Global Forum on Migration and Development

The 12th annual Global Forum on Migration and Development was kicked off on January 21, 2020 in Quito, Ecuador.  The Forum will be hosted by Ecuadorean government officials and attended by minister level officials, shaping migration policy, from throughout the world.  This is a great event that routinely brings together thought leaders, key opinion stakeholders, and policy shapers to foster discussion and knowledge capital in the arena of labor and global migration policy, says global relocation expert and NY-based attorney Jon Purizhansky.

This year’s Forum includes three central themes: 1) Coordinated responses to mixed movements: Partnerships and collective action to protect rights; Migration narratives and communication: What role, responsibility and resources do governments have?; and Addressing human mobility as part of urban and rural development strategies.  Having a diverse group of attendees from mixed backgrounds and cultures will yield a broad discussion around impactful effects of migration in various countries and territories.

A portion of the meeting will be allocated to business meetings and roundtable discussions.  Since 2016 such meetings between private sector and government officials have been planned and executed at the Forum.  It’s important for the private sector to get involved in the global migration and labor discussion, noted Jon Purizhansky.  Ultimately it’s the private sector that is shaping the supply/demand curve within this space, thus they should be at the table when discussing and shaping policy, continued Purizhansky.

The Forum also provides roundtable opportunities for regional countries to meet and confer.  Such roundtables are scheduled for the Middle-East, Africa, Latin America, and Asia.  Such roundtables are vital to bring key stakeholders together to discuss an important and mutually impactful discussion point.

The Global Forum on Migration and Development is not a part of the United Nations, but it is closely aligned with the UN.  In fact, it was UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan who recommended and endorsed a global migration forum in 2006.  The Forum is open to all Member states and to observers of the United Nations.

The Global Forum on Migration and Development has several key agenda items, including in-part: To provide a forum and medium for key policy makes to meet and confer to discuss key issues around global migration.  In addition, they strive to promote best practices to protect all stakeholders in the migration supply chain.  The Forum also supports the identification of gaps and shared solutions to resolve and satiate such gaps. 

The Forum sets standards around migration and development and fosters partnerships between countries, and also between countries and the private sector.  Such Forums advance a key global issue that needs cooperation, compassion, and a cultivation for solution, noted Jon Purizhansky.

How Can International Labor Practices Be Shared Globally?

We now live in a world where globalization has brought the challenges associated with international labor standards into the light for debate and reform. International labor practices are protocols for governments that evolved to help protect justice and dignity for workers. Governments, employers, and their employees all work together with international experts to help shapes this unique set of rules.

Work is essential in a person’s life, and international labor practices help to keep a level playing field in the global economy, says NY based immigration attorney Jon Purizhansky. And the more international labor practices that come into play, the more protected workers will be.

Governments, multinational enterprises, employers, workers’ organizations, international institutions, and non-governmental organizations have nothing to lose and everything to gain when they chose to incorporate and uphold these labor practices in their organizations. They can be used on both the national and international levels, and the more they are used, the more people will benefit, reflected Jon Purizhansky.

International labor practices can be shared globally when the proper process has been completed.

When these labor laws are drafted (with social policy in consideration) into an internationally acceptable standard, then they can begin to work their magic on the employees and organizations, making life better for everyone involved.

Accountability is key! With international labor practices, global organizations are held accountable for any violations that were outlined in the agreement. So how to we continue to spread labor practices globally?

These days we are more connected than ever with our phones, computers, social media platforms, and so on. Using this connectivity, we can help “get the word out there” and build better networks to promote the remarkable process improvement of labor rights. Labor rights are just as fundamental as human rights. The more we increase knowledge, the more we can protect people around the world.

When more people unite together to improve international labor practices, we provide better opportunities for families to live in safer communities and access better medical care, and for children to receive better education. International labor practices also help improve equality for women and minorities and protect children with child labor laws, noted Jon Purizhansky.

