In Amman, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) manages the activities of the Hashmy Janoubi community centre, which serves the local community living on the outskirts of the city through projects addressed to migrants and local inhabitants alike.
In Lyon, the Agence Lyon Tranquilité et Médiation (ALTM), an agency of mediation promoted by the municipality, helped to decrease social tension in Gabriel Péri square, which plays a central role for migrant populations in the city. This initiative deploys uniformed mediators to promote long-term social cohesion in a specific and ‘problematic’ area of the city. This state-led intervention exemplifies how social cohesion can be strengthened through a collective, holistic approach that aims at building bridges rather than promoting exclusionary security measures.
The City of Chicago (USA) has developed public-private partnerships to create a local protection fund whereby civil society organisations can work with immigration lawyers so that all migrants know exactly which services they can and cannot access depending on their status.
The Recycle Beirut initiative aims at “merging two problems into a solution”: the project contributes to solving the country’s waste crisis while offering work opportunities for vulnerable Syrian refugees in the country.
The City of Lisbon’s One Stop Shop that brings together under one roof and streamlines services to immigrants and ensures open access to everyone (regardless of status) has been an inspiration for other cities.
São Paulo developed a Referral and Assistance Centre for Immigrants, a specialized public service that provides, among other services, guidance on the regularization of documental status, legal counseling, social assistance, as well as referral to Portuguese classes in public schools, job intermediation services, and short-term shelter.
In Castelfiorentino (Italy) under the Castello Alto Project, local residents and civic organizations participate in the reception of new arrivals, which has led to improved social cohesion in the multicultural neighbourhood around the old city centre. Activities include sporting and art activities, a cross-cultural study space, a recreational meeting place, neighbourhood dinners, and the creation of a neighbourhood committee.
In Morocco, various municipalities in the region of Souss-Massa have established Migration Reception and Orientation Offices for returning Moroccans in order to support them with the administrative procedures related to their social rights acquired during their stays abroad, for example to gain access to their pensions.
While the country does host a significant foreign-born community within its archipelago, the Philippines identifies itself as a country of origin, with approximately 10 million Filipinos Overseas who still call the Philippines home. It is for their protection, rights, and welfare, that the Philippine Government has emerged over the last 4 decades as a champion for global governance for the protection of migrants.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in collaboration with DLA Piper Law Firm and civil society organisations, has undertaken a pilot mapping of national forms of admission and stay which are based on human rights or humanitarian grounds.