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ABSTRACT
The plight of desperate migrants crossing the Mediterranean reached an inflection point in 2015 when an estimated 800 migrants drowned in a single day, painfully exposing dysfunctions in how States, regions, and the international community as a whole seek to govern a world with increased mobility of persons. By examining the response to the migration and refugee crises of recent years through the lens of the United Nations (UN), this article describes how States and the UN system are challenged to reconsider traditional hierarchies of power and influence since unilateral State action will not solve the migration problem. Migration solutions, particularly those providing greater protections for migrants in vulnerable situations, will require ‘coalitions of the willing’ between States, inter-governmental organisations, local governments and non-state actors. Still emerging, such coalitions are interdependent; and their objectives will be the result of negotiating and bargaining amongst their members. They reflect multi-level governance in the collective handling of migration, revealing a more complex interaction, one in which local authorities and non-state actors are in some instances bypassing State-led interventions. For its part, the UN – armed with recent institutional changes that provide it with more centralised ‘orchestration’ capacities – is best suited to serve in a ‘wingman’ function, buttressing rather than leading such coalitions.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
* The Author wishes to dedicate this article to Peter D. Sutherland. She gratefully acknowledges comments on previous versions of this paper from Marion Panizzon, Elaine McGregor, Micheline van Riemsdijk, Sarah Rosengaertner, Stefan Rother, Mélodie Beaujeu, Christina Bastianon, and Margarite Zoeteweij. The Author is solely responsible for any omissions or errors. Funding was provided by the Swiss National Center for Competence in Research NCCR – on the move.
1 This figure, which is for 2015, includes Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Note: the UN Leaders’ Summit (2016) did not address IDPs.
4 Statement by Ambassador David Donahue, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations, World Bank, Washington, 22 July Citation2016.
7 UNHCR non-paper ‘Towards a global compact on refugees: a proposed roadmap’ dated 10 March 2017.
8 Statement by Ambassador Juan José Gómez Camacho, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations, United Nations Headquarters, New York, 14 September Citation2016.
10 Statement by Jonathan Prentice, Chief of Staff of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, at a Global Migration Group Meeting, New York, 10 January 2018.
11 These guiding principles and voluntary guidelines are to be developed with inputs from the SRSG, IOM, UNHCHR, UNHCR, and other relevant UN system entities.
12 In the Report of the former SRSG for Migration, Mr. Peter Sutherland, entitled ‘Report of the SRSG on International Migration’ dated 3 February 2017, States are pressed to abide by this commitment to migrants in vulnerable situations. The Report calls for the establishment of an independent expert panel to develop a working definition of ‘migrants in vulnerable situations’, and to provide an overview of the applicable international legal frameworks and non-binding instruments, and to identify where protection gaps currently arise in law and in practice. As the Report prods: ‘With those findings in hand, States and stakeholders should embark, in 2017, on a set of dedicated regional consultations, taking inspiration from regional protection frameworks but also identifying and filling the gaps in them, notably with special provisions for the protection of (unaccompanied and separated) migrant children. Ideally, the guiding principles will be agreed on as part of the Global Compact on Migration in 2018.’ (http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/N1700218.pdf).
15 Indeed, there is a trend towards appointments of non-peacekeeping/political representatives and envoys, which were the traditional types of assignments for such appointments. By 2015, approximately one-third, or 40 of the Secretary-General's high-level appointments are linked to thematic issues of concern (such as IDPs, climate change, child soldiers, etc.), and out of these, 11 bear the title SRSG.
17 Forced displacement is also handled in the UN General Assembly's Third Committee on Social, Humanitarian and Cultural issues.
19 The GA resolution on International migration and development (A/RES/71/237) both regularizes the convening of the HLD and confirms that the third HLD will take place in the first half of 2019, early enough to inform the high-level political forum on sustainable development, which will review the Goals and targets relevant to migration in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The resolution also specifies that High-level Dialogues will be held during every fourth session of the General Assembly, beginning with the seventy-third session. (https://undocs.org/A/RES/71/237)
20 Thanks to Elaine McGregor for this term.