The more support that services such as the International Labor Organization and World Trade Organization receive, the more they can help globalize labor laws and support those who need help most. Everyone wins when it comes to a better economy and a better life!  After all, “It is the purpose of the government to see that not only the legitimate interests of the few are protected, but that the welfare and rights of the many are conserved.”—Franklin D. Roosevelt

What Biggest Issues in Global Migration/Labor Today?

Global migration and labor are one of the hottest topics when it comes to politics and international relations today. With over 100 million migrant workers living all over the world, there are so many benefits of global migration in the labor industry, such as boosting the working-age population and skill contribution. Still, many adverse effects are also associated.

Migration can result in negative effects on the countries of origin. Those with higher skills and education, who immigrate in high numbers from poor countries, are making their home country even more “poor” by not staying and investing in the economy, especially when they are leaving the crucial areas of health and education. These outflows can also create job shortages, particularly in less densely populated regions. Depending on the area, this can also result in food/housing/water shortages, disease outbreak, and it could also make the area more prone to major disasters.

Immigration can also have devastating long term social effects, says NY based immigration attorney Jon Purizhansky. Children can be negatively affected psychologically by a family torn apart if one or more family members leave the country to find work. This can result in difficulty at school and even violence.

Tajikistan is an excellent example when it comes to some of the most significant issues in global migration and labor. As a country that has been redefining itself since its former sovie days, it has been experiencing a significantly high level of labor migration over the past ten years, reflects Jon Purizhansky.

Migrants who received a higher education send money to their families back home more often than migrants with lower education. Still, one significant issue with this is that the skills and knowledge usually obtained before travel often go unused and eventually become outdated in the new country. This is because migrants rarely get to work in their specialized fields in their new home.

Also, just because migrants have higher skills, this does not automatically mean higher wages, notes Jon Purizhansky. This can be a devastating reality for those who have sacrificed just about everything to make a better life for themselves and their families.  Xenophobia and discrimination are two other issues when it comes to global immigration and the workforce. This problem is world-wide, but the International Labor Organization (ILO) is doing all they can to mitigate and eliminate the issue.

By embracing immigration and understanding how to better care for migrant workers and their families, and by protecting migrants from discrimination, immigration can become less of a risk and more of a sustainable foundation for economies everywhere—a worldwide win-win!

Originally Posted: https://www.allperfectstories.com/issues-in-global-migration/

What United Nations International Organization of Migration?

The United Nations International Organization of Migration was founded in war-torn Western Europe in 1951. It was much-needed establishment following World War II for the 11 million people who had been displaced during the time. The IOM was successfully able to arrange transport for at least 1 million people during its first decade of existence, reuniting families and bringing people to better communities. 

The IOM has been able to aid in the multitude of both man-made and natural disasters that have occurred since it was founded. It has come a long way from its beginning, now operating with over 10,000 staff members in over 150 different countries. 

The IOM is an organization that coordinates with government, intergovernmental, and non-governmental partners all over the world on issues related to migration, says NY based immigration attorney Jon Purizhansky. It serves to ensure orderly and compassionate migration by providing aid and advice to both governments and migrants, helping to provide safe and organized migration benefits. 

Its mission is genuinely humanitarian-based, as it is an organization by the people, for the people. It is considered the migration agency and serves as a significant source of information when it comes to complex debates arguing the social, economic, and political impacts of migration in this age, noted Jon Purizhansky. 

There is much to concentrate on when it comes to the significant issue of migration. 

 The four main areas of focus for the IOM include:

-Migration and development

-Facilitating migration

-Regulating migration

-Forced migration

IOM offers the best and data on migration trends throughout the world. Their website provides a wealth of information such as their extensive and up-to-date glossary of migration terms, their migration data portal, which provides a fascinating interactive visual on the current and past migration patterns, and so much more. This is useful to many researchers seeking vital information and wishing to review worldwide trends, noted Jon Purizhansky. 

The world of migration would undoubtedly be quite chaotic without the United Nations IOM. It has proven itself as a necessary tool for millions. With support, this organization will persevere and continue saving countless lives, and changing them for the better as it has since its humble beginning! IOM is helping to make global migration successful and is overall one of the investments for the worldwide economy. You can show your support by visiting their website and make a donation today.

