GLOBAL COMPACT FOR MIGRATION OBJECTIVES 1, 3, 7, 17, 23

Informing effective migration policy

Strengthening data on migrants is crucial to understand their diverse situations and develop policy responses. These data should include socioeconomic indicators for migrants and their families, regardless of their migration status.

United Nations agencies maintain migration databases for this purpose. They support population censuses and household surveys to ensure migrant communities are counted. They also work to strengthen the ethical collection and analysis of data on gender-based violence against migrant women and girls.

Migrants need timely, accurate information on regular migration pathways, entry and stay requirements, and available assistance to reduce risks at every stage of migration. Social media and radio can effectively reach diverse migrant populations, sharing relevant updates in their languages, including on policy changes and support.

Strengthening pre-employment and pre-departure orientation is necessary to inform migrant workers about their human and labour rights and the practical realities in destination countries. Trade unions and civil society organisations contribute effectively to pre-departure information sessions.

Reducing vulnerabilities in migration

Migration policies and legislation should align with international human rights standards to prevent situations of vulnerability and uphold human dignity. The evidence is that policy differences and weak coordination undermine rights-based migration governance, while incomplete regulatory frameworks put migrant workers at risk in certain sectors.

Recruitment agencies can be exploitative and charge excessive recruitment fees. Temporary labour migration programmes, which are common in the region, usually oblige migrant workers to migrate alone, separating families and leaving children in situations of vulnerability. There is a clear need for greater engagement to deliver comprehensive protection for migrant workers and their families.

Combatting discrimination

Addressing the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination faced by migrants is essential to uphold their human rights, achieve sustainable development and to leave no one behind. Discrimination, often fuelled by stereotypes and misinformation in media, is experienced by the vast majority of migrants, and migrant women and girls are at disproportionate risk of gender-based violence.

Migrants with disabilities face additional challenges including those related to discrimination, limited resources and access to basic services, and exclusion from regular migration pathways. Migrants who become disabled, for example due to harsh working environments, need access to suitable support services in countries of origin, transit or destination.

Comprehensive anti-discrimination laws which encompass migrants are needed to prohibit all forms of discrimination and provide redress to victims. More needs to be done to bring a whole-of-government and whole-of-society effort to challenge hate speech towards migrants, both online and offline.

The public’s main sources of information about migrant workers in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand

Research shows that positive public attitudes toward migrants are linked to direct interaction and underscores the role of media in shifting narratives about migration and influencing public perception of migrant workers. Efforts to engage the media are critical to shape public discourse and foster a deeper understanding of migration realities in the region.

Regional cooperation for safe, orderly and regular migration

Regional cooperation must lie at the heart of the effort to ensure safe, orderly and regular migration in Asia and the Pacific. This underpins effective migration governance and is a guiding principle of the GCM.

Migration governance and partnerships have advanced within and across regions, linking migration to other global processes such as the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, the Global Refugee Forum, the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The participation of Asia-Pacific States in State-led consultative processes related to migration has bolstered regional and international cooperation, and led to progress in key areas. These include developing evidence-based immigration policies, promoting pre-departure orientation programmes, addressing transnational crime including smuggling and trafficking, and protecting those displaced by disasters and climate change.

The Regional United Nations Network on Migration works to foster cooperation on migration across Asia and the Pacific and to implement a whole-of-society approach through meaningful, inclusive, and transparent stakeholder engagement. In 2024, a Stakeholder Advisory Group was formed to ensure structured and coordinated involvement of diverse stakeholders in the Regional Network’s tasks. In addition, national-level migration networks have been established across the region.

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the Regional United Nations Network on Migration for Asia and the Pacific is convening a regional review of progress towards the objectives of the GCM in February 2025. This intergovernmental meeting is an opportunity to:

  • Assess GCM implementation since the first Asia-Pacific Regional Review in 2021.
  • Highlight challenges, opportunities, gaps, emerging issues, promising practices and lessons learned.
  • Discuss regional priorities and opportunities for cooperation on international migration in line with GCM objectives, actions and guiding principles.
  • Identify resource needs for capacity-building, policy advice, data, technology and partnerships to fully implement the GCM.
  • Develop key findings and recommendations to guide the 2026 International Migration Review Forum.

The Asia-Pacific Migration Report 2024 is designed to inform this regional review process.