Legal Identity/Civil Documentation

The Compendium of Good Practices in Enabling Access to Legal Identity for Undocumented Migrants is a tool developed by IOM to guide Member States in establishing legal identity to uphold the rights of migrants and of their children, without putting them at risk. The Compendium is developed based on field assessments in six pilot countries (Bosnia and...

Access to legal identity is an essential aspect of safe, orderly and regular migration. Elements that certify legal identity include registration of birth and other vital events, national identity documents, travel documents, among others. These documents are, in turn, indispensable for different processes of regularization and civil registration for...

A guide to principles and practice as applied to refugees and migrants provides​ guidance on relevant legal provisions, on practical procedures to ensure the prompt disembarkation of rescued persons, and on measures to meet their specific needs, particularly in the case of refugees and asylum seekers

This publication is intended as a tool to complement and support practical application of the International Organization for Migration (IOM)publication, Protection of Migrants at Sea (IOM, 2018). It is comprised of two interrelated parts. Part I: Guidance Note: Part I offers guidance to government agencies in the operationalization of their international...

Why are migrant centres so important? Migration journeys are interrupted when people get stranded along their route without any form of protection, shelter, food or health care, and this is when situations become critical. IOM, Governments and partners have set-up migrant centres along the main migratory routes, to provide life-saving assistance. Centres...

Afghans engage in migration through irregular means due to a multiplicity of factors such as the continued and worsening security and economic situation in Afghanistan, lack of rights, high unemployment and environmental hazards. The Afghan Safe Migration project supported Afghan diaspora organisations in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands to deliver...

In the context of the 10-Point Plan, a key objective of cooperative arrangements among partners is to ensure that migration policies are both effective and “protection-sensitive”, that is, they take into account the needs of all persons who travel as part of mixed movements, including asylum-seekers, refugees, victims of trafficking, unaccompanied and...

Trafficking in persons is a serious crime that affects every country in the world. Conflicts that arise in countries or other geographical areas can exacerbate vulnerability to trafficking, as well as its prevalence and severity. As State and non-State structures weaken, and as people turn to negative coping strategies in order to survive, not only does the...

The Rohingya people of Myanmar (known as Burma before 1989) were stripped of citizenship in 1982, because they could not meet the requirement of proving their forefathers settled in Burma before 1823, and now account for one in seven of the global population of stateless people. Of the total 1·5 million Rohingya people living in Myanmar and across southeast...

This discussion paper explores the rise of mixed, irregular migration with particular focus on the role of smuggling and trafficking in both facilitating that movement and influencing its impact. It explains the current migration context followed by a discussion and analysis of the smuggling–trafficking nexus. Emerging characteristics of irregular migration...

In line with the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants (2016) and the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework - preceded by the Brazil Plan of Action (2014) and the San José Action Statement (2016) - countries in Central America and Mexico have committed to implement the Comprehensive Regional Protection and Solutions Framework (MIRPS, according to...

The Practitioners Guide on Migration and International Human Rights Law analyses the protection afforded to migrants by international law and the means to implement it at national and international levels. The Guide synthesises and clarifies international standards on key issues, in particular: the rights and procedures connected to the way migrants enter a...

In the New York Declaration, Member States reaffirmed that all migrants are rights holders, regardless of status (para. 5), and committed to improve the integration and inclusion of all migrants, with particular attention to access to education, health care, justice and language training.

Each year, Afghans return from the neighbouring Islamic Republics of Iran and Pakistan. Once back in country, with the over-stretched absorption capacity of host communities, reintegration challenges are daunting. Primary challenges include food insecurity, access to land, long-term shelter, access to services including health, education and legal assistance...

In southern Africa, the phenomenon of undocumented child migration is now a serious issue. This book captures the voices of children who have made perilous journeys across borders of their own volition but without any idea of the dangers they would meet on the way. They are vulnerable to sexual abuse, exploitative labour and have little or no access to...

This exploratory study focuses on migrant families residing in so called family locations (Gezinslocaties) in the Netherlands. This study provides insight into the decision-making process of migrant families in these family locations, whose legal remedies in most cases have been exhausted, but nevertheless decide not to return.

This report compares the experiences of a selection of existing assisted return programmes for rejected asylum-seekers and irregular migrants, and draws lessons from them for future programmes. Specifically, the report focuses on three aspects: programme implementation, the targeting of assistance, and evaluation. In each case it analyses the experiences of...