States are the primary actors in migration governance and migration management, and they have the sovereign right and authority to determine who may enter and remain within their territories, for what purpose and under what conditions. This authority is exercised through policies, laws and regulations developed and adopted by government, and usually administered by a specific ministry or department (further details in Stage 5: Policy adoption).

However, given its cross-cutting nature, the effective governance and management of migration cannot be achieved by a single ministry or institution. While one of the core functions of the State is regulating the entry and exit of persons through designated border control point/crossing point, migration governance and management involve a wide array of policy domains, such as labour and employment, education, development, health and so on. The development of migration policies, laws and regulations requires a cooperative effort between actors representing various policy sectors. Only this can ensure that different and often competing interests are considered and, to the extent possible, incorporated and harmonized into those policies, laws and regulations (further details in Whole-of-government coordination).

Also, a chief consideration when developing migration policies is that migration dynamics are not uniform throughout the territory of a particular State. Some areas may experience more migration than others, or different forms of migration. To develop effective national policy and legislation, it is important to have a good grasp of the characteristics of migration dynamics and their implications across the territory. Additionally, cooperation across levels of government is fundamental.

The need for cooperation between different ministries and institutions at national and subnational levels is also clear when it comes to a State’s ability to speak with one voice in international forums. For example, in an international forum of ministries responsible for tourism, there may be an agreement to facilitate the entry of persons by reducing the administrative requirements for visas. However, at the same time, in an international border security forum, there may be an agreement to introduce stricter measures for allowing entry. In other words, if there is no policy coherence within a specific State, there is the potential for tension between different ministries and institutions, and that tension would be reflected in international engagements.

The risk of not speaking with one voice is also present across different levels of government. This can be seen, for example, in discussions about the increasingly important role of cities in migration management. As migrants tend to converge in urban areas, local authorities need to respond to the influx of migrants and find ways to provide for both migrants and local populations. The Mayors Mechanism of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) was created to address the need to “add depth to the GFMD deliberations by bridging existing divides between local realities and global policy discussions, and between migrants, civil society, and States”. This mechanism was established in 2016 to build on the work of the Mayoral Forum on Mobility, Migration and Development (“Mayoral Forum”), an annual city-led dialogue to enable cities to share good practices and lessons learned. Such dialogue invites the cooperation of different levels of government at an international level, and helps governments to produce and implement consistent policies.

To Go Further

 

Policy Approaches
Partnering with subnational authorities
  • Include subnational and local authorities and non-State actors that operate at subnational levels in the consultative process leading up to the adoption and enactment of national migration policy and legislation.
  • Provide sufficient flexibility to enable subnational authorities to adapt the national policies, laws and administrative procedures so that they can be responsive to their specific migration dynamics without being in violation of the national policies, laws and administrative procedures.

Note: Further details on Whole-of-government coordination, including at the subnational level, in Developing migration policy. 

As noted above, because migration is often a cross-border phenomenon, collaboration and cooperation among States are central to successful migration management. Collaboration and cooperation do not mean that a State interferes in another State’s development of migration policy, legislation and regulatory procedures. Rather, they mean that States can find common approaches and learn from each other’s experiences, while respecting each other’s sovereignty.

Policy Approaches
Harmonizing national policies with regional and other international approaches
  • Foster bilateral relations and cooperation with neighbouring countries, major destination countries for nationals emigrating, countries of origin of the largest immigrant groups and/or other key counterparts to manage migration to best serve the interests of the countries involved.
  • Participate in multilateral forums discussing and jointly addressing migration at the regional, interregional and global levels.
  • Strengthen the participation, as appropriate, of subnational authorities (district and local governments), as well as non-State actors in international forums, encouraging coordination of voices.
Key messages
  • Multi-sector and multi-level coordination, i.e. a whole-of-government approach, can ensure policy coherence nationally and consistency when engaging in international forums and with other States. 
  • International forums inviting dialogue and the sharing of experiences between national and sub-national authorities from different countries, such as the GFMD Mayors Mechanism, can both strengthen policies and contribute to enhancing policy coherence at the national level.

 

PreviousPartnerships: The need for cooperation and coordinationNextIntergovernmental organizations