At the best of times, there are immense challenges in meeting the public health and healthcare and social care needs of migrant, ethnic, racial and other minority groups in modern societies globally. Over 50 years, scholars, researchers and practitioners have developed principles and exemplars of how to provide culturally competent and effective services for diverse societies. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are in the worst of times, and new thinking is required. We are already seeing the desperate plight of migrants, particularly those in camps and detention centres awaiting their asylum claims to be examined. Millions of people are on the march in countries such as India in scenes not seen since the partition of the country in 1947, when millions died. There is, however, a group of migrants, i.e., those labelled undocumented or irregular, or in a derogatory and inaccurate way illegal, at even greater need than other populations. The numbers and whereabouts of undocumented migrants are unknown, at least to the statutory sector, for self-evident reasons. The immigration authorities and the public usually judge the numbers to be substantial, for example, with estimates in the hundreds of thousands in the UK. They have no legal rights to residence in the country they are in. They live in the shadows of society, fearful of authority, and with little access to services, which are mostly provided by the voluntary sector. Nonetheless, they contribute to the functioning of society usually through low-paid work in difficult settings. There are probably tens of millions of such people across the world. They are in danger of becoming the scapegoats, when they are going to be the foremost victims of the pandemic.

Global assessments suggest that a substantial proportion of labour migrants ends up in situations of extreme exploitation, some of whom are identified as victims of human trafficking. Because large numbers of migrant workers fall into a “grey area” between trafficking (as defined by international and national law) and exploitative labour situations, there is good reason to explore the differences and similarities between the health needs of those who have been identified as trafficked compared to other migrants working in the same labour sector who have not. It is urgent to understand present-day occupational health and safety risks, forms of abuse and exploitation in different sectors and common hazardous working and living conditions to improve prevention and response strategies. This is among the first studies to explore and compare the influence of occupational and other risk exposures on people’s health and well-being and compare the experiences of migrant workers and victims of trafficking across sectors and regions. Our multiregion qualitative study on exploitation and harm experienced by individuals in the textile sector in Argentina, and artisanal gold-mining in Peru and construction sector in Kazakhstan, found important commonalities in the health hazards and financial, social and legal challenges across sectors and regions. In total, we interviewed 71 people; of these, 18 were formally identified victims of trafficking and 53 were migrant workers.

Las evaluaciones mundiales sugieren que una proporción sustancial de los trabajadores migrantes terminan en situaciones de explotación extrema, algunos de los cuales han sido identificados como víctimas de trata de personas. Debido a que un gran número de trabajadores migrantes caen en una "zona gris" entre la trata (como es definida por el derecho internacional y nacional) y situaciones de explotación laboral, hay una buena razón para explorar las diferencias y similitudes entre las necesidades de salud de aquellos que han sido identificados como víctimas de la trata en comparación con otros migrantes que trabajan en el mismo sector de trabajo que no lo han sido. Es urgente comprender los riesgos actuales para salud y la seguridad, las formas de abuso y explotación en los diferentes sectores y las condiciones de trabajo y de vida peligrosas comunes para mejorar las estrategias de prevención y respuesta. Este es uno de los primeros estudios que explora y compara la influencia de las exposiciones de riesgo ocupacionales, entre otros, en la salud y el bienestar de las personas, comparando las experiencias de los trabajadores migrantes y las víctimas de trata en todos los sectores y regiones que lo integran. Nuestro estudio cualitativo multi-región sobre la explotación y el daño sufrido por las personas en el sector textil en Argentina, en la extracción artesanal de oro en Perú y la construcción en Kazajstán, encontró similitudes importantes en los riesgos para la salud y los retos financieros, sociales y legales en todos los sectores y regiones. En total, se entrevistó a 71 personas; de éstos, 18 fueron identificados formalmente como víctimas de trata y 53 eran trabajadores migrantes.

African and EU leaders adopted a political declaration and a common action plan at the Valletta Summit on migration, in Malta, 12-15 November 2015.

The IOM Nigeria COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan outlines the main areas of intervention across pillars of COVID-19 response to continue to support the Government of Nigeria as well as humanitarian and development partners. The below total budget is an indicative requirement for IOM Nigeria’s planned interventions and is bound to evolve, given the evolving nature of the pandemic and the national priorities.

