Labour migration

ILO at the First International Migration Review Forum, 17-20 May, 2022


Migrant workers make up 70 per cent of working-age migrants in the world. They make valuable contributions to sustainable development but are subject to discrimination, exclusion and decent work deficits. The COVID-19 pandemic only worsened the situation, highlighting the pre-existing gaps in labour migration governance. Making labour migration safe, orderly and regular, grounded in international labour standards and social dialogue, is critical for a more sustainable, just and human-centred recovery.

The International Migration Review Forum is the first-ever global review of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, a groundbreaking intergovernmental cooperative framework agreed in December 2018 in Marrakech, Morocco. Convened by the President of the General Assembly and supported by the UN Network on Migration, the Forum will provide an opportunity to assess progress on implementing the 23 objectives of the Compact, and accelerate action to redouble efforts towards achieving safe, orderly and regular migration. The Forum will agree a Progress Declaration, guiding further action.

ILO is actively supporting the Forum as a member of the Migration Network Executive Committee. It is further supporting the participation of its constituents in the multistakeholder hearing on 16 May, 2022, and in the Forum from 17-20 May.

To follow video sessions of the Forum you can find more information on UN Web TV Live Schedule | UN Web TV (click through to dates from 16-20 May).


Main events (all times EST)

  1. Multistakeholder hearing

    16 May 10.00-18.00

  2. Roundtable 1

    17 May,10.00-13.00

  3. Roundtable 2

    17 May 15.00-18.00

  4. Roundtable 3

    18 May 10.00-13.00

  5. Roundtable 4

    18 May 10.00-13.00

  6. Policy Debate

    18 May 15.00-18.00

  7. General debate

    19-20 May, 10.00-18.00

ILO Key Side events

  1. Online - Promoting partnerships, governing migration: experiences from the IGAD region on GCM implementation in a changing climate

    17 May

  2. Online - Freedom of Association: Migrant Domestic Workers Path towards Labor Rights

    17 May

  3. Online - Promoting the integration of refugees and migrants in the context of forced displacement and mixed flows: Interactive Dialogue

    17 May

  4. In person - Joint Forum organized by the State of Qatar and the Governments of The Republic of the Philippines at the sidelines of the IMRF

    17 May

  5. In person - Leveraging Technology to Facilitate Skills Recognition - Experiences from IOE-Oracle Hackathon

    17 May

  6. In person - Linking Policy, Evidence and Practice from GCM to Paris Agreement: Human Mobility in the Changing Climate

    18 May

  7. Online - Tracking recruitment costs: scaling up efforts to measure SDG 10.7.1 to monitor SDG and GCM progress

    18 May

  8. Online - Reviewing sustainable reintegration of Returnees Women Migrant Workers

    19 May

  9. Labor Mobility and Human Rights: Improving Labor Migration Governance for Migrant Workers in the Middle East

    19 May

  10. Beyond the Sponsorship System: Improving Labor Migration Governance through Fair and Ethical Recruitment and Decent Employment I

    20 May