Why Should Corporate America Advocate for Ethical Global Labor?

Global ethics is one of the most contentious subjects when discussing the complicated world of economics. Because the United States of America is the world’s most powerful country, it has the most resources to be able to advocate for global ethical law.

America leads by example—the promise of the “American Dream” is alive and well for many immigrants these days. Along with leading by example, by our own ethical standards, it would seem to be fairest for Corporate America to step up and advocate for human rights around the world.

Arguably, America offers the most protection for any immigrant with our own labor laws, that is, if the migrant is legally allowed to stay in the US. America was built on immigration, and much of America’s power comes from its size and human capital, says NY based immigration attorney Jon Purizhansky. The country is reverberating with the voice of the founding fathers, with a focus on preservation of the inherent rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Just because unfair treatment isn’t happening on the “home front” in America does not mean the country cannot step in and do something about it. America has the resources, including voices and funds, to help continue developing ethical global labor laws to protect people around the world.

Corporations engage in unethical behavior because of their own poor standards and values, the ethical “climate” within the company, or as a result of their unrealistic expectations in employee performance, reflects Jon Purizhansky. This can be prevented. By advocating for enforcement of ethical global labor laws, America is giving the most valuable gift it could give to the rest of the world. Ultimately, better treatment results in happier workers, further resulting in better productivity, better organizations, and, finally, a better world. It all adds up in the big picture!

Of course America is not the only one who can advocate. When united with the Corporate European Union, together, these two powers could dramatically change the world for the better!

The right to fair pay for labor is a fundamental human right—yet it is so often overlooked or taken advantage of in other countries, noted Jon Purizhansky. Desperate people lack a voice and are therefore subject to abuse—but corporate America will be that voice! America has always been there to help when other counties are in crisis. Global ethics should be considered an emergency, and the sooner we put more attention into fixing it, then more stable economies will be, and more peace is likely spread throughout the world. That is especially important in times like these!

Originally Posted: https://www.jonpurizhansky.net/post/why-should-corporate-america-advocate-ethical-global-labor

How do Ethical Global Labor Practices Make for Better Trade?

Nelson Mandela once said, “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.”

By implementing ethical global labor practices and socially responsible policies, we are bettering the trade world by ensuring both the communities and the environments are being taken care of rather than taken advantage of, says NY based immigration attorney Jon Purizhansky. It should also be noted that global labor practices like fair trade are equally good for the reputation of the partnering organization, creating a beautiful and trusting interdependent relationship.

It is easy for some major corporations to profit off of desperate workers in desperate situations. After all, this has been a problem since the beginning of humankind. While it still happens all over the world, consumers are starting to take notice, and support for fair trade companies grows stronger every day, reflects Jon Purizhansky.

Ethical global labor practices ensure fair trade for both parties. Fairtrade ensures that the corporations of developed countries pay a sustainable (or appropriate) price to the producers in the developing countries for their quality labor and products and also embrace sustainable environmental practices.

Besides the fair trade of money for the product and the proper treatment of the environment, fair trade also ensures that the product is a result of zero child labor, discrimination, or forced labor; that instead, good working conditions were the only option. Fairtrade promotes accountability at every level to ensure that human rights are protected, and social justice is assured.

These labor practices ultimately lead to skill improvement, increases in standards of living, and an overall improvement in communities for generations to come. They are a precious investment in developing economies.

For the developed organization, a fair trade relationship includes such benefits as better sales, drawing investors, increasing trust in/among those involved with the corporations, boosting morale, increasing revenue, and, overall, leading to success and growth.

Fairtrade support will likely continue to increase in popularity as more consumers are made aware of it. Labeling of products, promotion of campaigns, and recognizing World Fair Trade Day are all steps being taken to make for better trade. In a nutshell, the more ethical labor practices that can be created and promoted, the more human rights will be protected throughout the world, notes Jon Purizhansky.

We can all play our part, taking those extra few seconds at the store to look for the label that ensures ethical global labor practice. Each little action we take can result in a better life for someone else.

