SYLLABUS
GS-2: Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests; Important International Institutions, agencies and fora – their Structure, Mandate.
Context: India recently called for a more inclusive, humane, and rights-based migration framework during the Second International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) of the Global Compact for Migration (GCM), held at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
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- India emphasised that migration governance must remain people-centric, inclusive, and development-oriented while ensuring the dignity and safety of migrants.
- India highlighted the positive contribution of migrants toward economic growth, labour mobility, innovation, and cultural exchange across countries.
- It called for safer and regular migration pathways, ethical recruitment systems, portability of social protection benefits, and mutual recognition of skills.
- India has remained the world’s largest recipient of remittances since 2010, with inward remittances increasing from nearly $53.48 billion in 2010 to around $137.67 billion in 2024.
- Earlier, a report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) identified the India–UAE and India–U.S. corridors among the top ten international migration corridors globally in 2024.
About the Global Compact for Migration (GCM)
- The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) was adopted in 2018 at Marrakesh, Morocco, under the auspices of the United Nations.
- It is the first comprehensive intergovernmental framework dealing with all dimensions of international migration.
- The GCM is non-legally binding and is based on principles of:
- international cooperation,
- shared responsibility,
- respect for state sovereignty, and
- protection of migrants’ human rights.
- The Compact outlines 23 objectives covering areas such as safe migration pathways, reduction of migrant vulnerabilities, ethical recruitment, labour mobility, and international cooperation.
- The International Migration Review Forum (IMRF), held every four years, serves as the primary global platform for reviewing implementation of the GCM.
Key Concerns Related to Migration and Human Trafficking
- Irregular Migration and Migrant Exploitation: Irregular and undocumented migration channels expose migrants to unsafe working conditions, wage exploitation, forced labour, debt bondage, and trafficking networks.
- Expansion of Transnational Trafficking Networks: Human trafficking has increasingly become a transnational organised crime involving fraudulent recruitment agencies, digital platforms, and illegal cross-border migration routes.
- Vulnerability of Women and Children: Women and children remain disproportionately vulnerable to trafficking, sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, bonded labour, and other forms of abuse.
- Gaps in Social Protection for Migrants: Migrant workers in many countries continue to face inadequate access to healthcare, insurance, legal safeguards, and portability of welfare benefits.
- Climate Change and Emerging Migration Pressures: Climate change, environmental degradation, and livelihood insecurity are increasingly contributing to displacement and migration vulnerabilities, particularly in developing countries.
India’s Migration Approach
- India’s migration framework extends beyond border management and increasingly focuses on migrant protection, welfare, skill recognition, and cooperation with destination countries.
- India has developed institutional and digital mechanisms such as the e-Migrate portal and grievance redressal systems to improve transparency and protection for overseas workers.
- The government has signed several bilateral agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with countries such as Bangladesh, the UAE, Cambodia, and Myanmar to strengthen cooperation on trafficking prevention, repatriation, and migrant welfare.
- India has also ratified the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNCTOC) Protocol on Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children.
- India has additionally ratified the SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution (2002).
- India’s domestic anti-trafficking legal framework includes:
- Article 23 of the Constitution, which prohibits trafficking and forced labour
- the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956
- Section 143 and Section 144 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023