Academic Articles by Dina Mansour-Ille
In addition to hosting a large population of refugees and displaced persons, Lebanon is home to a... more In addition to hosting a large population of refugees and displaced persons, Lebanon is home to an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 migrant domestic workers. Under Lebanese law, domestic workers fall under the kafala, or sponsorship, system. Existing literature has focused on the legality of the kafala system and the ensuing human rights violations resulting from workers' exclusion from Lebanese labor law. Based on fieldwork conducted in 2016, this article argues that migrant domestic workers in Lebanon have defied their spatial, social, and legal exclusion by organizing collective resistance, triggered in part by the July 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.
International Social Science Journal, 2016
Five years on from the Arab 'Spring' – the popular rebellion against authoritarianism in the Arab... more Five years on from the Arab 'Spring' – the popular rebellion against authoritarianism in the Arab world corruption, despotism and inequality continue to plague the region.
Against this backdrop, this article seeks to examines the socioeconomic realities of inequality that have triggered the Arab Spring uprisings and their manifestations today throughout the region. The article examines the literature on revolutions and the dimensions of inequality and applies it to the Arab region, where it examines the manifestations of inequality before and after the Arab spring uprisings.
In turn, it aims to question the socioeconomic structures of inequality underlying the Arab Spring and how poverty, inequality, and precarity continue to plague the Arab region.
Forced Migration Review, 2018
Research with Syrian women refugees in Jordan suggests that, despite significant challenges, the ... more Research with Syrian women refugees in Jordan suggests that, despite significant challenges, the gig economy has some potential to help refugees participate in host communities and to bolster their economic participation.
This article explores the challenges and opportunities of the gig economy for refugees and future avenues for gig economy livelihoods programming.
Published in Forced Migration Review 58, 'Economies: rights and access to work': When people are forced to leave their homes, they usually also leave behind their means of economic activity. In their new location, they may not be able, or permitted, to work. This has wide-ranging implications. This issue includes 22 articles on the main feature theme of Economies: rights and access to work. It also includes two ‘mini-features’, one on Refugee-led social protection and one on Humans and animals in refugee camps.
Muslim World Journal of Human Rights, 2014
This article analyses existing biases – whether due to misinterpretation, culture or politics – i... more This article analyses existing biases – whether due to misinterpretation, culture or politics – in the application of women’s rights under Islamic Shari’a law. The paper argues that though in its inception, one purpose of Islamic law may have aimed at elevating the status of women in pre-Islamic Arabia, biases in interpreting such teachings have failed to free women from discrimination and have even added “divinity” to their persistent subjugation. By examining two case studies – Saudi Arabia and Egypt – the article shows that interpretative biases that differ in application from one country to the other further subject women to the selective application of rights. Dictated by norms, culture and tradition rather than a unified Islamic law, the paper shows how culture and politics have contributed to such biases under the pre-text of Islamic dictate. As such, it proposes a re-examination of “personal status” laws across the region in light of international human rights norms.
Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media, 2012
Films are a representation and manifestation of culture; yet, since the early days of filmmaking ... more Films are a representation and manifestation of culture; yet, since the early days of filmmaking public debates have questioned whether “the motion picture industry was morally fit to control the content of its own products” (Robichaux). Today, the Arab world is plagued by the same dilemma. In a region where government censorship is the norm, heavy restrictions are imposed on locally produced films as a means of “safeguarding” public norms, religion and culture. Also problematic in today’s globalised world is the influx of foreign films into local markets, which not only defy public norms, but also represent cultural values and traditions that are quite
alien to societies that have been inherently religious and conservative. Against this background, this article aims to analyse the role of censorship in Egypt with regard to the relationship between cinema and culture—a relationship often overlooked and perhaps intentionally ignored. In doing so, it will examine how censorship has traditionally been used as a tool to control the representation of existing social and cultural realities and to define cultural and religious norms, thus also affecting the normative context
Global Humanities: Studies in Histories, Cultures and Societies, 2015
The Economics of Peace and Security Journal, 2015
Since Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced in April 2013 the formation of the new Islamic polity, the I... more Since Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced in April 2013 the formation of the new Islamic polity, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), it has slowly become the epitome of terror. Certain acts of violence and atrocities committed by ISIS create the impression that it is acting out of blind, destructive religious fanaticism. In contrast, this article argues that this perception is but media-driven speculation. Instead of being religious zealots, ordering the purposeless killing of infidels, ISIS’ actions are governed by a strong rationale and a clear aim, namely the creation of a state, moreover one that extends beyond the traditional constitutive elements of statehood. In particular, ISIS’ rationality serves the purpose of consolidating an Islamic State in the Middle Eastern region, and beyond, under a Caliphate with a claim to universal governance and jurisdiction. This article illustrates the mechanisms which ISIS uses to achieve its aim of establishing an extended state, and it elaborates on the impact of actions and policies against ISIS on the basis of an evolutionary game theoretic model.
