Facilitating social dialogue for enhanced involvement of stakeholders, including ILO constituents to promote decent work and social justice for all.

ILO Partners the Government of Nigeria to conduct a National Voluntary Review of the Global Compact for Migration and preparation towards the maiden International Migration Review Forum (IMRF)

News | 19 April 2022
Ahead of the International Migration Review Forum (IMRF), ILO has joined other members of the UN Migration Network to organize a three-day national preparatory workshop in collaboration with the Government of Nigeria.

As part of planning and in-country consultations ahead of the International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) which comes up in May 2022, the International Labour Organization (ILO) in collaboration with the UN Migration Network supported the Government of Nigeria to convene a three-day national preparatory workshop from 11th – 13th of April in Lagos State, Nigeria.

The event was convened by the Government through the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally displaced Persons (NCFRMI) and the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development to amongst other things provide a platform for stocktaking as it pertains to implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) at country level, and further facilitate the development of a country report in view of the National Voluntary Review process.

The Honourable Federal Commissioner of NCFRMI, Hajiya. Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim in her opening remarks noted that the adoption of the GCM by Nigeria has led to institutionalization of a number of processes, including development of the National Action Plan for implementing the Compact, review of migration-related policies and instruments, including the National Diaspora Policy, the National Migration Profile, the National Policy on Labour Migration and its implementation Action Plan, and the National Migration Policy's implementation Plan.

She further noted that Nigeria also took part in an inter-ministerial conference in Lusaka to draft the three-year implementation plan of action for the GCM in Africa.

All messages delivered during the opening ceremony noted governments’ commitment towards improving the national migration landscape, including around areas specific to labour migration where policies have been developed and revised accordingly to conform with emerging global realities.

Speaking on behalf of the UN Migration Network, representative of the IOM re-emphasized the continued support and commitment of the UN System in Nigeria towards enhancing national capacities based on complementarity, and further expressed appreciation to the Government of Nigeria for being a partner.

During the workshop and in line with established procedural guidance, ILO and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Co-chaired Roundtable One (1) which covered five Articles of the Compact, including Article 6 focusing on facilitating fair and ethical recruitment and safeguarding conditions that ensure decent work, as well as Article 18 on investing in skills development and facilitating mutual recognition of skills, qualification, and competencies.

Roundtable One had representatives of both workers’ and employers’ organizations and successes demonstrated included the revision of the National Policy on Labour Migration and the Code of Conduct for Private Employment Agencies, completion of a Gap Analyses of the Private Employment Agencies Convention 189, as well as the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention 143 in view of processes towards country ratification of these ILO Conventions. Additionally, the ongoing review of the labour laws that directly impact on protection and promotion of rights of all workers, including migrant workers was highlighted as a proactive government led and nationally owned exercise.

Within the framework of the FAIRWAY programme supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), ILO continues to contribute to preparatory engagement, including through providing technical assistance to the Government of Nigeria, particularly as it relates to finalizing country reporting in line with requests received.

The IMRF is the primary intergovernmental global platform to discuss and share progress on the implementation of all aspects of the Global Compact, including areas that focus on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and with the participation of all relevant stakeholders.