Mainstreaming Migration into Development Planning

Mexico's 2013-2018 National Development Plan specifically calls for policies that incorporate migration into the country's poverty reduction strategy.

Portugal's Action Plan for the Integration of Immigrants (in its second edition) embodies the "whole of government" approach at the heart of mainstreaming: it tackles integration issues across different sectors (employment, health, education, etc) across distinct target groups (descendants of immigrants, family reunification, older migrants, etc) and across the government (involving 10 ministries).

The Government of Nepal has endorsed the UNDAF for the period 2013-2017 which has specific outputs pertaining to migration and development and has identified migrants and families as one of their client groups.

The Government of Zimbabwe has introduced Migration and Development into the Country's Medium Term National Development Plan 2011-2015. This Plan was announced under the theme “towards sustainable inclusive growth, human centred development, transformation and poverty reduction”.  In this policy document, the Government highlighted the following as being National Priorities:



i.        Infrastructure Development

ii.       Employment Creation

Mexico's new Migration Law specifically incorporates past GFMD recommendations to strengthen bilateral, regional and international cooperation to manage the flows of international migration and to incorporate migration in development policies and poverty-reduction strategies. The main tenet of the Migratory Act is the protection of human rights of migrants, especially women and children. Mexico recognizes the important contributions made by migrants to the host countries, as well as to their country of origin.

Since 1996, the Dutch city of Almere has maintained friendship relations with the city of Kumasi in Ghana. In 2001, the Mayors of Almere and Kumasi signed the “Sister Cities Agreement 2001-2006”, in which the principles of their co-operation are laid down.

This agreement involves Ghanaian migrants that facilitate collaboration in the areas of waste management, urban planning, women empowerment and cultural exchanges.

At the request of the Governments of Netherlands and Switzerland, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) developed this handbook as a tool for policymakers and practitioners to help them reach out to their diaspora and develop meaningful partnerships with them in their home and host countries. The handbook reflects the outcomes of a survey implemented jointly by the IOM and MPI among GFMD focal points, as well as the discussions within the GFMD on how to engage the diasporas and migrant communities.

The policy memorandum sets out the migration and development policy framework for the Government of The Netherlands, focusing on six key policy priorities aimed at areas in which the Netherlands can make a difference, such as institutional development in migration management; promoting circular migration and brain gain; strengthening the involvement of migrant organizations; strengthening the link between remittances and development and encouraging sustainable return and reintegration.

As part of its reform program and human resource development (HRD) strategy, Mauritius has been active in promoting circular migration. Since 2006, Mauritians have embarked on Circular Migration Programmes and some 300 workers have taken employment in Canada. In April 2010, a Bilateral Agreement with France was ratified; its implementation will start soon.

This trust fund was set up with the double aim of strengthening the work of the ECOWAS in the field of migration and development, and also financing civil society and other institutional projects at national and local levels in the areas of policy development and implementation, strengthening of coordination structures, promoting free circulation of people and preventing irregular migration.