A Rights-Based, Gender-Equitable Approach to the Regional Governance of Migration: An Elusive or Achievable Prospect?

Solutions to the challenges of international labour migration are typically sought at the global level. But in practice, most developments related to migration governance have taken place at the national, bilateral and regional levels. The past few decades have seen many initiatives to remove barriers to intra-regional labour movements in Asia, Africa and Latin America. These have often had more ambitious, rights-based goals—at least on paper—than similar projects in developed regions. Yet implementation of these initiatives has been slow or non-existent, and often triggered other difficulties for migrants.

This policy forum brought together a panel of experts from diverse fields and professional experience to discuss the status quo and future potential of the regional governance of migration.

Moderated by Jens Tönnesmann, Freelance Journalist

Key questions

• What is the role of governments, international organizations, regional institutions, civil society, trade unions and private actors in shaping the regional governance of migration?
• What might future arrangements look like?
• What are the implications of different approaches for social protection, gender equity, labour rights and the political participation of migrants?
• How feasible is a rights-based, gender-equitable approach to the regional governance of migration?

Panelists

Bob Deacon, Emeritus Professor of International Social Policy, UNU-CRIS, Belgium; UNESCO-UNU Chair on Regional Integration, Migration and Free Movement of People
Raúl Delgado Wise, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Mexico; UNESCO Chair in Migration, Development and Human Rights; President of the International Network on Migration and Development
Karin Pape, Women in Informal Employment: Globalising and Organising (WIEGO), USA/UK; International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF), Switzerland
Jakob Schneider, Secretary, Committee on Migrant Workers, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Switzerland
Christine Verschuur, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Switzerland
Kristina Touzenis, Head of International Migration Law Unit, IOM, Switzerland

The event was co-hosted by UNRISD, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and the Graduate Institute in Geneva with support from the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung.

You can watch videos of some of the presentations made at the forum online. To listen to the podcast of the session, use the Media Files link on the top right of this page.

The Geneva Office of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung prepared an event brief, which captures the main discussions during the policy forum. To access the brief, please click here.