Abstract
Introduction
In response to the growing global phenomenon of large movements of people, on 19 September 2016, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted the so-called New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants to formally start a process of consultations and negotiations culminating in the completion of two global compacts: the Global Compact on Refugees and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (hereafter: The Migration Compact). The two compacts signify another milestone in the gradual emergence of a globally coordinated, multilateral approach to the regulation of international migration, or ‘global migration governance’ – a process which began in a more concerted manner in the early 2000s with the setup of the Global Commission on International Migration.
This Forum section focuses on the Migration Compact, which UN Member States concluded on 13 July 2018 after a 2-year process of negotiating. It is slated for adoption at a high-level meeting in Marrakesh in December 2018. 1 Sustainable Development Goals The Migration Compact’s rationale is to build on existing bilateral, regional, and global cooperation and partnership mechanisms, with the view to facilitate migration in accordance with the 2030 Development Agenda (SDGs). A consultative process to seek input from governments, civil society and experts took place throughout 2017. Between April and November 2017, there were six thematic consultations scheduled: human rights of all migrants, addressing drivers of migration, international cooperation and governance of migration, contributions of migrants and diasporas, smuggling of migrants, trafficking in persons and contemporary forms of slavery, and irregular migration and regular pathways. In December 2017, a stocktaking exercise took place, out of which a Zero Draft emerged which is currently being subject to further scrutiny and negotiations by various constituencies.
The contributions to this Forum discuss the opportunities and obstacles to establishing a rights-based approach and socially fair framework to the global regulation of migration. A ‘rights-based approach’ is thereby understood in two ways: first, to highlight the human rights entitlements of people, or rights holders, and the corresponding responsibilities of governments and other actors as duty bearers in the endeavour ‘to respect, protect and fulfil’ human rights, and second, to highlight the political nature of global governing processes, that is, global migration governance as a political project and process. In other words, a rights-based approach can also be conceptualised beyond the law as an expression of politics. From the viewpoint of civil society actors, in particular, this raises the issue of participation in the process, potentially including advocacy and mobilisation. The ways in which the Global Compact process has so far offered opportunities as well as barriers to such a two-pronged rights-based approach to migration is the topic of discussion in this Forum.
The five contributions to this edition of the Global Social Policy’s Forum section reflect on these two dimensions of a rights-based approach to the governance of migration through the lens of the Global Compact Process. They do so from assessing its overall relevance (Elspeth Guild), its gender implications (Jenna Hennebry), from the perspective of civil society (Evalyn Tennant and Christian Wolff) and its hailed contribution to the exaleration of development (Raul Delgado Wise) in light of the global trend towards temporary labour migration (Phil Martin).