Incorporating Mechanisms for the Protection of Rights into Temporary Worker Programmes: Experiences, Lessons Learned, Challenges, and Possibilities Luis Alonso Serrano DGME COSTA RICA

Experiences Lessons Learned Challenges Possibilities

Experiences Costa Rica - Nicaragua In December 2007, a Binational Cooperation Agreement was signed between the Ministries of Labour and General Directorates of Migration and Immigration of the Governments of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, with the aim of joining efforts and regulating the procedures relating to migrant workers in an orderly manner, in strict compliance with the basic rights of workers.

Documenting migrant workers –A Special Migration Category Experiences

Documenting Resident Foreign Nationals Experiences DIMEX 2008, 2009, (since June) TOTAL

Lessons Learned Fundamental Thesis: The INTEGRATION OF MIGRANTS is an instrument to prevent social violence and, at the same time, a social development factor. Costa Rica: country of destination, transit, and origin for different migration flows: migrant workers, refugees, tourists…… A balance between migration – development, migration – security is sought.

Inter-institutional coordination The need for legislation that is consistent with human rights principles Reorganizing human resources –Potentiating regional offices –Training human resources Lessons Learned

Challenges = Objectives !

Challenge To comply with the principles of fairness, equality, non- discrimination and interculturality, with the aim of promoting social integration of national, migrant, and refugee populations.

Challenge To ensure that the needs in terms of labour that have to be met in order to ensure the economic development of the country can be partially addressed through orderly migration flows, in accordance with current regulations and with full respect of the human and labour rights of migrants.

Possibilities To promote consultation and participation with shared responsibility of workers, employers, and labour unions in decision-making processes relating to labour migration. To maintain and expedite an efficient and flexible process for the entry of migrant workers into national territory, with the aim of effectively meeting the development needs of the country. To ensure the availability of financial and human resources required by public institutions to effectively perform functions linked to the entry and stay of migrant workers in the country. To establish mechanisms in bilateral and multilateral agreements that ensure effective respect for the human rights of migrant workers. To prevent, punish, and eradicate the hiring of irregular migrant workers by employers. To promote social and labour responsibility practices that consider the particularities of migrant and refugee populations.

Possibilities To inform, educate, and raise awareness on the contribution of migration to national development through joint efforts between national, migrant, and refugee populations. To recognize the cultural diversity, promoting and strengthening meeting spaces and social participation spaces for national, migrant, and refugee populations with the aim of promoting joint actions. To implement, within the framework of the Mexico Plan of Action, a set of lasting sustainable solutions to ensure the local integration of refugees, stateless persons, and refugee status applicants at a social, labour, education, and health level. To promote social responsibility practices through the media and with opinion- makers, with the aim of achieving that the phenomenon of migration is addressed with an approach that facilitates integration between migrant and refugee populations and the national population and prevents social marginalization, discrimination, and xenophobia.

Actions Required to Ensure the Sustainability of the Programme (Workshop 2009) Ongoing inter-institutional coordination Capacity-building for labour migration management (policies and programmes) Improving labour migration information systems (data base) Studies on the labour market in countries of origin and destination Support services (before, during, and after) Developing programmes to stimulate return and reintegration