Introduction

Migration Management in Context

Human mobility is a defining feature of the twenty-first century world. It has an ancient history, strongly connected with the flows and exchanges of knowledge, ideas and resources that have helped to develop human ingenuity. From agriculture to the arts, from science to sport, migrants have helped shape the ways we live and work.

Under the best circumstances, migration delivers high human, social and economic value. But if not properly managed, it can have significant costs.

On the positive side, migration promotes economic growth and social enrichment. In countries of destination, for instance, migrants even out labour market shortages, help ensure the supply of essential services, increase the number of small and medium enterprises , and foster entrepreneurship and innovation. Countries of origin, for their part, stand to benefit from various forms of resource and knowledge returns, including monetary remittances, professional and technical expertise, and business know-how. As for the migrants themselves, migration offers them broader life horizons: they earn much more than they would in their country of origin and are able to work towards a better future for themselves and their families.

On the negative side, however, migration is viewed as a threat to national sovereignty and effective border control. It is often seen as a synonym for irregular movement, human smuggling and trafficking in persons, and as a disruptor of social harmony. There are also significant human and financial costs borne by migrants themselves.

Image / Video

Source

Migration Museum – History Trust of South Australia. Photo courtesy Rachel Harris (copyright)

Note: “The Immigrants” was sculpted by Aurelio Fortelaan.

There are two closely related government functions that aim to achieve the most satisfactory migration equation by maximizing benefits and minimizing costs. The first, migration governance, is about setting up and adhering to norms and principles. The second, migration management, is about establishing administrative structures, and developing and implementing laws, policies and procedures to achieve specific practical outcomes.

Reduced to its simplest expression, then, the twin purpose of migration governance and migration management is to make sense of human mobility; to ensure that it is safe and orderly, working to the benefit of those who move, as well as their communities in the country of origin and of destination.

As public officials all over the world have come realize, however, this is a daunting assignment, all the more so because of the prominence of migration as a multifaceted matter of public interest, concern and controversy.

A common challenge in governing migration comes, therefore, from the fact that it is difficult to assess what aspects of migration – political, economic, demographic or cultural – should be given priority.

There are, for instance, the norms, principles and international commitments States have agreed upon and enshrined in international migration law (IML). They can help frame the issue at stake, ensure respect for State sovereignty and as well ensure that migrants rights are protected. The past experiences of States in applying IML can offer much guidance and good practice.

There are also choices to be made about the thematic issues that must be addressed. Some thematic issues have traditionally had a high profile, such as the facilitation of movement through issuing visas, border management, labour migration, and integration. But different States have different interests and will focus on issues according to their context and priorities.

Partnerships are crucially important. Stakeholders in migration management are known both for their attachment to the causes they support and for their strength of opinion. They are best seen as allies rather than adversaries. Formulating and implementing migration policy are much more likely to be successful when they are planned in consultation and cooperation with those who have a stake in the issues, such as relevant government departments, local authorities, civil society and the private sector.

New drivers and forms of movement – including large, uncontrolled displacements – may emerge, and require rapid humanitarian intervention. Health-related emergencies such as SARS, MERS or COVID-19 may call for across-the-board adjustment to border control systems and procedures.

At a more basic level, there is the challenge of gathering the necessary data and, through research and analysis, extracting from it the evidence on which to base policy and programme development.

How to use this Handbook

The Handbook consists of approximately 30 live online chapters, which are kept under review and updated as the migration field evolves. These chapters offer comprehensive overviews of foundational and thematic areas of migration management. The Handbook is the basis for the training curriculum and referred to in other EMM2.0 features such as the e-library, which hosts a curated selection of resources discussed in each chapter, as well as sets of “Top 5 resources” for each chapter.

The Handbook has been structured and signposted to enable readers to quickly find the topics or issues that are of greatest interest or significance to them. <

of the Handbook, Foundations of good migration governance and management, provides a general introduction to contemporary migration as a human phenomenon; its principal social and economic determinants and impacts; and the legal, diplomatic and administrative approaches that have been or are being elaborated in response to its emergence as a major issue of concern at the national, regional and international levels.

There are five broad topics addressed in Part I, each one the focus of a chapter or series of chapters.

The global context of international migration. This chapter establishes the place of migration in our world today. It describes the main characteristics of contemporary migration, including the major phases of the migration process from pre-departure preparation to post-return reintegration. It identifies key drivers of movement, patterns in mobility, and trends across time. It also discusses overlaps and linkages between migration and other related transnational issues.

