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ILO,
the UN specialized agency on labour issues, has been dealing
with labour
migration since 1919. It has pioneered international
Conventions to guide migration
policy and protection of migrant
workers. All major sectors of ILO - standards,
employment,
social protection and social dialogue - work on labour migration
within
its overarching framework of 'decent work for all'.
ILO adopts a rights-based
approach to labour migration and
promotes tripartite participation (governments, employers
and
workers) in migration policy. It provides advisory services
to member states, promotes international
standards, provides
a tripartite forum for consultations, serves as a global knowledge
base, and
provides technical assistance and capacity-building
to constituents. ILO has recently developed a
multilateral
framework on labour migration to guide its constituents in
labour migration policy.
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IOM
is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for
the benefit of all.
IOM acts with its partners to: uphold
the human dignity and well-being of migrants;
encourage social
and economic development through migration; assist in meeting
the
growing operational challenges of migration management;
and advance
understanding of migration issues. It does these
by using its long experience and
world-wide presence to provide
a full range of services and advice to governments and migrants,
from
projects and practical solutions to policy and broad
strategic approaches, from data collection,
research and analysis
to the provision of a forum for states, intergovernmental
organizations and civil
society to exchange views and experiences
and promote cooperation and coordination of efforts on
international
migration issues.
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OHCHR
promotes a human rights approach to migration throughout its
work. In
particular, it supports the mandates of the UN Special
Rapporteur on the Human Rights of
Migrants and the UN Special
Rapporteur on Trafficking and services the Committee on
Migrant
Workers, the treaty body supervising compliance with the International
Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant
Workers and Members of their
Families. OHCHR also implements
a technical cooperation project on Trafficking which is guided
by
OHCHR's Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human
Rights and Human Trafficking. Issues of
migration, development
and human rights are further addressed and analyzed, including
at the
regional and country level, through a variety of other
mandates and programmes, such as that of
national human rights
institutions.
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UNCTAD,
the UN focal point for the integrated treatment of trade
and
development, aims, inter alia, to make migration work for
development and contribute to the achievement of the MDGs.
Under its three pillars (research and analysis, technical
assistance
and inter-governmental consensus-building), UNCTAD
actively
promotes coherence and global understanding by offering
strategic policy analysis and options on the
nexus between
migration, trade and development, including through expert
meetings and key
publications. It undertakes analytical work
and provides advice and technical assistance to policy
makers,
trade negotiators and regulators on: contribution of migrants
to development; the potential
benefits and opportunities of
trade, investment and developmental links between countries
of origin
of migrants and their communities abroad; and the
potential of migrants' remittances to contribute to
development.
It also contributes to the knowledge base on trade- and development-related
issues
and trends including on circular migration; gender-related
migration; brain-drain and brain circulation.
UNCTAD's work
on trade in services include market access, regulatory issues
and institutional
frameworks to facilitate the temporary movement
of natural persons at the multilateral (GATS Mode
4), regional
and bilateral levels as well as trade in labourintensive services
and fostering skills
development and recognition of qualifications.
UNCTAD collects migration-related data and information
and
participates in the interagency Task Force on Statistics of
International Trade in Services.
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UNDP's
aim is to maximize the developmental benefits of migration
for poor countries, and
mitigate any negative consequences.
UNDP country offices provide capacity development
support
to governments that wish to develop pro-poor, prodevelopment
and human
rights-based migration strategies, as part of their
broader MDG-based national
development strategies. Particular
attention is given to the efficiency and use of
remittances,
retaining key skills, improving the participation of diasporas,
strengthening
local governance and investment in education.
Within the international debate on migration, UNDP
advocates
for a focus on sustainable human development and protecting
the rights of migrants, as
well as progress on the GATS Mode
4 negotiations on the temporary movement of labour.
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The
Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the UN Secretariat
is the primary
source of information on matters related to
international migration and development for
the General Assembly,
ECOSOC and its functional commissions. UNDESA's activities
in
this area are part of its overall responsibilities for
the analysis of development
prospects globally, and aim at
providing the foundation for the policy debate on
maximising
the benefits of international migration for development. They
include providing objective
analyses of the causes and consequences
of international migration; compiling, analyzing and
disseminating
statistics on international migration; working to improve
the availability and
comparability of those statistics; and,
in collaboration with the Regional Commissions, monitoring
national and regional policies on international migration.
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UNESCO
emphasises the human face of migration and addresses the
implications
of the movement of people in its fields of competence. These
include: the migrationeducation nexus and the challenges raised
by brain
drain/gain, student mobility, and the international
recognition of qualifications;
the migration-development nexus,
with a particular emphasis on the
development of knowledge
diasporas through the use of ICTs; the impact of environmental
trends
and climatic change on forced migration; the cultural
integration of migrants in host societies, with
particular
attention to the balance between social cohesion and the respect
for cultural diversity; and
the research-policy nexus through
the creation of research networks and of innovative platforms
enabling exchanges between researchers and policy-makers.
It does so by cooperating with a wide
range of partners, including
intergovernmental organisations, civil society groups and
universities.
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International
migration has important implications for demographic dynamics
and thus for the core mandate of UNFPA. UNFPA's approach towards
policy
and programmatic interventions in this area is rights-based
and culture and
gender sensitive. Among issues of particular
concern are the challenges of
female migration, including
trafficking and smuggling; migration and the
spread of diseases
such as HIV/AIDS; the provision of basic social services,
including reproductive
health services, in areas of destination;
and protection of the human rights of migrants. UNFPA seeks
to improve data, research and institutional capacity for formulating
and implementing migration
policies and programmes. UNFPA
is strongly dedicated to providing directed policy, advocacy
and
technical support to ensure that international migration
is recognized as an important factor
development.