Books by Dina Mansour-Ille
Oxford: Interdisciplinary Press, 2014
The first volume of a two-volume book publication, which stems out of a four-day international co... more The first volume of a two-volume book publication, which stems out of a four-day international conference under the same title organised at Mansfield College, Oxford University, in September 2012, aims not only at exploring the concepts of "identity", "difference" and "belonging" from a theoretical perspective, but more importantly at relating them empirically to multicultural contexts. Both volumes are composed of chapters under various themes that provide an analysis on how individuals choose and shift from one identity to the other as well as how they voluntarily and involuntarily belong to one or the other group thus shaping the very fabrics of a multicultural societies. This first volume entitled "Identity, Difference and Belonging" is composed of nine chapters that are divided under two main themes: (1) Making and Negotiating Identities: Education, Religion and Culture; and (2) Making Identities: Cultural Representations.
Table of Contents:
-- Introduction: Identity, Difference and Belonging / Dina Mansour, Andrew Milne and Sebastian Ille
-- Part I Making and Negotiating Identities : Education, Religion and Culture
-- Clash of Identities: Understanding Social Conflict in Post-Arab Spring Egypt / Dina Mansour, Sebastian Ille and Mervat Madkour
-- Religious Education, Knowledge and Power: Religion as Discursive Construction in New Zealand Primary Schools / Helen Bradstock
-- Nation and Violence: A Path through Identity / Nicole Tressoldi
-- Between Coexistence and Dissolution: The Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina Aleksandar Savanovia and Aleksandar Vranjes
-- Part II Making Identities : Cultural Representations
-- Transgressing Boundaries: Nigerian Hip Hop and the Signifying Other / Yomi Olusegun-Joseph
-- The Cleft Identity of Jayanta Mahapatra at the End of Words / Sreekanth Kopuri
-- Resisting, Enduring and Embracing Multiculturalism in Michael Gregorio's Days of Atonement / Roxanne Barbara Doerr
-- A Convergence of Cultures: Mariano Fortuny and His Clothing Designs / Wendy Ligon Smith
-- Chinese Producers, Indian Directors and Malay Actors: Role and Contribution of Cultural Conflict in Malay Films of the Golden Age / Ramachandran Ponnan
Oxford: Interdisciplinary Press, 2014
This volume is divided into two main sections: “The Politics of Belonging” and “The Politics of E... more This volume is divided into two main sections: “The Politics of Belonging” and “The Politics of Exclusion”. Both sections serve to explore the concepts of “belonging” and “exclusion” from an empirical political perspective. Based on practical case-studies, each chapter sheds light on empirical aspects of the challenges of integration, identity and citizenship within multicultural societies. In addition to the challenges faced by particular social groups regarding their cultural and social integration that very much affects their sense of belonging and their overall perception of their own identity, institutionalized political exclusion is still condoned, if not practiced, by states worldwide. When found in a society of ‘multiple identities’, failed integration often results in divided culturalism and hence nations. This volume explores this predicament while referring to a number of country case-studies.
