Post 2015: Global Action for an Inclusive and Sustainable Future

CHApTER nInE
Considerably less
importance is
attached to labour
than to goods,
despite the fact
that many WTO
members
(including
migrant-receiving
and migrantsending
countries)
derive substantial
benefits from
labour mobility.
190
on migration issues, in 2007 the un created the
Global migration Group (GmG). this section
looks at some of the main organisations involved
in promoting access to labour markets for (lowskilled)
labour migrants and dealing with migrants’
rights. It explores ways in which to improve this
system, which as betts (2010:13) notes, ‘is not based
on rational institutional design aimed at addressing
realities of migration but a product of incremental
historical adaptation to new circumstances’. It also
describes ideas for creating an international agency
to match labour supply and demand.
9.5.1 UN agencies, World Bank and IOM
the Ilo is the only un specialised agency with
an international mandate to protect labour
rights. Its tripartite structure (representatives
of governments, employers and workers) adds a
unique value to the international debate on labour
migration (Kneebone, 2010). the Ilo contributes
to negotiating, implementing and monitoring the
international framework for rights of migrants but
does not engage in debates on whether and how to
increase (low-skilled) mobility.
the World bank is increasingly active in the area
of migration and development and has conducted
major research on remittances. the bank
encourages more migration of low-skilled labour
as a means to reduce poverty via remittances. It
has been involved in designing programmes like
new Zealand’s recognised Seasonal Employer
programme and australia’s pacific Seasonal
Worker pilot Scheme (betts, 2011; ruhs, 2013). It
has proposed to combine the temporary migration
of low-skilled workers with incentives to return
(betts, 2010), but is less concerned with the agenda
on migrants’ rights.
unDp’s 2009 Human Development report
(unDp, 2009) focused on human mobility and
EuropEan rEport on DEvElopmEnt 2013
development, advocating for greater labour mobility
and better implementation of the rights framework.
the Iom (which is not part of the un system)
provides services to governments and has assisted
the negotiation and implementation of bilateral
agreements on tmps. While it has not been
particularly outspoken on migrants’ rights, it
has at times been a co-signatory to memoranda
of understanding (e.g. between Guatemala and
canada) (betts, 2010).
the creation of the GmG, 144 which includes the
Iom and World bank among many other bodies,
was intended to lead to a more effective and coherent
un response to migration issues. the GmG is
currently under review, however, as it has failed
to live up to expectations. betts (2010) argues that
the expectations were unrealistic since the GmG
was not meant to be a comprehensive coordination
mechanism, while newland (2010) maintains that
the participating agencies were not fully committed
to coordinating their migration-related work.
new types of thematic coordination mechanisms
(betts, 2010) may lead to a more systematic approach
to topics and the necessary follow-up. a number of
sub-groups could deal with different migrationrelated
themes. For example, one might focus
on labour migration/mobility, ideally covering
migrants’ rights and promotion of labour mobility.
another might address issues such as the future
shortage of workers in some regions, and propose
remedies. these thematic sub-groups would
combine operational and technical cooperation,
including capacity-building, research, policy
analysis and development, and the collation and
analysis of migration-related data and information.
In 2005, the Global commission on International
migration suggested that a new agency on labour
migration should assume such functions.
144 members of the Global migration Group are: Ilo, Iom, oHcHr, un regional commissions, unIcEF, unctaD, unDp, unDESa, unESco,
unWomEn, unHcr, unItar, unoDc, unFpa, World bank and WHo.