Why Do We Need Migration Partnerships?
Partnerships enable governments to dialogue and work together, and for migrants to find a seat at the table. No one can do it alone
By Nassim Majidi, Devyani Nighoskar
The Nature of Migration Partnerships
The act of ‘migrating’ itself creates space for a variety of actors to contribute. Migration entails a point of origin, transit, and destination. It requires migration authorities on both sides of a border to know what to do — to act on promises of protection and legal pathways for those who need to move, to allow them to do so safely.
To date, however, migration partnerships have been more about addressing labour market shortages than rights-based or protection-oriented priorities. They have been more about migration governance and border control — than about the potential of governance to protect and support migrants.
While migration partnerships can and should facilitate forms of mobility that are planned around people’s skills, and profiles, they need to be mutually beneficial.
For instance, as part of the SKILL-UP Programme, the ILO, is encouraging skills partnerships between countries and along migration corridors in a tripartite, consultative manner. The programme’s USP lies in its ‘local for global’ and socially inclusive approach. Operational in Ghana, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Malawi, Senegal and Tanzania, the programme works towards strengthening skills at the country level to develop global products.
Additionally, the Programme encourages dialogue between countries of origin and destination to encourage the integration of migrants into the labour market and society through ‘access to employment opportunities that reduce their vulnerabilities and support local economies and enterprise development.’
Other examples include the talent partnerships in the EU to match labour skills to market needs, and reinforce cooperation with countries like Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt. There are also pilot projects that have focused on the employment of migrants in the green economy (MOVE_GREEN) or business mobility projects between Belgium and Senegal.
What these projects have in common is their focus on labour, mobility and cooperation. We need more research to know how they are faring. Projects like these are often still pilots or proof of concepts and need to be monitored. This is where partnerships require research partners to provide up-to-date, contextually relevant information on the nuances involved in each environment, and to have migrants on board to voice their concerns and feedback. These evaluations should actively incorporate migrant voices so that their rights and aspirations are respected and incorporated. This will lead to accountability in migration partnerships.
The Purpose Of Migration Partnerships
Dialogue: First, migration partnerships are needed for governments to dialogue and work together on migration issues. This is necessary to undo the political gridlock on international migration, especially given the large spectrum, diversity and multiplicity of drivers which include conflict; climate change; disasters and poverty.
Foreign policy: Secondly, migration partnerships are a way for governments to implement their foreign policy and tie development funding to migration issues. For instance, the European Union Migration Partnership Framework was designed to manage migration better, regulate irregular migration, and fund long-term projects. We must not forget, however, that these funds are also linked to the EU’s willingness to prevent further migration flows to the continent.
Engaging with non-state actors: Most importantly, migration partnerships open the door for other actors — beyond governments — to join the conversation: whether it’s international organisations, research organisations, or migrants themselves. Their dialogue needs to be supported by data and facilitated by experts as it may be unlikely that countries of origin and countries of destination will speak the same language and find a common ground without the support of non-state actors and migrants.
A great example of this is the participatory forums organised by IIED and Samuel Hall in refugee-hosting countries under the Protracted Displacement In Urban World Consortium. These forums bring together all municipal stakeholders — defined as state and non-state, and inclusive of displacement-affected community members — to voice their experiences and engage in a dialogue on issues such as city planning. Partnerships like these enable communities to develop solutions locally rather than have them decided for them at international conferences. It also creates greater accountability when all the key actors are in one room, together, and have to address the questions posed to them.
Three criteria to assess the strength of migration partnerships
Last year, we launched an operational framework for partnerships between reintegration and development actors across destination and origin countries as part of the European Return and Reintegration Network (ERRIN). The aim was to link reintegration programs with development programmes. We laid out a rights-based framework with ten principles, including inclusive, accountable and ethical principles. It involved migrants as active participants, from the design to the implementation and
monitoring of these partnerships. These same criteria are the ones we need to use to assess any of the ongoing and prospective migration partnerships.
To assess the strength of migration partnerships, there are three criteria to apply:
1. Dialogue-based partnerships: Enabling the governments of origin to be equal partners with those of destination countries. Interests of origin, transit, and destination governments need to be equally considered.
2. Inclusive partnerships: Finding the right partners beyond governments and being inclusive of the voices of non-state actors.
3. Ethical partnerships: Having ethical partnerships that work towards capacity building rather than substitution, and that respect human rights across the migration cycle.
We need to avoid using return and readmission rates as a litmus test of origin countries’ commitment to the partnership as well as showcase progress on legal pathways to countries of destination. Migration partnerships can also work for displaced people to provide innovative solutions at times of crisis — like with Afghanistan in 2021, and Ukraine in 2022 by introducing more routes for students, professional mobility, for protection pathways.
Applying migration partnerships outside the migration management or neoliberal governance model will be critical. We need to encourage partner governments to implement policies that respect human rights and that rethink the role of partnerships across the migration cycle.
Interested in Migration Partnerships? Read our second blog on unequal AU-EU partnerships and a way forward!