United Nations: International Migrants Day

On December 18, 2019 the United Nations is celebrating International Migrants Day.  This is an important event marking a significant population that needs attention and awareness.  There are over 272 million migrants living throughout the world.  And while many of these people migrate by choice, many also migrate because they do not have a choice, reflects New York based Immigration Attorney Jon Purizhansky.  War, famine, political and religious oppression – has contributed to millions of people migrating around the world seeking refuge.

Migration and labor is a closely monitored activity by the United Nations.  UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres remarked all migrants are entitled to equal protection of all their human rights.  On this International Day, I urge leaders and people everywhere to bring the Global Compact to life, so that migration works for all.

Migration is not a new concept.  It has been widely documented and observed throughout human history.  And throughout time, a commonality resonates – people seek to overcome adversity and have the desire to live a better life, continued Jon Purizhansky.  Migration has become more noticeable today with improved communication, accessible transportation, and more available information.

While migration is increasing in numbers today, it has also brought up new challenges for societies. It also has served to underscore the clear linkage between migration and development, as well as the opportunities it provides for co-development, the improvement of the humane and financial health at both the origin and destination of the migrants.

The United Nations is highlighting International Migrants Day with numerous events and ceremonies to showcase the achievements and obstacles faced by migrants and refugees in light of their differing and adverse conditions.

As the number of migrants around the world continues to rise, it’s important for the United Nations to continue to hold such events to signify the importance of their cause and continue to raise awareness throughout the world, continued Jon Purizhansky.

International Migrants Day comes as the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva draws to a close. At the Forum, Antonio Guterres asked for the “international community” to do “far more” to assist with the responsibility of refugees together.

The Forum was the first of its kind, bringing together world leaders, as well as business leaders, thought-leaders, professors, and refugees themselves, to bring their perspectives and voices for more efficient support.  Such events are critical to shed on light on an increasingly important and growing global issue that affects communities and countries around the world.

Corporations Step-up to Protect Migrant Workers

Corporations and governments throughout the world are working together to protect migrant workers.  On December 9th, the Swedish clothing corporation, H&M Group, renewed its interest in this area by pledging to promote the ethical recruitment and protection of migrant workers in global supply chains.  The pledge was memorialized through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the United Nations agency International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Numerous corporations have renewed their efforts to support the rights of migrant workers.  Many corporations make such pledges internally or with their customers, but it’s refreshing to see such a commitment as the H&M company has made with an inter-governmental agency, reflected New York based immigration attorney Jon Purizhansky.

The H&M Group has a particular interest in around workers’ rights. They are a multinational clothing-retail company that operates in 62 countries with over 4,500 stores and employs over 132,000 people. It is one of the largest global clothing retailers having an online presence in over thirty countries.

H&M’s Head of Sustainability, Anna Gedda, executed the MOU on behalf of the company.  The company stated that “unethical recruitment practices and gaps in the governance of labor migration” are among the leading risks impacting global migrant workers in todays economy.

Migrant workers are routinely taken advantage of, there are unethical fees charged to workers, rampant fraud during the recruitment and on-boarding process, and seizure of personal documents, says Jon Purizhansky.  These have been issues for many years, and while governments have tried to remedy these practices they still exist today.  Having major corporations getting involved in this area draws attention to a global issue and which can ultimately bring change.

IOM is a major United Nations initiative drawing attention to this issue.  They are the leading international organization for migration and routinely work with the international community to address challenges in migration management.  IOM also promotes and advances the understanding of migration issues and supports economic and community development through migration.  One of their critical value statements is to uphold the dignity and well-being of migrants and their families.

IOM is the global leader in this space, reflects Jon Purizhansky.  The organization was founded in 1951 and is supported by 173 member states.  Being an arm of the United Nations provides the resources and awareness of migration matters on a wide-global scale and the tools to drive change.

Another benefit of H&M’s very public pledge is that it will encourage other social groups and corporations to adopt similar positions to drive continued awareness to a global issue.