Lambert Academic Publishing , 2012
Poverty is a phenomenon affecting much of the world's population. Beyond being a purely legal pro... more Poverty is a phenomenon affecting much of the world's population. Beyond being a purely legal problem, poverty has become a deliberating problem of class and a predominant condition of ‘societal vulnerability’ that stands in the way of the enjoyment of basic fundamental rights that makes the emblems of equality and human dignity to be nothing but an expression of ‘rich man's law’ rather than ‘human rights law’. This dissertation examines the concept of poverty as both a condition of legal and societal vulnerability with primary focus on the poor in Egypt. With inequality being central to its functioning, the capitalist system in Egypt has created a situation where the formally equal are both socially and materially unequal in the enjoyment of rights, benefits and most importantly protection. Poverty as a condition of vulnerability creates a population at the margins of society and of de facto law. With human rights law recognizing special rights for ‘vulnerable groups’, this dissertation calls for the recognition of ‘the poor’ as a vulnerable group in need of special rights to realize the true essence of the equality of all before the law.
Book Chapters by Dina Mansour-Ille
in "Migrants in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR): Practices for Inclusion", IOM-Council of Europe, 2017
In today’s increasingly globalized and mobile societies, internal and international migrants, ref... more In today’s increasingly globalized and mobile societies, internal and international migrants, refugees and asylum seekers represent a significant share of the population of cities and countries. This publication presents experiences from researchers and practitioners from a variety of geographical contexts on how they have been included and have participated in disaster prevention, preparedness, response and recovery activities. It aims to highlight the importance and benefits of, as well as options for, integrating migrants into decision-making, policy-setting and implementation of disaster risk reduction initiatives.
This publication builds upon the knowledge and experiences gathered through the Migrants In Countries In Crisis (MICIC) Initiative, a global state-led process for which IOM has been serving as Secretariat, and the Council of Europe’s EUR-OPA programme on “Migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in the context of major risks prevention and management”.
in "Identity, Difference and Belonging" - Interdisciplinary Press, Oxford, 2014
Reports and Studies by Dina Mansour-Ille
EUSpring, University of Warwick, 2016
The most recent official statistics reveal that over a quarter of Egypt’s population still live i... more The most recent official statistics reveal that over a quarter of Egypt’s population still live in poverty, a third of its youth are unemployed and three out of five children are malnourished. Much of the criticism of Egypt’s human rights record, particularly after the Arab Spring, remains focused on the country’s civil and political rights, and freedoms with an intentional (or unintentional) disregard to socioeconomic rights, fuelling widespread poverty, deteriorating living standards, socioeconomic exclusion and unequal and/or degrading treatment. This paper examines the socioeconomic policies of exclusion that are still undermining the enjoyment of basic citizenship rights in Egypt.
Overseas Development Institute, 2018
In partnership with the London School of Economics (LSE), we conducted a wide literature review l... more In partnership with the London School of Economics (LSE), we conducted a wide literature review looking for evidence of public- and private-sector interventions adopted by countries around the world to facilitate labour migration. We found 231 – either directly matching migrants with jobs (168) or by providing training (68).
These interventions show that, despite the current political debates which suggest otherwise, regular pathways for migration do exist and there is a potential for reform. However, there is little evidence as to the effectiveness or impact of these 231 interventions. Such evidence is crucial, to make policies and programmes more adaptable to the needs of destination markets and the capacities of migrants, and to make regular labour migration more predictable.
This case study on migrant domestic workers (MDWs) in Lebanon has been conducted for the EU-funde... more This case study on migrant domestic workers (MDWs) in Lebanon has been conducted for the EU-funded project ‘Migrants in Countries in Crisis: Supporting an Evidence-Based Approach for Effective and Cooperative State Action’. Six case studies have been prepared for this project, to provide detailed information on the impacts of crises on migrants, particularly in the longer-term. For this case study on Lebanon, we have adopted a two-pronged approach. First, we examine the impact of the July-August 2006 war on MDWs in the country at the time, to analyse how domestic workers and other relevant governmental and civil society actors responded to MDWs’ needs during the crisis, and lessons learned as a result of this crisis. Nonetheless, MDWs themselves do not identify the 2006 war as a significant crisis for them, and Lebanon is currently in the midst of dealing with a humanitarian crisis due to the large number of Syrian refugees they are now hosting, some of whom have entered into domestic work. Therefore, as a second line of inquiry, we analyse the significance of ‘everyday crises’ in reference to acute humanitarian crises, where inequalities and abuse experienced by MDWs in the country can become exacerbated in a crisis situation.
