Making migration work with all

Making clear the significant difference between a migrant and a refugee and why it matters.

In so many ways, these are good times; these are bad times; these are transformative times – it seems all pretty confusing?

The same could be said for the narrative around migrants and refugees. Accessing a skilled foreign workforce can help, if properly and realistically managed, to address the widespread shortages of skills arising out of mismatch, demographic changes, lack of skills development and education and vocational training relevant to the changing needs. The continuing health pandemic has adversely impacted the skills mobility due to border closures and/or restricted entry. At the same time, there is rise in movement of refugees due to unstable geo-political situations. Treating migrants and refugees as one group of people without following the distinction is undermining the contributions made by migrants and refugees, in their own abilities and capacities. There is a need to dispel this confusion not only for course correction in the changing public narrative, but also to ensure that foreign skills are available uninterrupted when and where needed. We need, though, to acknowledge strong failures in national migration and refugee policies which did not lead to regular, safe, predictable pathways. This has led in many countries to lack of proper integration, social instability and a narrative which is not always helpful. We need on the ground and realist migration polices, based on proper strategies and efficient employment policies. A better balance needs to be found.

As mentioned above, people cross borders for two reasons: one is in search of a better livelihood and the other to save their lives from persecution. Though it is tempting to see them as “people on the move” there is actually a huge difference between these categories of people on the move. While the first are termed as “migrants” the second fall in the category of “refugees”. The United Nations General Assembly has made this clear distinction between the refugees and migrants in the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants.

Following the New York Declaration, two different Global Compacts - the Global Compact for Refugees and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) were adopted in 2018.

Difference between migrants and refugees

People who voluntarily move out of their country are those seeking better livelihoods and economic opportunity, based on the skills they possess. Such people are included in the category of “migrants”. While at the international level there is no uniform legal definition of the term ‘migrant’, the 1990 UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families the term "migrant worker" refers to a person who is to be engaged, is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national.

The UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, states that Refugees are people outside their country of origin because of feared persecution, conflict, violence, or other circumstances that have seriously disturbed public order, and who, as a result, require ‘international protection’. The UNHCR further clarifies that the rationale behind this protection is because “asylum-seekers and refugees lack the protection of their own country”.

The UN after intense discussion committed that despite overlapping issues, migrants and refugees are distinct groups governed by separate legal frameworks. The migration policies are determined at the national level, which are influenced by politics, public narrative and economics.

Role of private sector

The Business Advisory Group on Migration and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) along with its global network, are actively looking at national migration policies, to assess alignment with the GCM objectives and ensure that they are fit for purpose to create regular, safe and predictable pathways that address obstacles to global skills mobility and skills gaps.

The private sector through the Business Advisory Group on Migration is trying to raise its voice even more about creating migration policies that allow for skills mobility. IOE is facilitating and building the capacity of its national migration focal points to have a dialogue with their government representatives on finding solutions to global migration issues and the implementation of the GCM.

Few sectors of society know as well as the private sector how massively global migration has been disrupted over the past two years, add to this the growing demographic changes, skewed levels of skills development, mismatch of skills as a result of rapid growth in technology and innovation – and today’s war for talent may seem like a small battle. More than ever, we need to understand the different circumstances why migrants and refugees move and respect and support them.

The UN Secretary General remarked “Making Migration Work for All”. Let’s slightly modify it to say - “making migration work with all”.

Gayatri Kanth

Project Manager

Business Advisory Group on Migration