Government addressing challenges to safe, orderly migration
The PPP/C Government is undertaking a series of initiatives to promote safe and orderly migration, in keeping with the Global Compact for Migration – a United Nations treaty.
Foreign Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mr. Robert Persaud, and Minister of Labour, Hon. Joseph Hamilton, outlined Government’s efforts in this regard, during a Labour and Migration webinar, hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) today.
“The number of international migrants has grown at an unprecedented rate in recent years. Currently, we have seen an excess of 272 million globally, using last year’s figures, with nearly two-thirds of those being labour migrants, and accounting for close to three per cent of the global population.
This certainly highlights the urgency of addressing the migration crisis and finding solutions that ensure the safety of migrant communities and support for countries receiving or attracting these migrants” Mr. Persaud said.
He added that the Government has committed to updating legislations to meet the goals of the Compact.
It has also partnered with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on two important projects – the Migration Profile Project and the Migration Governance Indicators Assessment.
“Both of these undertakings seek to provide a holistic overview of the migration in the context of our country, providing critical data and an analysis of the best practices and gaps that exist in the current governance structure,” Mr. Persaud explained.
The Foreign Secretary said the Government is seeking to partner with the IOM to use those projects to support the drafting of a migration policy, which will provide a framework for managing the migrant inflow, security concerns, labour market access, citizenship, and other issues.
He noted the need to analyse the local skills gap and determine how best skilled persons in the diaspora and migrant communities could play a role.
“It would be a mistake for our country not to integrate this critical contributor to economic development in our short, medium and long-term policy formulation process,” Mr. Persaud said.
He explained that Government has taken steps, in line with best practices, to ensure humanitarian support is provided in the face of an “unprecedented” Venezuelan migrant influx.
Meanwhile, Minister Hamilton said the United Nations (UN) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) recently launched a project to address issues relating to the integration of migrants, which will be held in Guyana and Colombia.
The Minister committed to having the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) provide technical training for migrants settled in Guyana. He added that the Government is also open to utilising the Central Recruitment and Manpower Agency to upskill migrants.
The Labour Ministry, he noted, has also been working to increase the number of Occupational Safety and Health officers, and to have them trained in Spanish, Portuguese and Mandarin to better serve migrant populations here.