Overseas Development Institute , 2018
In 2017, the number of international migrants reached 258 million, while the total number of refu... more In 2017, the number of international migrants reached 258 million, while the total number of refugees and asylum-seekers in the world reached 25.9 million. The economic dimensions of mobility, in terms of access to jobs and sustainable livelihoods, are central to the integration process of these groups, yet they often face structural, legal and other barriers. This rapid scoping review aims to explain these barriers, and present case studies of where the barriers have been successfully overcome.
Overseas Development Institute, 2016
This briefing presents an overview of how rural to urban migration (internal migration) impacts o... more This briefing presents an overview of how rural to urban migration (internal migration) impacts on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular Goals 8 and 11. Despite the positive impact that internal migration can have on urban migrants, their families, and their 'host' city, urban migrants are often neglected in government policies. This briefing therefore presents a number of policy recommendations which aim to capture this potential and contribute to achieving the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.
Key messages
- Internal migration and population growth are driving rapid urbanisation in many developing countries. How urbanisation is managed, and the types of jobs and services that migrants can access in the city, are crucial to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- Rural to urban migration can open up job opportunities, improve livelihoods and contribute to poverty reduction. Those who remain behind also benefit through remittances and non-financial transfers, such as improved knowledge and skills.
- Despite their potential, internal migrants are often neglected in government policies and lack access to adequate social protection or basic services.
- Poor, urban migrants often work in the informal sector which is poorly regulated in many cities.
- Policies should support decent job creation and entrepreneurship, improve work standards, and provide protection and assistance in cases of abuse to strengthen the opportunities available to new arrivals.
This is the third in a series of policy briefings on the relationship between migration and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Overseas Development Institute, 2017
As of September 2017, just under 660,000 Syrian refugees were registered as living in neighbourin... more As of September 2017, just under 660,000 Syrian refugees were registered as living in neighbouring Jordan, alongside an unknown number of unregistered refugees, due to crisis in Syria. The protracted nature of the conflict means that many refugees are likely to stay in their host country for some time.
This study explores whether the gig economy, also known as 'crowdwork' or 'on-demand’ work, has the potential to create new economic opportunities for Syrian refugee women.
Most Syrian refugee women report wanting to work, but experience significant barriers including difficulties in travelling alone, a disproportionate unpaid care and domestic workload, and limited opportunities given restrictive socio-cultural norms and associated occupational segregation. In addition, women have received just 5% of the Jordanian work permits issued to Syrians.
The research finds that the gig economy could help women find new clients to purchase their services locally, particularly in areas where they are already skilled, such as home catering, beauty services and, to a lesser extent, domestic work. However – as with Uber-style work elsewhere in the world – significant improvements are needed to make gig work fully benefit them, including ensuring worker protections, improving digital access, providing skills training and facilitating association.
Overseas Development Institute, 2018
In February 2016, a new approach to dealing with protracted displacement was signed: the Jordan C... more In February 2016, a new approach to dealing with protracted displacement was signed: the Jordan Compact. In return for billions of dollars in grants, loans and preferential trade agreements with the European Union, Jordan committed to improving access to education and legal employment for its Syrian refugees. The Compact showed that, by building on existing political capital and economic and political incentives, a restrictive policy environment can be opened up and funds can be mobilised in a short space of time.
Two years on, the Compact has led to considerable improvements in education and labour market access for Syrian refugees, though challenges remain that will need to be tackled through targeted interventions.
The Compact design did not integrate refugee perspectives at the outset; as such, it has been slow to improve their daily lives.
