This article addresses one of the most debated aspects of immigration namely the question – does welcoming migrants and refugees affect positively or negatively the national dynamics of employment? It offers a policy analysis of the effects of migration and labour market conditions and policies in host countries and discusses opportunities for migrants to enter a host countries’ labour markets. The reasons for high migration are known and linked to violence, persecution, human rights violations and persistently high level of poverty in many parts of the world reaching very high levels over the last three years and resulting in millions of refugees and migrants crossing international borders with thousands of lives lost during the dangerous passing of borders and seas. On the other hand, in many European countries, a growing number of economic sectors are being affected by the potential threat of a shortage of semi-and low skilled workers. Taking Switzerland as an example, fewer young people attend professional schools thereby reducing the potential supply of a semi-skilled work force. The future short fall of semi-skilled and low-skilled work force will further increase due to the ageing of the Swiss population which in turn will impact the demand for semi-skilled and low skilled workers. Refugees and migrants could potentially find jobs in segments of the Swiss labour market thereby providing mutually beneficial solutions for all parties concerned that is a) for refugees and migrants seeking employment and asylum, b) for the aging population of host countries requiring care delivered by a low and semi-skilled work force and c) for public and private sector enterprises finding labour for economic sectors in need of qualified and motivated labour force.
Article
2018, published by Africa 21, Geneva: http://www.africa21.org/5eme-numero-dafrique-durable-2030-questions-migratoires-et-agenda-2030/
Referring to the 2030 Agenda terminology, this paper offers an analysis of the cross-sector relevance of SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and how decent work, employment and economic growth had a positive or less effective impact on other sectors such as Health- using 2030 Agenda terminology – (SDG 3), Education (SDG 4); Rural Development and poverty reduction (SDG 1 & 2), Trade (SDG 17); environment (SDGs 6,13,14,15) and governance (SDG 16). Looking back at what was successful or less successful in regard to intersectoral application of Decent Work to the PRSPs this article provides lessons learnt which is very relevant for the current question of how to implement the SDGs. Most of the SDGs are interdependent and need to be made interactive and the International Organizations holding respective sectoral mandates need to engage in meaningful collaboration rather than continue with old habits of defensive hording of territory.
Article
It is widely accepted that the successful implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (2030 Agenda) for the benefit of least developed countries will require boundary spanning by United Nations agencies, G20 countries and leading development nongovernmental organizations. Realization of the Sustainable Development Goals also requires cross-sector cooperation and crossinstitutional cooperation among international organizations mandated by G20 members to implement their own development strategies for the poor.
However, international organizations are not sufficiently equipped to deal with the cross-sector and cross-institutional cooperation needed to achieve the goals, commonly known as the SDGs. They also are often not at ease in cooperating with leading nongovernmental and philanthropic organizations – even when operating in the same policy space.
Article SSGP (Raymond Saner & Lichia-Yiu)
“The 2030 Agenda: no poverty reduction without policy coherence” G20 Germany 2017, Think 20 Dialogue, DIE Bonn, 28 March 2017
G20 member countries play a crucial role in international organisations by the collective size of their economies and combined political weight, both of which are needed to make the policies of international organisations as coherent as possible to reduce poverty in Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
Article (website: t20germany.org)
“Participation of Civil Society Organisations in the United Nations and in the Aid Effectiveness Discourse and Related Standard-Setting Negotiations”, in Göymen, K; Lewis, R (eds), “Public Policymaking in a Globalized World”; Istanbul Policy Center, Istanbul; (2015); pp 149-185.
This paper consists of two parts. The first part analyses the involvement of non-state actors in the United Nations (UN) and its agencies. The engagement of non-state actors, particularly of the international non-governmental organisations (I-NGOs) and the various national civil society organisations (CSOs) dates back to the founding of the United Nations in 1945 and the analyses show a growing participation of NGOs from developed and developing countries. The second part describes the role and participation of the I-NGOs in the deliberations and negotiations on global public policymaking and standard setting negotiations of aid effectiveness.
Article
Raymond Saner and Lichia Yiu, 2017, Matlin S. & Kickbusch I. (eds.) “Pathways to Global Health: Case Studies in Global Health Diplomacy (Volume 2)”, Global Health Diplomacy, vol. 5, p.171-210.
The goal of this chapter is to describe and analyse the multi-stakeholder negotiation process which unfolded during the negotiation of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco (FCTC), including the influencing and negotiation behaviour of the different stakeholder groups and how their disputes resulted in the completion of the FCTC, the initiation of negotiations and agreement on a protocol for FCTC Article 15 (the illicit trade in tobacco products), and the unfinished negotiations towards a protocol for FCTC Article 13 (tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship).
Article
This article describes in detail the application of development diplomacy in the context of international co-operation for poverty reduction in Highly Indebted Poor Countries. In particular, the authors describe the goal of the International Labour Organisation–a non-state actor–in advocating the inclusion of employment and Decent Work Agenda policies in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, an instrument developed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. In order to achieve such inclusion, the International Labour Organisation mandated CSEND to create an advocacy based guidebook and negotiations simulation in order to influence future Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper negotiations.
Diplomats responsible for interfacing with UN Agencies need to recognise and manage overt and covert aspects of the Organisational Culture of UN Agencies, which are distinct from mainstream public and private sector organisations. Particular features of UN organisational cultures for instance often consist of complex informal organisational structures, multiple political interference’s (external and internal), inter-cultural value differences of staff and different management practices. Porous Boundary Phenomena from the authors’ point of view is one of the major factors which impose constraints on the performance of UN and in itself mirrors the client system that the UN is serving.
While diplomats use the UN system as one of the major fora for negotiations and coordination, they also monitor and try to guide the direction of the UN system. Hence, diplomats need to understand the specific organisational characteristics of the UN Agencies, i.e., the porous boundary phenomenon, and learn how to manage the interface with UN organisational culture in a mutually beneficial manner.
The purpose of this study is to find policy coherence, or lack thereof, in the labour provisions contained in the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) of the United States of America, the European Union and Australia when compared to their interactions in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Sessions with their trade partners and to the official trio of UPR documents made available during these sessions. Over the past decade these countries have entered into various free trade agreements with developing and developed countries alike. However, it is their trade agreements with developing countries that are of particular interest.
Article
External Stakeholder Impacts on Official and Non-Official Third-Party Interventions to Resolve Malignant Conflicts: The case of a failed intervention in Cyprus; CSEND, Geneva and shorter version in International Negotiations”, 6,3, 2001 ed. William Zartman
This paper focuses on the potentially positive and negative impact which multiple and competing external stakeholders (influential foreign powers, supranational institutions, intergovernmental organizations and NGOs from various countries) can have on official and non-official third-party peace building initiatives. The example selected in this article describes a Swiss NGO initiated inter-communal project on Cyprus. It analyzes the causes, primarily by external and to a lesser degree by internal stakeholders, which have negatively impacted this confidence-building project. The article is descriptive and narrative due to the fact that access to confidential information of key stakeholder governments and institutions remains limited. The aim of the authors is to use field experience to further develop theory and practice of official and non-official third-party intervention in a context of a persistent and malignant conflict characterized by multi-external stakeholder interferences, as is the case with the long-lasting conflict on Cyprus.
Article