International migration policies : should they be a new G20 topic?

Abstract

International migration should be the core for global governance, given its transnational nature, and yet it is its “ugly duckling” as the global community has shied away from taking any concrete action to regulate cross-border flows of people. However, in 2015, the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean prompted Turkey to include migration in the Antalya agenda. It is unlikely that the international community will move beyond humanitarian principles and recognize the free flow of people as a right on the same level as trade and capital liberalization. At the same time, most criticism of migration policies is misplaced, since the focus should be on improving implementation and fine-tuning in terms of entrance and integration; preferably in cooperation with the country of origin. The G20 should play a leading role in facilitating such coordination, also taking into account the increasing importance of South-South migration (such as the Chinese in Africa).