In line with IOM’s Health, Border & Mobility Management Approach, and with an appreciation that in times of crisis migrants and displaced persons constitute one of the most vulnerable population groups, IOM plans, between May to December 2020, to implement a range of activities to further support the Government of Cameroon in its response to and recovery from COVID-19. This will be based on 7 of the 12 twelve pillars included in IOM’s global Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, namely: Coordination and Partnerships, Tracking Mobility Impacts, Risk Communication and Community engagement, Point of Entry (PoE), Infection Prevention and Control, Camp Coordination and Camp Management, and Protection. Through its existing programming, IOM Cameroon has adapted its activities to rapidly contribute to the national COVID19 response, and now seeks additional support to leverage its vast operational presence for continued support to COVID19 response in-country. IOM’s wide presence of staff in Cameroon, wide network of local partners, existing migration health service programme, strong infrastructure in mobility tracking, and programmatic flexibility will ensure the Organization is able to rapidly assist those most in need.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, IOM Mali has been working closely with the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs of Mali (MHSA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to strengthen prevention and intervention against COVID-19 in Mali. Based on IOM’s similar experience during the EVD crisis, the same model at the border points and “sanitary cordons” is being evaluated to assist the Malian Government in this current pandemic. IOM is also coordinating its COVID-19 response with the United Nations Country Team (UNCT), the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) and the United Nations Country Team for Security and Health. Through a reallocation of existing funds and reprograming of ongoing activities, IOM Mali has ensured rapid contribution to national COVID-19 responses. As such, a rapid assessment to evaluate the needs and response capacities to COVID-19 at 13 border crossing points, six internal transit points, 16 sanitary cordons throughout Mali has been put in place and continues to be evaluated weekly. IOM is also conducting training of border agents in the Southern part of Mali on COVID-19 prevention and protection measures. Moreover, IOM continues to carry out awareness raising activities towards IDPs and migrants in Mali regarding COVID-19 preventive measures as well as to provide sanitary and hygiene kits. IOM Mali has additionally enhanced its assisted voluntary programme to respond to the needs of stranded migrants who are unable to return to their country of origins. To effectively support the Government of Mali in its response to and recovery from this pandemic, it is crucial that dedicated COVID-19 response and recovery programmes are put in place to capitalize on efforts to fight this pandemic

The Rome Declaration, adopted at the Ministerial Conference in Rome in 2014, is the key strategic document of the Khartoum Process whereby its members agreed to assist participating states in tackling human trafficking and smuggling between the Horn of Africa and Europe.

This paper will highlight existing guidelines (especially the Migrants in Countries in Crisis Guidelines to protect migrants in countries experiencing conflict or natural disaster) that speak to the findings of our research – and connect them to wider policy developments in the migration sphere. In particular, we reference the global process of the United Nations to establish a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration, which aims to “improve the governance on migration, to address the challenges associated with today’s migration, and to strengthen the contribution of migrants and migration to sustainable development”. Our findings provide insight on important challenges to which the global compact for migration can and should speak, as well as practices and recommendations on which stakeholders can act, within or outside of the compact process.

This report presents the comparative findings of research spanning two years on migrants caught in situations of crisis in a destination country. The research focused on the longer-term socio-economic impacts of these crises on migrants, on their families and on the countries affected by the crisis. It was conducted by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), the University of Oxford’s International Migration Institute (IMI) and local research partners in the fieldwork countries, in the context of the larger European Union (EU)-funded project “Migrants in Countries in Crisis: Supporting an Evidence-based Approach for Effective and Cooperative State Action” (MICIC).That EU-funded project aims to improve the capacity of states and other stakeholders to assist and provide protection to migrants who find themselves in countries affected by crisis – through in-depth research, consultations with government and other relevant stakeholders and capacity building. With this three-pronged approach, the project contributes to the global MICIC Initiative, a government-led process co-chaired by the governments of the Philippines and the United States. Based on the inputs of states, civil society, international organisations and private sector stakeholders on both the project and the initiative, the MICIC Initiative released its “Guidelines to Protect Migrants in Countries Experiencing Conflict or Natural Disaster”, to help states and other stakeholders respond to the needs of migrants caught in crisis situations. The empirical research described in this report confirms many of the issues raised and policy priorities recommended in these guidelines.