Summary conclusions Workshop on Labour Mobility for Refugees

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Labour Office (ILO), with the support of the 2012 Chair-in-Office of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), co-organized a workshop on Labour Mobility for Refugees in Geneva on 11 and 12 September 2012.

The  workshop  explored whether and how enhanced  labour  mobility for refugees could increase opportunities for self-reliance and facilitate access to durable solutions without undermining  international  refugee  law  principles. The meeting focused on refugees,  i.e. persons found to qualify for refugee protection, even if some of the deliberations may also apply to asylum-seekers. The term “labour mobility” was used in the workshop both for the onward movement of refugees from countries of asylum to third countries to pursue employment as well as  employment opportunities for refugees in asylum countries on the basis of migration schemes.  It included labour migration on the basis of bilateral or multilateral as well as national programmes. 

The workshop summary conclusions can be downloaded at the following link: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/508e4fa72.html