose and action. Instruments include legislation and other legal instruments (consistent with the relevant provisions of a State’s basic legal framework), specific programmes of action, charges or taxes, rules, guidance and instructional material. Ideally, these instruments should operate in a complementary way to produce the desired outcomes. For example, the instruments that might be needed for well-managed labour migration could include:
- legislation that sets out entry requirements for non-citizens to enter a State for labour purposes;
- further legislation that would work in tandem with the entry-requirement legislation to require employers to protect all workers – including foreign workers – from exploitation;
- a skills matching mechanism that would optimize the legislation to facilitate arrangements between employers and migrant workers;
- an education programme for employers and workers on rights and responsibilities, to support the legislation and the skills matching mechanism;
- sufficient funding, provided jointly by government and a visa charge (tax) met by the employer.