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In
order to fulfil its mandate to protect refugees and find durable
solutions for them, UNHCR is actively involved in a range
of
activities with a direct bearing on migration. They include
contributing to the work of regional fora on migration and
asylum; assisting states to address the phenomenon of mixed
migratory movements; capacity-building and institutional support
relating to asylum; data-collection
and analysis on forced
migration and secondary movements of refugees; advocacy relating
to asylum,
statelessness and the phenomenon of internal displacement;
provision of assistance for the voluntary
repatriation and
reintegration of refugees and return of displaced persons;
advocacy to encourage
the development aid community to recognize
and mitigate the development impact of hosting large
numbers
of refugees or receiving back large number of refugees and
displaced persons.
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UNICEF,
guided by the Convention of the Rights of the Child, is
dedicated
to the realisation of the rights of children and women
affected
by migration. It carries out policy research and evidence
based
analyses to find practical solutions to the challenges that
migration can bring, including an assessment of unaccompanied
and separated migrant children. UNICEF focuses on the social
impact of migration and remittances on
children left behind,
and the role that social protection and legislative reform
can play in supporting
the realization of the rights of affected
children and women. UNICEF is currently testing
methodologies
to measure the social impact of migration and remittances
on children left behind, and
is working jointly with the United
Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)
to
estimate the numbers of international migrant children.
In addition to its research and analysis,
UNICEF is also strongly
committed to working directly with governments and civil society
to develop
protective policies for children, adolescents and
women affected by migration, including human
sustainable development,
child trafficking and child protection.
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The
United Nations Institute for Training and Research's (UNITAR)
mandate is to
strengthen the effectiveness of the United Nations
system through capacity
development. For over a decade, UNITAR
has been involved in inter-agency
collaboration on international
migration and related issues, providing training to
government
officials in most regions of the world. In addition, it supports
the progress
of international policy dialogue processes, principally
the Global Forum on Migration and
Development and the United
Nations General Assembly's debate on international migration
and
development. Together with its partners, UNITAR works
to enhance knowledge on legal
underpinnings, policies and
good practices related to migration and development, thereby
enabling
governments to make informed decisions in this field.
Dedicated to promoting inclusive dialogue
among all stakeholders
in the migration process across sectors and world regions,
the Institute offers
a platform for networking, trust building,
the exchange of ideas and the dissemination of lessons
learned.
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UNODC, as guardian of the United Nations Convention
against
Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and the
Protocols
thereto, assists States in their efforts to implement
both the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking
in Persons (Trafficking in Persons Protocol) and
the Protocol
against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air
(Migrant Smuggling Protocol)
UNODC's primary goals with
respect to combating the distinct but interrelated crimes
of human
trafficking and migrant smuggling, is to promote
global adherence to the Protocols and assist States
in
their efforts to effectively implement them. The key imperatives
of those Protocols are to:
" Prevent and combat the trafficking in persons and the
smuggling of migrants" Protect the rights of
smuggled
migrants and victims of trafficking
" Prosecute human traffickers and migrant smugglers, and
" Promote cooperation between States in achieving these
goals.
In providing technical assistance towards achieving these
goals globally, UNODC's response is
focused on two working
areas:
" Assisting states in bringing their legislation in line
with the Protocols, and
" Assisting states in developing
effective criminal justice responses to migrant smuggling
and human
trafficking.
On a practical level, this means that UNODC offers assistance
to States, not only helping to draft laws
and create comprehensive
national anti-human trafficking and anti-migrant smuggling
strategies but
also assisting with resources to implement
them. States receive specialized assistance including
the
development of local capacity and expertise, as well
as practical tools to encourage cross-border
cooperation
in investigations and prosecutions. Reflecting the multiple
challenges posed by human
trafficking and migrant smuggling
for all countries, UNODC's work under the ongoing Global
Anti
Human Trafficking and Anti-Migrant Smuggling Programmes
focuses on seven key areas: 1. Legislative
assistance;
2. Evidence-based planning and policy development; 3.
Data collection and research; 4.
Criminal justice system
responses; 5. Victim protection and support; 6. International
cooperation; 7.
Prevention and awareness-raising.
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International migration is a phenomenon that exhibits regional
specificities. The work of the 5 United
Nations Regional Commissions
is dedicated to fostering incorporation of the regional perspective
in
any analysis of international migration and in addressing
the multidimensional aspects of migration,
which entails the
integration of this phenomenon with development goals.
Their activities include monitoring the development of regional
and subregional consultative processes
focusing on migration,
striving to move towards interregional convergence and regional
integration
initiatives. As a complement to these efforts,
the regional commissions are actively engaged in
analysing
the countries’ priorities and experiences regarding
labour markets, training, exchanges of
human capital and portability
of pension and health benefits.
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The
World Bank's engagement on international migration focuses
on the development
impact of migration and remittances for
developing countries. The focus to date has
been largely on
generating reliable data and deepening existing knowledge
on the
potential benefits and costs of migration at both the
household and aggregate level.
This work has lead to a number
of important global and regional reports and has
improved
the availability and quality of data on priority issues. Operational
work to date has focused
on reducing the costs of remittances
and better channelling of these resources; enhancing the
portability
of pensions and strengthening the protection of migrant workers.
The World Bank has also
been actively engaged in the attempt
to gain global policy coherence in the area of international
migration by means of improved partnerships and coordination.
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