Practices by Stakeholder 7

Type of Practices by Stakeholder: 
International Organizations
Description: 

Migrant assistance funding mechanisms

Dedicated funding facilities to protect migrants can enable international organizations to start emergency operations and provide immediate assistance in the event of natural disaster or conflict as well as tailored reintegration assistance.

Emergency response policy development

Policies and procedures for emergency response should be developed with a view to standardizing responses to assist migrants in countries experiencing conflict or natural disaster. This should include mainstreaming migrant protection concerns, identifying vulnerabilities and needs, and clarifying referral mechanisms.

Including migrants in national development frameworks

International organizations can help States to integrate migration and mobility into national development frameworks and UN development assistance frameworks (UNDAFs), and can integrate migration and mobility into related supporting documents and guidance tools. International organizations in consultation with States can identify migration as one of the strategic priorities of the UNDAFs and include outcomes and indicators on crisis migration or related issues. Important activities may include:

  • Identifying migration as a priority issue to be encompassed in the national development frameworks and the UNDAFs;
  • Identifying key migration outcomes, indicators, or baselines to include in the UNDAFs results matrix;
  • Identifying agencies and partners that can implement measures to achieve UNDAF targets;
  • Identifying capacity building needs for the provision of assistance to migrants in the event of a crisis;
  • Advising on the integration of programming areas into UNDAFs;
  • Providing sensitization and relevant background information on crisis migration to UN country team officials working on development and implementation of UNDAFs.

Technical support in information collection, management, and sharing

International organizations can provide stakeholders, States in particular, with capacity building and technical advice to increase their ability to collect, manage, and share information on migrants. Some of the features of these programs include:

  • Understanding migrant populations through data collection, research, mapping, and statistics;
  • Establishing networks and partnerships for data and information sharing;
  • Establishing and improving online registration systems;
  • Building and reinforcing infrastructure for registration;
  • Establishing or strengthening border registration procedures and tools;
  • Raising migrants’ awareness on registration systems and encouraging them to register;
  • Ensuring data harmonization, protection, and privacy, through guidelines and manuals; ■ Ensuring knowledge and compliance with applicable laws on data protection and privacy.

Technical assistance on legal and policy development

International organizations can provide expertise and technical assistance regarding migrant protection in national laws, policies, and programs, including those relating to preparedness and response to conflicts or natural disasters. International organizations can play a key role in the development of standards and national policies in their areas of expertise. Relevant thematic areas of legal and policy development assistance include:

  • Establishment of consular crisis response teams;
  • Creation of financial facilities for evacuation assistance to migrants;
  • Creation of financial facilities to assist migrants returning to the State of origin as a consequence of a crisis;
  • Regulation of recruitment agencies with regard to ethical and fair recruitment;
  •  Provision of health and risk-related insurance to migrant workers;
  • Regulation of employers with regard to duty of care obligations towards internationally and locally recruited migrant workers in the event of a crisis;
  • Responsibility to map and monitor ethical and fair recruitment standards through the supply chain.

Technical assistance to employers and recruiters

International organizations can provide technical assistance and advice to employers and recruiters on integrating the protection of migrant employees into crisis preparedness, response, and post-crisis action. Relevant areas that may be covered include:

  • Ethical and fair recruitment;
  • Tailored pre-departure and post arrival training, with modules on crisis preparedness;
  • Inclusion of migrants in corporate contingency plans;
  • Coordination and collaboration on emergency response;
  • Establishment of platforms for collaboration at the local level.

Technical assistance for crisis-related diaspora policy development

International organizations can provide technical assistance and advice to States on the development of policy to engage diaspora on the protection of migrants in countries experiencing crises. Relevant activities include:

  • Establishing and strengthening national platforms for diaspora engagement;
  • Including provisions on migrants affected by crises in diaspora policy development activities;
  • Integrating returnees into diaspora activities advancing national development agendas (e.g., remittances, investments, or knowledge transfer);
  • Supporting diaspora engagement through access to international networks; ■ Supporting activities in the area of diaspora knowledge transfer (e.g., return of qualified citizens).

Internal capacity building programs

International organizations can invest in their own capacity to assist migrants as well as provide technical support and capacity building to other actors. Internal capacity building may include:

  • Establishing funding mechanisms and other financial facilities to begin emergency operations and provide immediate assistance when a crisis hits;
  • Creating unified portals to field and coordinate requests for evacuation and match against offers of assistance;
  • Establishing dedicated agencies or departments to provide comprehensive and coordinated responses;
  • Building networks and partnerships to share information and practices, promote common standards, facilitate communication, and implement joint programs.

Technical support and capacity building programs for other actors

Technical support and capacity building programs for other actors may include:

  • Capacity building programs for government personnel (e.g., foreign service officers, consular officials, labor attaches, and welfare officers) to protect migrants in crisis situations through mandatory training on crisis management, publication of standard operating procedures, and creation of (online) training tools;
  • Training and services for States of transit to manage mass arrival of migrants;
  • Assistance to States in establishing and operating border management systems to streamline border processes and formalities in emergency situations and ensure referral of those in need of specific assistance and protection;
  • Tailored exercises and field training for different stakeholders to minimize impacts of crises on migrants, including first aid and emergency responses;
  • Training for media on crisis communication to migrants, including on terminology