Targets on vulnerability and protection

On January 9, 2023, Chile and Colombia signed a joint advisory opinion request to be presented before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), aiming to clarify the scope of the state obligations for responding to the climate emergency under the frame of international human rights law. The request acknowledged the human rights effects of the climate emergency, especially highlighting the vulnerability of communities and ecosystems in Latin America. In this line, Colombia and Chile emphasized the need for regional standards to accelerate action to confront climate change. 

Following the Solidarity Declaration on 22 June 2022 by 18 Member States, the European Commission and the EU Agencies established the Voluntary Solidarity Mechanism (VSM) to provide a concrete response to the migration-related difficulties faced by Member States bordering the Mediterranean. 

In 2013, Belgium launched a structural resettlement programme. Since then, the country has committed to annually receiving vulnerable refugees. 

The Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (Fedasil) manages, in cooperation with national and international partners, the preparation, the journey and the reception of the refugees selected for resettlement in Belgium. The Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS) is responsible for the selection abroad.

Adopted by China’s State Council in late June 2023, the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on Consulate Protection and Assistance took effect on September 1. 

The Regulations consist of 27 articles, mainly specifying the responsibilities of various parties (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), diplomatic institutions abroad, relevant departments of the State Council, and local governments) in providing consular protection and assistance, including guidance and coordination, safety prevention, and support.

This project built on the progress to date in developing and implementing a framework and shifting perspective on alternatives to immigration detention (ATD) in Mexico, with the specific aim of fostering sustainability and empowering local stakeholders towards building preventative and community-based ATD models for the longer term through collaborative initiatives.

International Detention Coalition (IDC) has documented diverse promising practices on alternatives to detention across Africa, from governments and NGOs, to generate momentum for rights-based practices. In 2017, IDC launched a research titled 'There are Alternatives : Africa' which documents promising practices in over 32 African countries. The report highlights some of the measures in place including laws, policies and practices in Africa that contribute to the effective and humane governance of migration, while avoiding the use of unnecessary immigration detention.

The European Alternatives to Detention Network (EATDN) is a group of NGOs that aims to end immigration detention in Europe. Established in 2017, it brings together civil society organisations implementing case management-based ATD (alternatives to detention) pilots in seven European countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Poland and the UK) in partnership with regional-level and international organisations.

The Expat Protection Centre is a central hub of services operating (24/7), and provides a range of services to expatriate workers, including protection services, complaints and grievances, labour court submissions, as well as providing guidance and assistance to expatriate workers on labour related matters.
Expat Protection Centre houses:

The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is a process set up to identify, support, and follow up on victims and potential victims of trafficking, and any vulnerable individuals. It is a collaborative framework through which stakeholders fulfill their obligations to protect and promote the human rights of the trafficked -or vulnerable- individual in a timely manner, while coordinating all the efforts in a strategic national partnership. The system launched in 2016, and was fully digitalized in 2018, which operates according to a unified electronic system, linking the concerned authorities.

Labour Market Regulatory Authority's Regional Centre of Excellence and Capacity Building for Combatting Trafficking in Persons (RCoE) is a specialized centre that is responsible for developing regional-specific modules and training material on combating trafficking in persons and victim assistance, in addition to delivering sessions and workshops, regionally. RCoE targets first responders from government and non-government entities to the crime of trafficking in persons, as well as practitioners who deal with victims of trafficking in persons.