UNHCR and the International Labour Office co-organized a workshop in Geneva on 11-12 September 2012 on "Labour Mobility for Refugees".
The workshop provided an important opportunity for states, international organizations, members of civil society and academics to discuss whether and how labour mobility could increase employment opportunities and freedom of movement for refugees. Participants also looked at how labour mobility could facilitate durable solutions without undermining protection principles.
Here are the documents distributed or generated at the meeting, which was supported by the Global Forum on Migration and Development.
1. Main workshop documents
1.1. Agenda.
1.2. UNHCR/ILO: Labour mobility - Concept note, July 2012.
1.3. List of Participants.
1.4. Klug A.: "Towards durable solutions - enhancing refugees’ self-reliance through a temporary labour migration scheme" – Discussion paper, March 2012.
1.5. UNHCR: Labour mobility for refugees – Past and present examples, draft matrix, September 2012.
1.6. Draft model framework on temporary and permanent migration for employment of refugee workers, August 2012.
1.7. UNHCR/ILO: Summary Conclusions, October 2012.
2. Conference presentations
2.1. Presentation by Mr. Mike Gray, Chief of Resettlement and Movement Management Division, IOM, and Tauhid Pasha, Senior Specialist, Labour Migration/Migration and Development, IOM.
2.2. Presentation by Ms. Anja Klug, International Advisor to the Chair-in-Office of the GFMD.
2.3. Presentation by Prof. Alessandro Monsutti, Research Director, Transnational Studies/Development studies, The Graduate Institute Geneva.
3. Selected references documents
3.1. Selected references documents
3.1.1. UNHCR: Discussion paper – refugee protection and durable solutions in the context of international migration, 2007.
3.1.2. UNHCR: Refugee protection and Mixed Migration: The 10-Point Plan in Action, Division of International Protection, 2009, (Chapter 7, Solutions for refugees).
3.1.3. Adepoju A., Bolton B and Levin M.: Promoting integration through mobility: free movement and the ECOWAS Protocol, New Issues in Refugee Research, Research Paper n° 150, UNHCR, 2007.
3.1.4. Crisp J. and Long K.: Migration, mobility and solutions: an evolving perspective for refugees?, Forced Migration Review n° 35, 2010.
3.1.5. Multipartite agreement for the local integration of Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees in Nigeria between the Government of the Republic of Liberia, the Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone, the Government of the Republic of Nigeria, the Economic Community of West African states (ECOWAS) and the office of the UNHCR, 2007.
3.1.6. Long K.: Home alone? A review of the relationship between repatriation, mobility and durable solutions for refugees, Policy Development and Evaluation Service, UNHCR, 2010.
3.1.7. Long K.: Extending protection: Labour migration and durable solutions for refugees, New Issues in Refugee Research, Research Paper n° 176, UNHCR, 2009.
3.2. Education and mobility for refugees
3.2.1. UNHCR: Education Strategy 2012-2016, Division of International Protection, 2012.
3.2.2. UNHCR: Annual Report on the DAFI Programme – 2010, Division of International Protection, 2010.
3.2.3. Morlang C. and Watson S.: Tertiary Refugee Education Impact and Achievements 15 Years of DAFI, Division of Operations Service, UNHCR, 2007.
4. Selected legal and policy resources
4.1. Labour migration standards
4.1.1. ILO: Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (C-97).
4.1.2. ILO: Migration for Employment Recommendation (Revised), 1949 (R-86).
4.1.3. ILO: Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (C-143).
4.1.4. ILO: Migrant Workers Recommendation, 1975 (R-151).
4.1.5. UN: International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, 1990.
4.1.6. IOM, ILO, OSCE: Handbook on Establishing Effective Labour Migration Policies in Countries of Origin and Destination, 2006.
4.1.7. ILO: Multilateral Framework on Labour Migration; Non-binding principles and guidelines for a rights-based approach, 2006.
4.2. International human rights and refugee law
4.2.1. United Nations: The Convention and Protocol relating to the status of refugees, 1951 and 1967.
4.2.2. United Nations: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966.
4.2.3. United Nations: Convention against Torture and Other Cruel and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 1984.