Jakarta, 28/10/2022, International migration has increased in recent decades. According to the World Migration Report (2022), it was estimated that 281 million people were living in a country other than their countries of birth in 2020. The number was a significant increase of 128 million more than in 1990 and over three times the estimated number in 1970. This figure made up the estimate of the total number of international migrants at 3.6% of the global population. The immense mobility of people also increases the remittance of international migrant that to be worth $702 billion in 2020. This proves that migrants contribute much to development in both their origin and destination country. Therefore, it is critical for the government to respect human mobility rights by properly managing migration.

Managing migration can be a challenge when the government have to harmonize national interests with development priority agendas. Nevertheless, well-managed migration is crucial in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which includes the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) as a translation of the migration phenomenon in the SDGs. Governments need to carefully and clearly define their own policies regarding labour migration, border management, health migration, human trafficking and smuggling, and other important areas of migration. To support the Government of Indonesia in formulating beneficial policies on migration management, International Organization for Migration (IOM) Indonesia carried out the second batch of training of the Essential of Migration Management (EMM) 2.0 for government agencies of Indonesia in Tangerang, Banten, on October 24 – 26, 2022.

The training was attended by government agencies, including BAPPENAS, BP2MI, National Child Protection Commission, Ministry of Education and Culture, Research and Technology, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration, and Witness and Victim Protection Agency. The training was welcomed by the chief of mission of IOM Indonesia, Louis Hoffman, who stated that the training is an important part of developing migration management. “This training can support the Government of Indonesia in developing migration policy with the destination countries, even more so in this pandemic situation that changes everything. EMM has also become tools for IOM staff in developing the management migration programming in the mission,” he said.

In the context of Indonesia, the composition of international migration consists of migrant workers who are mostly deployed in the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions. Migration is influenced by a variety of driving factors, including crises and climate change. Therefore, Indonesia as one of the strongest proponents of GCM, should take into account the importance of managing migration in line with the values of GCM. “The government must take the priority agenda in migration and development by identifying key aspects in managing the migration development and its approach based on the rights and gender responsiveness,” he emphasized.

Project information: Training EMM 2.0 for national stakeholders is supported by the Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MMPTF) under a joint programme of the Migration Governance for Sustainable Development in Indonesia (2022 – 2023).