Labor

Migrant workers. On July 11th, the member states of the United Nations signed the Pact for Secure, Ordered and Regular Migration. The document will be approved at the UN summit on December 10th and 11th in Marrakech, Morocco. It was endorsed by 191 of the 193 states that make up the UN. The intention of the Assembly is that, once the commitment is ratified, each country designs its own policies in this area. It should be noted that the Pact is a non-binding political declaration. In order to have a regulatory impact, it is necessary that the different governments promote concrete lines of action. Latin America is already promoting these initiatives as evidenced by the document signed by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), in conjunction with the European Union on July 17th where its commitment to labor inclusion is ratified.

The pact issued by the UN is structured around 23 objectives. Among them, the commitment to promote the opening of labor markets to increase employment options for migrants stands out. In turn, the agreement emphasizes that development should be promoted in the communities of origin to receive migrants.

The agreement was met after six rounds of negotiations that began in 2016. At that time, heads of State and Government agreed at the UN to negotiate agreements on migrants and refugees in the face of the crisis that was then experienced in the Mediterranean. This pact, which was endorsed by almost all the countries that make up the Organization, is the initial kick-off of measures to facilitate the labor inclusion of migrants.

Next steps

The agreement will be ratified at the summit of December 10th and 11th in Morocco by the UN. The intention of the organization is that all countries design lines of action to promote the migrant work. The UN is expected to promote funding channels for programs that have this purpose.