Global Compact on Migration: UN report highlights urgent need for rights-based governance

The latest biennial report by UN Secretary General António Guterres on the implementation of the Global Compact for Migration (GCM) reinforces the critical need for rights-based labour migration policies.

Credit: KCTU

Presented to the UN General Assembly, 5 December 2024, the report also proposes a framework to evaluate progress and addresses migration governance deficiencies.

In a joint statement with other global unions, the ITUC welcomes the framework that includes indicators related to international labour standards. It demonstrates that without investment in decent jobs and fulfilment of workers’ rights regardless of migration status, there cannot be progress towards achieving the objectives of the GCM either.

Key findings in UNSG’s report include:

  • Systemic barriers that prevent migrant workers from exercising their right to freedom of association.
  • Exploitation of migrant workers, resulting in US$37 billion in illegal profits annually from recruitment fees and wage underpayment.
  • Migrant workers facing extreme occupational risks, particularly in agriculture and construction, aggravated by climate-related hazards.
  • Record numbers of migrant deaths or disappearances in 2023.
  • Persistent use of fear-driven narratives to exclude migrants from services and civic life.
  • Escalation of border security measures expose migrants to heightened risks of human rights violations.

ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle called for urgent action: “This report is a wake-up call. Governments must implement human rights-based, gender-transformative migration policies in collaboration with trade unions. Migrants’ rights and decent work is non-negotiable – they are essential for social justice and socio-economic resilience.”

The ITUC welcomes the UN Secretary General’s recommendations, in particular those relating to:

  • Ratification of international labour standards ensuring all rights for all migrant workers.
  • Barriers faced by migrant workers affecting their fundamental rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
  • The need to make labour migration pathways not only regular, but “rights-based and underpinned by decent work for all”.
  • Elimination of recruitment fees and costs.
  • Universal social protection for all migrants, including portability of benefits.
  • Integrating social dialogue, and consideration of work conditions in countries of origin and destination, in skills mobility partnerships.
  • Lifting barriers faced by women and girls in accessing decent jobs, education and regular migration pathways.

Luc Triangle added: “Ahead of the 2026 International Migration Review Forum, governments must prioritise core labour standards, enhance tripartite social dialogue and ensure that migrants have the means to collectively demand and defend their rights.”