Working Group

A small working group has come together to develop and advance an initiative on migrants in countries in crisis. This core group explores and defines the issues, looks at best practices, collects the evidence base, and proposes a way forward to strengthen the international community’s capacity to better manage situations where migrants suddenly have ended up in a vulnerable situation in a country in acute crisis - keeping in mind that national governments continue to bear significant responsibility for the safety and welfare of their citizens, even when those citizens are traveling, residing or working abroad. While the focus of this initiative is limited to migrants in countries that are in crisis due to civil unrest or natural disasters, evidence and best practices arising from a broader array of migration management experiences (such as countries receiving a large flow of their returning migrants for reasons other than civil unrest or natural disasters) would be useful in informing our work.

The aim of the working group’s efforts is to improve the ability of States and other relevant stakeholders to prepare for, respond to, alleviate suffering, and protect the dignity and rights of migrants caught in countries in situations of acute crisis. Specifically, a clear articulation of the various levels of responsibility towards migrants caught in countries in crisis and the relationship between them would be important. This would include roles of states (host, origin, neighboring) as well as between states, international organizations and other stakeholders (employers, NGOs, etc.)