An international panel of experts, including academics, representatives from the United Nations, the IInternational Organization for Migration and the African Union, gathered to discuss the imperative of protecting migrants' rights, emphasizing the crucial role of data in this initiative. A highlight of the event was the explaining of the Migrants Rights Database (MRD), a comprehensive empirical cataloguing of laws that protect migrants' rights worldwide.
Dr. Vincent Chetail, Director of the Global Migration Centre at the Geneva Graduate Institute, moderated the event. Ian M. Kysel of Cornell Law School and the Migrant Rights Initiative, along with Dr. Justin Gest from George Mason University and the Migrant Rights Initiative, presented the groundbreaking MRD.
The MRD aims to provide an objective account of laws protecting migrants' rights inscribed within national legal frameworks. This pioneering tool will facilitate comprehensive analyses and policy formulation to safeguard migrants' rights on a global scale. Initially developed through support from the Open Society Foundations and piloted with support from the World Bank’s KNOMAD partnership, the database now boasts of substantial data from 36 countries, accounting for nearly 70 percent of the world's current migrant population.
The Migrants Rights Database is seen as an important step forward in the global effort to protect migrants’ rights. Through this instrument, decision-makers and advocates worldwide can access comprehensive and objective data on laws and their implementation. With this, it is hoped that more effective strategies can be formed to ensure the fair and equitable treatment of all migrants, regardless of their circumstances.
The presentation of the MRD was followed by a panel discussion with:
- Prof. Felipe Gonzalez Morales, UN Special Rapporteur for the human rights of migrants (by video)
- Dr. Koko Warner, Director of the Global Data Institute, International Organization for Migration
- Prof. Maya Sahli-Fadel, Vice-Chair of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights; Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Internally Displaced Persons and Migrants in Africa, African Union