Government and private sector to be trained to include migrants in post COVID-19 economic recovery
Mexicali, Baja California – Aiming to underline the importance of migration in any development process, and even in the economic recovery after COVID-19, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Mexico and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have joined the State Comission of Human Rights of Baja California (CEDHBC) to present an online training plan for government officials and the private sector. This will promote the social and economic inclusion of people in human mobility contexts in the country.
The program aims to convey that migrants are part of the core development of the communities where they settle, and thus of the local economies and the possibilities for business growth. Throughout 12 modules, the course will offer to 100 representatives of both sectors information about migration processes and proceedings related to employment, as well as bolster the connection between migration and development.
In attendance at a remote press conference to present the program were Jeremy MacGillivray, Deputy Chief of IOM in Mexico, Miguel Ángel Mora Marrufo, President of the CEDHBC, and Daniela Vallarino, management analyst for UNDP in Mexico.
“It is key that we favor orderly, safe and regular labor migration, as well as a development model rooted in a gender perspective. This aligns with the position Mexico has supported in most international human rights treaties, and recognizes the contributions made by migrants to countries of origin, transit, destination and return”, explained Vallarino. She also pointed out that this program strives to build intersectoral cooperation fostering change in the inclusion of migrants in the workplace.
The program also seeks to be a promotion mechanism for the economic recovery in the aftermath of the sanitary emergency created by COVID-19, by furthering the vision of migrants as agents of development and fostering better conditions for their integration or reintegration, both socially and economically.
“Baja California has constant migration flows, and is a vanguard state in key sectors, such as commercial and manufacturing, where many migrant workers are employed. At IOM we believe that these people will be vital in the economic recovery of the businesses, with the subsequent impact in national economy”, said IOM’s MacGillivray.
He added that the programmed trainings can make a huge contribution in the building of capacities and the strengthening of knowledge about labor migration and development in the state, along with the inclusion of working migrants and gender considerations.
Modules will be open from May 15th to 31st, 2020, and a further phase is expected to incorporate more institutions and local representatives with an interest in promoting labor inclusion schemes under the UNDP strategy “Integrate yourself”, which will be put into action in the next months in Mexicali, Baja California.
These efforts are undertaken by the Regional Program on Migration Mesoamerica -The Caribbean, funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM).