PPD Map

Governments are increasingly recognizing Migration Profiles as a comprehensive data collection and capacity building tool for informed and coherent policy planning. To date, more than 100 migration profiles have been prepared ranging from short statistical overviews, to longer and more comprehensive reports based on extensive consultation and analysis of the migration situation of a particular country.

The importance of MPs has been repeatedly stressed since the 2009 Greece GFMD. These earlier discussions led to three GFMD thematic workshops in New York, Batumi and Manila in 2011, at the initiative of the Swiss GFMD Chair, and in cooperation with other governments and relevant international organizations. The thematic workshops in Chisinau and Abuja also addressed the issue of Migration Profiles.

The GFMD ad hoc WG on Policy Coherence, Data and Research has stressed the relevance of MPs in addressing the migration and development nexus in a comprehensive manner, supported their conceptual development, and advocated the use of MPs as a tool for evidence-based policy making. The ad hoc WG on Protecting and Empowering Migrants supported the thematic workshop on MPs held in Manila.

Migration Profiles were highlighted during the GFMD 2012 Working Session on the Platform for Partnership. The Government of Morocco presented an informal survey it has endorsed along with the Government of Switzerland, as Co-chairs of the as hoc WG on Policy Coherence, Data and Research, to evaluate the impact of MPs and EMPs. The survey was jointly administered by the IOM and ICMPD and was sent by the PfP to all GFMD focal points in 2013.

In response to the recommendations made by governments, this Migration Profiles Repository was created in the framework of the GFMD Platform for Partnerships, by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and in close cooperation with the European Commission (EC). The MPs Repository offers key information on the Migration Profile (MP) and Extended Migration Profile (EMP) concept and methodology for policymakers, gathers existing country profiles in one central location and provides a useful guidance tool and background information on MPs for governments, international organizations, civil society and other stakeholders interested in developing and implementing MPs. It is important to note that the different MPs/EMPs collected in this repository significantly differ in terms of format, content and objectives. Extended MPs emphasize the importance of national ownership and sustainability of the MP exercise by engaging in consultations with a broad range of stakeholders including the civil society.

The MP repository aims to promote the discussion on the MP approach and a common understanding of the MP concept, highlight good practices and common challenges, avoid overlapping of MP exercises in the same country, encourage the sharing of MP experiences, and enhance the potential for collaboration with civil society.

The MPs Repository is structured into three parts:

1. Concept and Methodology
2. Migration Profiles Repository
3. Guidance and Tools

Since the first General Assembly High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development in 2006, states have explored, through the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) process, collaborative approaches to enhancing the benefits and curbing the negative impacts of migration for development.  The discussions and issues addressed at the GFMD have considerably evolved since it was first convened in 2007. Since 2009, the Global Forum has paid dedicated attention to the topic of mainstreaming migration into development strategies, together with a sustained emphasis on the need for better migration data and for greater institutional and policy coherence on migration and development. The integration of these three elements is what characterizes the GFMD’s approach to the topic of migration mainstreaming.

Migration has been and remains today an integral part of development processes. It often results in significant benefits for individual migrants and their households. Yet, the implications of migration for the human development aspirations of countries and communities tend to be harder to track. Few countries have good data and systematic analysis on the migration realities they face; on how these migration realities are affected by their legislative and policy choices; and how they are in turn impacting on the development goals of the country.  The aim of migration mainstreaming is to address these gaps and to enable governments to take a context-specific and systematic approach to reconciling their countries’ development aspirations with current and prospective migration realities.

There are several benefits of taking a mainstreaming approach: 

• First and foremost, the decision to mainstream migration into a country’s national development strategy is a significant statement of political will.
• It provides a mandate for greater institutional and policy coherence and the development of sectoral policies from a migration perspective.
• It also encourages governments to see migration as an issue affecting all aspects of human development, including human rights.
• It helps identify gaps in existing legislative and policy frameworks, and prompts the inclusion of relevant international instruments and conventions.
• And, it can be expected to facilitate funding and technical assistance for migration and development-related activities through mobilisation of resources from international partners for development plans.