Type of practice
Awareness raising and communication tools
Country (Check all that apply)
Georgia
Name of Stakeholder Implementing the Practice
Government of Georgia
Type of Stakeholder Implementing the Practice (Check all that apply)
State
State of Origin
Type of crisis (Check all that apply)
Conflict
Natural Disaster
Crisis phase (Check all that apply)
Crisis Preparedness
Emergency Response
Post-Crisis Action
Description of the practice

This guidebook is part of the information campaign titled “Legal Migration – The Best Choice”, and it is meant to provide useful information to potential and actual migrants as well as other persons interested in the field. The guidebook puts together a whole range of practical information on the documents necessary for emigrants, procedures for obtaining these documents and relevant status, as well as on the legal ways of temporary or permanent departure from Georgia and return to the country.

Guideline(s)/Thematic area(s) (Check all that apply)
Empowering migrants
GUIDELINE 3: Empower migrants to help themselves, their families, and communities during and in the aftermath of crises

In order to help themselves and others and to enjoy their rights, migrants need access to identity documents, basic public services, and financial and other resources. Migrants’ ability to help themselves and enjoy their rights can be undermined by factors related to their entry and stay, means of arrival, connections to local populations, and conditions in the host State, including in workplaces. These factors can in turn undermine emergency response and recovery efforts.

States, private sector actors, international organizations, and civil society can promote migrants’ resilience and empower migrants to help themselves during and after a crisis by addressing underlying conditions of vulnerability. Respecting, protecting, and fulfilling migrants' human and labor rights in ordinary times advance these goals as do efforts to ensure migrants are able to access information, basic services, and administrative, judicial, and other redress mechanisms.

Legal, policy, and operational factors that constrain protection should be addressed. Examples of obstacles include laws, policies, and practical barriers that arbitrarily restrict the movement of migrants, enable arbitrary detention, discriminate between migrants and citizens in the provision of humanitarian assistance, or permit exploitative employment or recruitment practices.

In times of crisis, fear of immigration enforcement can inhibit migrants, particularly those in an irregular immigration status, from accessing necessary help. In this context, it is important to separate immigration enforcement actions from those that promote migrants’ access to services, humanitarian assistance, identity documents, and movement.

Stakeholders can provide migrants—prior to departure from the State of origin, upon arrival in the host State, and during their stay in the host State—with pertinent information related to country-specific conflict or natural disaster hotspots, rights and potential rights violations or abuses, ways to access timely, credible, and regular information, emergency contact points, and what to do and where to go in the event of a crisis. Building migrants’ skills to communicate in the host-State language and increasing migrants’ financial literacy may prompt migrants to invest in savings, take out micro-insurance, and better prepare for navigating unforeseen circumstances.

Sample Practices

  • Pre-departure and post-arrival training for migrants that includes crisis-related information.
  • Positive communication about migrants, including through migrant role models and campaigns to promote tolerance, non-discrimination, inclusiveness, and respect.
  • Financial products, including micro-insurance, savings accounts, and fast-cash loans that target migrants’ needs, including low-income migrants.
  • Measures that respect, protect, and fulfill migrants’ human and labor rights, including addressing barriers that inhibit migrants’ ability to enjoy their rights.
  • Identity cards for migrants in an irregular immigration status to promote their access to services.
  • Ethical recruitment processes and accreditation, and integrity certification schemes.
  • Community-based alternatives to detention for migrants.
Migrant population targeted by the practice
Migrants
potential migrants
students travelling abroad
Migrants’ vulnerabilities and needs addressed by the practice
Access to information
emergency contacts
Tags
Guidebook
pre-departure orientation
legal migration
migration management
information
emigrants
Return
travel documents
consulates.
Source
Brussels Consultation Report