International cooperation. This series of chapters makes the case that no single country can manage migration effectively without like-minded partners. It explains why thinking collectively and acting in coordination are crucially important. It introduces the main actors involved in international migration governance, including sovereign States operating in bilateral, regional or multilateral configurations, international organizations, civil society and the private sector. It explores the evolving system of international laws, and how that legal framework affects and, in turn, is affected by its interplay with cooperative initiatives and policy dialogues. The specific chapters are:

Human rights of migrants. This series of chapters affirms that at the heart of the migration process are human beings, and, as such, migration is a process that comes under the umbrella of universal human rights. These chapters look at the human rights that are especially relevant for migrants in general, as well as those that are of relevance to migrants vulnerable to violence, exploitation, and abuse before, during or after the migration process. The chapters are:

Migration management and the policy cycle. This series of chapters presents a step-by-step, 7-stage, guided walk through of the process that delivers an effective migration policy. It begins with the moment when an issue requiring attention is identified, all the way through to the evaluation that establishes whether objectives have been met. Through practical examples, these chapters demonstrate how consultation, as well as data gathering, research and analysis, are of crucial importance to policymaking. The chapters are:

Communicating on migration is a reminder that, migration is a regular topic of public debate that draws a great deal of interest and that is often misrepresented. This chapter highlights the importance of ensuring that communication about migration is accurate in its content, balanced in its presentation of the issues it raises, sensitive to the interests and concerns of stakeholders and constructive in tone. The chapter also clarifies points of terminology.

The second part of the handbook, Key areas of migration governance and management, covers the main policy challenges faced by governments, including long-standing ones such as labour migration, social cohesion, smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons, as well as newer ones such as the mobility consequences of climate change. The following themes are addressed in this part, but additional content may be inserted as the need arises:

To make it easier for readers to find their way through EMM2.0 at a pace they feel comfortable with and in the of light of their particular interests, thematic chapters share a common, easy to follow structure. This structure displays what policymakers need to think about as they formulate policies, such as evidence, international norms and international commitments. Accordingly, each chapter:

Highlights the reason why it is important to address a given policy area.
Identifies key sources of data, research and analysis at national and international levels, and summarizes what knowledge is currently available while pointing to existing gaps.
Presents the relevant international legal instruments, especially those with a global or regional focus, and the key principles they espouse.
Lists initiatives and commitments at the international, regional, bilateral and multilateral level, resulting from joint efforts that may inspire and inform action at the national level. Each thematic chapter identifies relevant targets to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and actions to implement the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. These have been included to help governments to identify approaches that will best support the implementation of the SDGs and the Global Compact for Migration.
Showcases inter-State policy dialogues where States share concerns and experiences, and develop shared understandings, in a climate of mutual trust.
Discusses the “Essentials”, that is, the main challenges, issues or opportunities that need attention from policymakers. This section can include appropriate strategies of action. It will also cover new trends in policy thinking such as the future of work, new technologies at the service of health or of data innovation, and the impact of these trends on migration.
Signposts Interlinkages that address the frequent overlaps between fields of migration management. Given the complexity of migration, hardly any policy issue is an island that can be addressed in isolation. Interlinkages are short pieces that describe how two or more migration-management areas interact and what “policy bridging” measures could be introduced to manage the overlapping areas. These are instances where coordinated action can prevent duplication, save resources or avoid potential clashes of interest.

An example explored in Interlinkages is the pandemic that shaped 2020, COVID-19. The rapid spread of this airborne communicable disease called for the rapid deployment of multifaceted and innovative policy responses. Migration management was involved from the start, since the priority was containing the spread of the disease and that was primarily addressed through restrictions on movement, travel bans and quarantine periods. It quickly became apparent, however, that these measures would likely have unintended but long-lasting consequences such as long visa backlogs, stretched consular capacity, disrupted or frozen labour migration programmes and social tensions. Other difficulties may arise as the pandemic goes on, and other measures may have to be deployed.

More importantly, the specific circumstances of migrants were not always taken into consideration in the development of response strategies. The needs of migrants were sometimes overlooked or altogether ignored because of a lack of consultation or coordination among government authorities.

The Interlinkages pieces on the pandemic (coming soon) explore how policy coherence can be achieved by ensuring that moving parts as diverse as health control at the border, labour migration and the maintenance of social cohesion are made to work together smoothly, while ensuring that proper attention is devoted to fundamental cross-cutting concerns such as data, research and analysis, gender and communication.

Throughout Part 1 and Part 2, the following components are used to prompt reflection and to encourage further study.