Background Legal database of the International Organization for Migration (IOM)

1. DATABASE OF LEGAL FRAMEWORKS, REGULATIONS, POLICIES AND PROGRAMS RELATING TO MIGRATION IN THE AMERICAS

2. Background Background • Legal database of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) • Digital Library of the Migration Information System (SIMA) • Partial Database on National Migration Legislation of OAS Member States – Department of international Law • Compilation by the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) of legislation on migration and gender in Latin America • Legal documents on migration issues (CAJP - OAS) Rationale • Identification of essential components of countries’ domestic and international legal order. • Analytical tool to be used by OAS member states for public policy formulation.

3. Mandates • Inter-American Program for the Promotion and Protection of the Human Rights of Migrants, including Migrant Workers and Their Families: • - Specific activity No. 29 of the Program calls for compilation of current national migration legislation, policies, and requirements and their dissemination in a web page on the Internet. • Work Plan (CE/AM-1/07). One of the activities assigned to the Special Committee on Migration Issues is the preparation of a “graphic representation” of migration, involving the compilation of information and the construction of a matrix of existing legal frameworks and, where appropriate, of migration regulations, policies and programs in OAS member states, with a view to producing a compendium of best migration practices.

4. GA Mandates • AG/RES. 2356 (XXXVIII-O/08): MIGRANT POPULATIONS AND MIGRATION FLOWS IN THE AMERICAS:To reaffirm the importance of having a migration data matrix; and to thank the member states for their contributions to the sharing of information and good practices in relation to their existing legal frameworks, regulations, policies, and programs, especially the Migration Information System of the Americas. • AG/RES. 2465 (XXXIX-O/09) MIGRANT POPULATIONS AND MIGRATION FLOWS IN THE AMERICAS :To encourage member states to continue discussing their experiences and providing information to the General Secretariat on their existing legal frameworks, regulations, policies, and programs.

5. Objectives • General Objective: Attempts to identify the core components of countries’ domestic and international legal order by constructing a compendium of national laws and international instruments relating to migration, to serve as an analytical and conceptual tool for OAS member states when formulating their public policies.. • Specific objective: To design a legal documentation system for gathering and systematizing migration-related national and international law, legal provisions, and public policies in the Hemisphere.

6. Implementation of the Legal Database Phases • Compilation • General classification • Classification by theme • Review of the legal information gathered • Work in 9 countries participating in SICREMI • Classification of work categories: • International • Regional • National

7. Identification of beneficiaries Direct beneficiaries National Directorates of Migration Labor Ministries Institutes for Attending to Communities Abroad Ministries of the Interior Ministries of Foreign Affairs Indirect beneficiaries International migrant populations

9. Expected outcomes • Database of legal frameworks, regulations, policies and programs relating to migration for 9 countries:Canada, Mexico, El Salvador, Belize, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile. • Comparative matrices of current laws and by specific themes relating to migration