I. Introduction

How to be clear—if perhaps in some circles, controversial: we love this Migration Profiles project for its potential as it continues to evolve. Although we are not entirely in love with the word “profiles” for some of the enforcement-related connotations it can evoke, the enormous scope of many of the profiles, like Senegal’s just to name one, is impressive: from essential statistics to trends and projections to institutions, legislation, policies, recommendations and capacity-building.

At ICMC we so much appreciate the need for building the base of evidence for policy-making in migration that a few years ago we did a few of our own in a limited project that we called migration mapping. So most sincere congratulations to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the governments and European Commission (EC) on the evolution of these Profiles!

We love the Profiles project because such information and analysis is so obviously an answer to clear need all around. To borrow the words of one scholar of migration and development: when these kind of exercises are done well, they “…provide a crucial corrective to today’s skewed and biased debate.”

But: we love the Profiles like one loves a baby. The baby is new, small, will get bigger; we expect to influence them, guide them along as they grow up, mature. In this direction, we appreciate very much the explicit and repeated invitation by the EC and IOM for improvements to the Profiles.

I will talk from “a” civil society perspective. Will mention a few areas where some change—or further change—is needed in the Profiles—areas probably many agree on, and not just in civil society. Some of it is change already in progress, some of it new challenge. Then close with two notes of caution that I would suggest is the voice of much of civil society, particularly among NGOs, labour groups and other practitioners.

To read this statement in its entirety, please see the pdf below.

ST Bingham ICMConMigrationProfiles June2011 (525.85 KB)