Financial support has increased school enrolment, but large numbers still remain out of school due to financial barriers and the quality of services provided.
Progress has been made in work permits issued, but critical sectors and self-employment remain closed to refugees.
Indicators measuring progress should focus on the extent to which they improve the lives of refugees.
Similar models are now being proposed in Ethiopia, Lebanon and Turkey. This policy briefing not only highlights lessons learnt from the Jordan Compact, but also provides recommendations for any new compacts. Most importantly, if they are to be successful, they must start with what refugees need and want, and be realistic about what such arrangements can achieve.
Blogs by Dina Mansour-Ille
Overseas Development Institute
Uploads
Academic Articles by Dina Mansour-Ille
Against this backdrop, this article seeks to examines the socioeconomic realities of inequality that have triggered the Arab Spring uprisings and their manifestations today throughout the region. The article examines the literature on revolutions and the dimensions of inequality and applies it to the Arab region, where it examines the manifestations of inequality before and after the Arab spring uprisings.
In turn, it aims to question the socioeconomic structures of inequality underlying the Arab Spring and how poverty, inequality, and precarity continue to plague the Arab region.
This article explores the challenges and opportunities of the gig economy for refugees and future avenues for gig economy livelihoods programming.
Published in Forced Migration Review 58, 'Economies: rights and access to work': When people are forced to leave their homes, they usually also leave behind their means of economic activity. In their new location, they may not be able, or permitted, to work. This has wide-ranging implications. This issue includes 22 articles on the main feature theme of Economies: rights and access to work. It also includes two ‘mini-features’, one on Refugee-led social protection and one on Humans and animals in refugee camps.
alien to societies that have been inherently religious and conservative. Against this background, this article aims to analyse the role of censorship in Egypt with regard to the relationship between cinema and culture—a relationship often overlooked and perhaps intentionally ignored. In doing so, it will examine how censorship has traditionally been used as a tool to control the representation of existing social and cultural realities and to define cultural and religious norms, thus also affecting the normative context
Books by Dina Mansour-Ille
Table of Contents:
-- Introduction: Identity, Difference and Belonging / Dina Mansour, Andrew Milne and Sebastian Ille
-- Part I Making and Negotiating Identities : Education, Religion and Culture
-- Clash of Identities: Understanding Social Conflict in Post-Arab Spring Egypt / Dina Mansour, Sebastian Ille and Mervat Madkour
-- Religious Education, Knowledge and Power: Religion as Discursive Construction in New Zealand Primary Schools / Helen Bradstock
-- Nation and Violence: A Path through Identity / Nicole Tressoldi
-- Between Coexistence and Dissolution: The Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina Aleksandar Savanovia and Aleksandar Vranjes
-- Part II Making Identities : Cultural Representations
-- Transgressing Boundaries: Nigerian Hip Hop and the Signifying Other / Yomi Olusegun-Joseph
-- The Cleft Identity of Jayanta Mahapatra at the End of Words / Sreekanth Kopuri
-- Resisting, Enduring and Embracing Multiculturalism in Michael Gregorio's Days of Atonement / Roxanne Barbara Doerr
-- A Convergence of Cultures: Mariano Fortuny and His Clothing Designs / Wendy Ligon Smith
-- Chinese Producers, Indian Directors and Malay Actors: Role and Contribution of Cultural Conflict in Malay Films of the Golden Age / Ramachandran Ponnan
Book Chapters by Dina Mansour-Ille
This publication builds upon the knowledge and experiences gathered through the Migrants In Countries In Crisis (MICIC) Initiative, a global state-led process for which IOM has been serving as Secretariat, and the Council of Europe’s EUR-OPA programme on “Migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in the context of major risks prevention and management”.
Reports and Studies by Dina Mansour-Ille
These interventions show that, despite the current political debates which suggest otherwise, regular pathways for migration do exist and there is a potential for reform. However, there is little evidence as to the effectiveness or impact of these 231 interventions. Such evidence is crucial, to make policies and programmes more adaptable to the needs of destination markets and the capacities of migrants, and to make regular labour migration more predictable.
