Regional initiatives

Regional initiatives on migration address common issues of migration governance in a given region. Regional and interregional initiatives often build on already existing bilateral or multilateral arrangements to advance already established cooperation and partnerships.

One of the trends in international migration governance and migration management has been regional integration and cooperation. This is the process through which sovereign States enter into regional agreements, form supranational institutional structures, and/or design common institutions and rules to benefit national and joint interests, including in the realm of industrial, political, legal, economic, social or cultural integration.

For instance, the European Union now holds competence in most dimensions of regional migration management. European Union Member States retain control of labour migration policy regarding third-country nationals. However, certain European Union directives have been adopted concerning specific groups, such as highly skilled workers, students and seasonal workers, as well as on the rights of third country nationals resident in the European Union. In Africa, at the subregional level – particularly in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) subregion – there is also a significant level of formalized cooperation on migration policy, including legislation. The ECOWAS Treaty and the related Protocol relating to free movement of persons, residence and establishment are examples that follow provisions for the progressive achievement of the free movement of persons throughout the African region. These provisions were established in the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community (Abuja Treaty, 1991), and the related Protocol relating to the Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Right of Establishment (2018a). (See details in Regional systems relevant to international migration law.)

Regional political and economic unions and other non-United Nations intergovernmental organizations at the regional level foster the development of regional approaches and make regional policy, including on migration. (See Key Areas of Migration Governance and Management for some examples of these initiatives and policies.)

Example

Initiatives to address migration by the African Union and the European Union

African Union

In the African Union, Member States have collaboratively developed and adopted the following frameworks. They are intended to serve as policy guidelines or templates for the development of migration policies and legislation of individual Member States:

African Common Position on Migration and Development (2006). Establishes the common approach to a number of areas related to Migration and Development.
Revised Migration Policy Framework for Africa and Plan for Action 2018–2027, 2018b. A strategic framework to guide African Union Member States and regional economic communities (RECs) in the management of migration with specific policy guidelines in nine thematic areas.
African Union Commission, Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. Envisions an integrated continent with the free movement of people, goods and services.

Source: African Union.

European Union

As part of the broader project of European integration, there have been many efforts to realize closer convergence and cooperation between individual Member States of the European Union in relation to migration policy and legislation. These include:

The Global Approach to Migration and Mobility (GAMM), 2011. Establishes a general framework for the European Union’s relations with non-European Union countries in the field of migration based on four pillars: (1) facilitating regular immigration and mobility; (2) preventing and reducing irregular immigration and trafficking in human beings; (3) promoting international protection and asylum policy, and (4) maximizing the impact of migration and mobility on development.
A European Agenda on Migration, 2015. Presented by the European Commission, this comprehensive agenda is intended to address immediate challenges and equip the European Union with the tools to better manage migration in the medium and long term in the areas of irregular migration, borders, asylum and legal migration.
The Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion 2021-2027, 2020. The most recent agreement on the topics of asylum and migration aims to delineate a comprehensive approach to these issues and improve the European asylum and migration system.

While these achievements have been significant, the decision about who is allowed to enter a specific territory is still largely made by individual States. This limits the possibility of full integration with regard to migration management (Geddes, 2013).

Source: European Commission Migration and Home Affairs.

To Go Further

Dick, E. et al., Regional Migration Governance: Contributions to a Sustainable International Migration Architecture, 2018 (Briefing paper).
Nita, S. et al., Migration, Free Movement and Regional Integration, 2017.

Key messages

Building on dialogue developed through bilateral and multilateral relations as well as through regional consultative processes (RCPs), regional initiatives can take different forms. These can include regional agreements, supranational institutional structures, and/or common institutions and rules to benefit national and joint interests.