Empowerment and Rights of Migrants

Legazpi City commits to provide services to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) and their families through a Municipal Help Desk and to expand the Help Desk services in 2023 to support pre-migration orientation seminars and improved access to health care.
The Municipal OFW Help Desk:
Engages with civil society and the Filipino diaspora to monitor the needs of OFWs and to map stakeholders.
Compiles information on government services and informs prospective OFWs on the processes and risks of overseas employment.

Quezon City commits to open a Migrants Resource Center (MRC) to cater to the needs of vulnerable migrants, with a particular focus on Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and their families.

The City of Zürich commits to improve access to all its municipal services with a special focus on vulnerable groups. Limited access can affect people with disabilities, older people, people experiencing poverty, refugees or migrants, for example. Among those, migrants with irregular status are particularly vulnerable. In this vein, Zurich commits to:

São Paulo commits to expand services for migrants and refugees by opening a new Center for Reference and Assistance to Immigrants (CRAI) in eastern São Paulo.

Laguna Province establishes a “One Stop Migration Resource Center”, which serves as the hub for information and support to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and their families.

The municipal government of Carmen de la Legua commits to the implementation of a Municipal Plan of Local Action to build a future with Migrants and Refugees 2023-2026, which will allow:

Contribute to the elimination of all forms of discrimination and promote evidence-based public discourse.
Promote the mainstreaming of migration and forced displacement in municipal services, as well as in local, regional, and multilateral partnerships as a mechanism to increase cooperation between cities.

Specifically, this plan prioritizes, among other things:

 In Santo Domingo, Ecuador, the Cantonal Human Mobility Consultative Council was created to ensure that migrants, refugees and returnees can exercise their rights and have a voice in policymaking. The Council provides information, giving advice to people on the move to help them navigate administrative processes, access local services, etc., and gathers data about migrant and displaced people’s needs. The Council is composed of migrants, refugees and returnees in Santo Domingo, which enhances trust with the community and allows for ownership.

A key concern requiring attention by the African Union and a common approach across the AU membership is promoting rights-based bilateral labour agreements (BLAs) and other bilateral labour migration arrangements (BLMAs) that ensure protection and decent work for all Africans. The AU  developed guidelines that will assist the Member States and the RECs in concluding appropriate
BLAs.

It contains practical guidance grounded in international labour and human rights standards and drawing from real examples around the world. It shows how social dialogue benefits the development, implementation and monitoring of these agreements, and can be used as a basis for training and preparing for negotiation of bilateral labour migration agreements.

Local governments successfully piloted a Hometown Associations model with more than 160 registered associations that systematically engage the diaspora in local development projects and initiatives.