Key messages
- Internal migration and population growth are driving rapid urbanisation in many developing countries. How urbanisation is managed, and the types of jobs and services that migrants can access in the city, are crucial to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- Rural to urban migration can open up job opportunities, improve livelihoods and contribute to poverty reduction. Those who remain behind also benefit through remittances and non-financial transfers, such as improved knowledge and skills.
- Despite their potential, internal migrants are often neglected in government policies and lack access to adequate social protection or basic services.
- Poor, urban migrants often work in the informal sector which is poorly regulated in many cities.
- Policies should support decent job creation and entrepreneurship, improve work standards, and provide protection and assistance in cases of abuse to strengthen the opportunities available to new arrivals.
This is the third in a series of policy briefings on the relationship between migration and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
This study explores whether the gig economy, also known as 'crowdwork' or 'on-demand’ work, has the potential to create new economic opportunities for Syrian refugee women.
Most Syrian refugee women report wanting to work, but experience significant barriers including difficulties in travelling alone, a disproportionate unpaid care and domestic workload, and limited opportunities given restrictive socio-cultural norms and associated occupational segregation. In addition, women have received just 5% of the Jordanian work permits issued to Syrians.
The research finds that the gig economy could help women find new clients to purchase their services locally, particularly in areas where they are already skilled, such as home catering, beauty services and, to a lesser extent, domestic work. However – as with Uber-style work elsewhere in the world – significant improvements are needed to make gig work fully benefit them, including ensuring worker protections, improving digital access, providing skills training and facilitating association.
Two years on, the Compact has led to considerable improvements in education and labour market access for Syrian refugees, though challenges remain that will need to be tackled through targeted interventions.
The Compact design did not integrate refugee perspectives at the outset; as such, it has been slow to improve their daily lives.
Financial support has increased school enrolment, but large numbers still remain out of school due to financial barriers and the quality of services provided.
Progress has been made in work permits issued, but critical sectors and self-employment remain closed to refugees.
Indicators measuring progress should focus on the extent to which they improve the lives of refugees.
Similar models are now being proposed in Ethiopia, Lebanon and Turkey. This policy briefing not only highlights lessons learnt from the Jordan Compact, but also provides recommendations for any new compacts. Most importantly, if they are to be successful, they must start with what refugees need and want, and be realistic about what such arrangements can achieve.
Blogs by Dina Mansour-Ille
Against this backdrop, this article seeks to examines the socioeconomic realities of inequality that have triggered the Arab Spring uprisings and their manifestations today throughout the region. The article examines the literature on revolutions and the dimensions of inequality and applies it to the Arab region, where it examines the manifestations of inequality before and after the Arab spring uprisings.
In turn, it aims to question the socioeconomic structures of inequality underlying the Arab Spring and how poverty, inequality, and precarity continue to plague the Arab region.
This article explores the challenges and opportunities of the gig economy for refugees and future avenues for gig economy livelihoods programming.
Published in Forced Migration Review 58, 'Economies: rights and access to work': When people are forced to leave their homes, they usually also leave behind their means of economic activity. In their new location, they may not be able, or permitted, to work. This has wide-ranging implications. This issue includes 22 articles on the main feature theme of Economies: rights and access to work. It also includes two ‘mini-features’, one on Refugee-led social protection and one on Humans and animals in refugee camps.
