perspectives, and identify comm<strong>on</strong> soluti<strong>on</strong>s. The shared language that was developed,and the recogniti<strong>on</strong> that today most states are simultaneously countries <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> origin, transitand destinati<strong>on</strong> to varying degrees, helped pave the way for subsequent successfulglobal efforts <strong>on</strong> migrati<strong>on</strong>, most ambitiously the Berne Initiative, 2001-2005, theGlobal Commissi<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong> Internati<strong>on</strong>al Migrati<strong>on</strong> (GCIM), 2003-2005, which wasquickly followed in 2006 by the UN General Assembly-hosted High Level Dialogue<strong>on</strong> Internati<strong>on</strong>al Migrati<strong>on</strong> and Development, and by the Global Forum <strong>on</strong> Migrati<strong>on</strong>and Development (GFMD), which by late 2009 had held three meetings. In the light<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> these developments and in view <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> questi<strong>on</strong>s raised most notably in the c<strong>on</strong>text <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>the GCIM and GFMD regarding the output and impacts <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> RCPs, the Internati<strong>on</strong>alOrganizati<strong>on</strong> for Migrati<strong>on</strong> (IOM) commissi<strong>on</strong>ed this assessment.RCPs definedRCPs are repeated, regi<strong>on</strong>al meetings <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> states dedicated to discussing migrati<strong>on</strong>.They vary greatly in their compositi<strong>on</strong>, history, purpose and organizati<strong>on</strong>al frameworks,but they do share the following principal characteristics:1. They are informal and n<strong>on</strong>-binding. Informality is understood here in valueneutralterms, whereby participants are not put in a negotiating positi<strong>on</strong> todefend nati<strong>on</strong>al interests or political positi<strong>on</strong>s (the “party line”). Informalityhelps break down barriers to cooperati<strong>on</strong>, such as an absence <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> trustbetween states, fears <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> political or financial costs, adversarial internati<strong>on</strong>alrelati<strong>on</strong>ships, or a lack <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> understanding <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the perspectives and c<strong>on</strong>cerns <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>others. As internati<strong>on</strong>al relati<strong>on</strong>s theorist Charles Lips<strong>on</strong> put it, “informality isbest understood as a device for minimizing the impediments to cooperati<strong>on</strong>”(Lips<strong>on</strong> 1991:500). Informality, however, should not be c<strong>on</strong>fused withlaxness or casualness, or the absence <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> procedures that govern the way inwhich an RCP operates, as indeed many RCPs have formal modalities <strong>on</strong>various organizati<strong>on</strong>al aspects, such as the functi<strong>on</strong>ing <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the secretariat orchairmanship, rules surrounding c<strong>on</strong>fidentiality, and mechanisms regardingmeeting cycles and membership. The processes are n<strong>on</strong>-binding in thatstates do not negotiate binding rules and are not obligated to implement anychanges following meetings.2. In c<strong>on</strong>trast to many other regi<strong>on</strong>al bodies, which may take up migrati<strong>on</strong>as <strong>on</strong>e <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> many themes <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> discussi<strong>on</strong>, RCPs stand out because they werepurposefully created to deal with migrati<strong>on</strong> issues <strong>on</strong>ly.3. The definiti<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> what is c<strong>on</strong>sidered “regi<strong>on</strong>al” is flexible – it usuallydepends <strong>on</strong> what is logical in light <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the scope <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the migrati<strong>on</strong> issue that12
is to be addressed. “<str<strong>on</strong>g>Regi<strong>on</strong>al</str<strong>on</strong>g>” may also be used figuratively rather thangeographically, as in the case when a group <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> states which primarily definethemselves as countries <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> destinati<strong>on</strong> come together based <strong>on</strong> their likemindednessand comm<strong>on</strong> locati<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong> the “migrati<strong>on</strong> map” as opposed to ageographic c<strong>on</strong>necti<strong>on</strong> in the strictest sense.4. They are processes, not <strong>on</strong>e-<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>f events, and as such have to meet more than<strong>on</strong>ce.5. Most RCPs are not <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>ficially associated with formal regi<strong>on</strong>al instituti<strong>on</strong>s.This, however, does not mean that RCPs operate in a vacuum. Instead, theyare <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>ten embedded in their regi<strong>on</strong>al c<strong>on</strong>texts and interact with regi<strong>on</strong>albodies, associati<strong>on</strong>s and integrati<strong>on</strong> processes in complex ways. RCPs, andabove all those that have emerged within the last decade, should be seen as areflecti<strong>on</strong> and reinforcement <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> a trend towards greater political and ec<strong>on</strong>omicregi<strong>on</strong>alizati<strong>on</strong> across the globe. In recent years, regi<strong>on</strong>al organizati<strong>on</strong>sand ec<strong>on</strong>omic integrati<strong>on</strong> processes such as the European Uni<strong>on</strong> (EU), theAssociati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> Southeast Asian Nati<strong>on</strong>s (ASEAN), the African Uni<strong>on</strong> (AU),the Comm<strong>on</strong> Market <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the South (MERCOSUR) and the South AfricanDevelopment Community (SADC), to name but a few, have added migrati<strong>on</strong>to their agendas, providing yet another venue for inter-state cooperati<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong>this topic. Inter-regi<strong>on</strong>al dialogues <strong>on</strong> the subject are also taking place withincreasing frequency, such as those between Europe and Africa.13
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