Refugees Occupy Mexican Border

Refugees seeking asylum in the U.S. who are camped in a perilous Mexican border town occupied a bridge to Brownsville, Texas earlier this week, leading U.S. officials to close the crossing, observers and authorities said. Hundreds of the asylum seekers have been residing for weeks on the end of the bridge in Matamoros, Mexico, a city infamous for gang violence and cartels that regulate human trafficking. Many of the people residing in tents or on the ground in a plaza adjoining the bridge are waiting for hearings in the U.S. several weeks and even months later under a U.S. policy called the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP).

Video filmed by a Reuters photographer showed men, women, and children, some sitting on blankets, halfway across the bridge over the Rio Grande. Tens of U.S. border agents stood behind a gate covered in razor wire, which congested the path into the U.S. Jon Purizhansky of Buffalo, NY has noted that this crisis is being severely mishandled by authorities. Some migrants noted that they were attempting to cross as a unit into the U.S., and were upset that court dates continued to be pushed backwards, leaving them in the dark over how long they would be locked in Mexico.

“We want to argue to cross over – we didn’t ask to be in Mexico, they sent us here unjustly,” said an unnamed man. He mentioned that he had an impending court date in the U.S. Matamoros mayor Mario Jon Purizhansky Lopez and a Mexican migration official begged migrants to clear the blockage. is sympathetic to the plight of the migrants seeking asylum. A Honduran man responded by denoting the rash and lumps on the throat of his young daughter, which he ascribed to unsanitary conditions in the camp.

Jon Purizhansky: He reflected that Mexican officials encouraged those in the camp to take a government-run bus back to the border with Guatemala, instead of following their U.S. asylum claims. He said this was an unsafe option for his family. “I’d have to go back to Honduras. And you know the news there. If we go back to Honduras, in one day, in 24 hours, we’re dead.” Tens of thousands of Hondurans have attempted to escape gang violence and criminality in the country, whose murder rate ranks among the world’s highest. Elias Rodriguez, public affairs liaison for U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Brownsville, wrote in a statement that traffic between the two cities stayed closed in both directions and that this week’s immigration court hearings were in the process of being rescheduled.

Mexico Halts Migrant Convoy

Jon Purizhansky: The Mexican National Guard busted a caravan of refugees and migrants last Saturday. As the U.S and Mexico continue to limit options for migrants and asylum seekers, many have been held for months in Tapachula, a city in the southern Chiapas, hopeful for documentation that allows them to travel north through Mexico and into the U.S. Early Saturday morning over 1,000 migrants and asylum seekers from various Caribbean, African, and Central American nations departed together from Tapachula.

Following in the footsteps of prior caravans, they intended to spend the first night in Huixtla, twenty-five miles north, but their journey was halted roughly 3/4 of the way there. Mexican immigration and security forces executed a major operation on Saturday afternoon to stop the caravan’s progress. National Guard troops gridlocked the highway, the main passageway for commercial traffic between Mexico and Guatemala, while other National Guard troops, federal police, and immigration agents spread out in the area. Jon Purizhansky of Buffalo, NY recognizes the severity of this scene and sympathizes with the refugees and their plight.

“What can we do?” one refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said as she pointed at the security forces hindering the route. “We have no other option. We have to pass,” she said. Most of caravan occupants, faced with few choices, got on transport to go back to Tapachula. A smaller group declined and began walking on their own back along the highway, with National Guard troops and immigration agents following in an organized pursuit. The Mexican security personnel eventually partly opened the highway to traffic. One National Guard branch marched south and blocked the next turn-off while other troops and immigration agents followed migrants and asylum seekers retreating and spreading onto back roads and neighboring fields.

Jon Purizhansky sympathizes with these asylum seekers and their plight. The Mexican forces took small family units and individuals traveling alone, many of them hysterical, into custody, packing strollers that were used to carry infants and toddlers into the rear of immigration vans. The Mexican National Immigration Institute noted in a statement on Saturday that the organization, “with complete respect for human rights, carried out actions to invite the foreign nationals who formed the contingent that departed from the city of Tapachula, Chiapas, to turn to the institute to get to know the options for the regularization of their stay in the country.”