alien to societies that have been inherently religious and conservative. Against this background, this article aims to analyse the role of censorship in Egypt with regard to the relationship between cinema and culture—a relationship often overlooked and perhaps intentionally ignored. In doing so, it will examine how censorship has traditionally been used as a tool to control the representation of existing social and cultural realities and to define cultural and religious norms, thus also affecting the normative context
Table of Contents:
-- Introduction: Identity, Difference and Belonging / Dina Mansour, Andrew Milne and Sebastian Ille
-- Part I Making and Negotiating Identities : Education, Religion and Culture
-- Clash of Identities: Understanding Social Conflict in Post-Arab Spring Egypt / Dina Mansour, Sebastian Ille and Mervat Madkour
-- Religious Education, Knowledge and Power: Religion as Discursive Construction in New Zealand Primary Schools / Helen Bradstock
-- Nation and Violence: A Path through Identity / Nicole Tressoldi
-- Between Coexistence and Dissolution: The Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina Aleksandar Savanovia and Aleksandar Vranjes
-- Part II Making Identities : Cultural Representations
-- Transgressing Boundaries: Nigerian Hip Hop and the Signifying Other / Yomi Olusegun-Joseph
-- The Cleft Identity of Jayanta Mahapatra at the End of Words / Sreekanth Kopuri
-- Resisting, Enduring and Embracing Multiculturalism in Michael Gregorio's Days of Atonement / Roxanne Barbara Doerr
-- A Convergence of Cultures: Mariano Fortuny and His Clothing Designs / Wendy Ligon Smith
-- Chinese Producers, Indian Directors and Malay Actors: Role and Contribution of Cultural Conflict in Malay Films of the Golden Age / Ramachandran Ponnan
This publication builds upon the knowledge and experiences gathered through the Migrants In Countries In Crisis (MICIC) Initiative, a global state-led process for which IOM has been serving as Secretariat, and the Council of Europe’s EUR-OPA programme on “Migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in the context of major risks prevention and management”.
These interventions show that, despite the current political debates which suggest otherwise, regular pathways for migration do exist and there is a potential for reform. However, there is little evidence as to the effectiveness or impact of these 231 interventions. Such evidence is crucial, to make policies and programmes more adaptable to the needs of destination markets and the capacities of migrants, and to make regular labour migration more predictable.
Key messages
- Internal migration and population growth are driving rapid urbanisation in many developing countries. How urbanisation is managed, and the types of jobs and services that migrants can access in the city, are crucial to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- Rural to urban migration can open up job opportunities, improve livelihoods and contribute to poverty reduction. Those who remain behind also benefit through remittances and non-financial transfers, such as improved knowledge and skills.
- Despite their potential, internal migrants are often neglected in government policies and lack access to adequate social protection or basic services.
- Poor, urban migrants often work in the informal sector which is poorly regulated in many cities.
- Policies should support decent job creation and entrepreneurship, improve work standards, and provide protection and assistance in cases of abuse to strengthen the opportunities available to new arrivals.
This is the third in a series of policy briefings on the relationship between migration and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
This study explores whether the gig economy, also known as 'crowdwork' or 'on-demand’ work, has the potential to create new economic opportunities for Syrian refugee women.
Most Syrian refugee women report wanting to work, but experience significant barriers including difficulties in travelling alone, a disproportionate unpaid care and domestic workload, and limited opportunities given restrictive socio-cultural norms and associated occupational segregation. In addition, women have received just 5% of the Jordanian work permits issued to Syrians.
The research finds that the gig economy could help women find new clients to purchase their services locally, particularly in areas where they are already skilled, such as home catering, beauty services and, to a lesser extent, domestic work. However – as with Uber-style work elsewhere in the world – significant improvements are needed to make gig work fully benefit them, including ensuring worker protections, improving digital access, providing skills training and facilitating association.
Two years on, the Compact has led to considerable improvements in education and labour market access for Syrian refugees, though challenges remain that will need to be tackled through targeted interventions.
The Compact design did not integrate refugee perspectives at the outset; as such, it has been slow to improve their daily lives.
Financial support has increased school enrolment, but large numbers still remain out of school due to financial barriers and the quality of services provided.
Progress has been made in work permits issued, but critical sectors and self-employment remain closed to refugees.
Indicators measuring progress should focus on the extent to which they improve the lives of refugees.
Similar models are now being proposed in Ethiopia, Lebanon and Turkey. This policy briefing not only highlights lessons learnt from the Jordan Compact, but also provides recommendations for any new compacts. Most importantly, if they are to be successful, they must start with what refugees need and want, and be realistic about what such arrangements can achieve.