Migration Policy

FULL-TEXT VERSION AVAILABLE AT:
https://doi.org/10.12797/9788381382069



Współczesne Włochy to przykład państwa, w którym zróżnicowanie – etniczne, narodowościowe, językowe, religijne – przybiera odmienne formy i przejawia się na wielu różnych poziomach. Ugruntowane przez wieki rozczłonkowanie Półwyspu Apenińskiego, silne regionalizmy oraz tendencje autonomiczne (a w przeszłości także separatystyczne) regionów przygranicznych i wyspiarskich współgrają z nowymi rodzajami wielokulturowości i międzykulturowości, powodowanej przez liczne społeczności imigranckie (… ).

Już od czasów włoskiego zjednoczenia (Risorgimenta) funkcjonowało – we Włoszech i poza ich granicami – silne przekonanie o podziale na „dwie Italie”, północną i południową. Ten popularny schemat, choć po części znajdował uzasadnienie w rozbieżnościach między dwiema częściami Półwyspu, przesłaniał wiele innych, nakładających się na siebie podziałów. Przyglądając się współcześnie tej mozaice kulturowej (etnicznej, językowej, mentalnościowej), jaką współtworzą tak odmienne od siebie regiony Półwyspu Apenińskiego, coraz trudniej zgodzić się z tego rodzaju upraszczającą dychotomią. Włosi od wieków dzielili się przecież na wiele grup, dla których punktem odniesienia były odmienna historia oraz lokalne tradycje i zwyczaje obecne w życiu codziennym mieszkańców różnych regionów. Bogactwo językowo-dialektalne i wielość wariantów włoskiego także dzisiaj powodują, że osoby pochodzące z różnych części kraju mogą mieć trudności z komunikacją, o ile nie zdecydują się na użycie standardowego italiano. To wielowiekowe obcowanie z odmiennością i przyzwyczajenie do kulturowej różnorodności może, choć nie musi, być czynnikiem ułatwiającym Włochom akceptację przybyszów z innych części Europy i świata oraz integrowanie się z nimi. Nie oznacza to jednak, że nie pojawiają się konflikty, napięcia, próby chronienia własnej tożsamości. Poszerzanie definicji „włoskości” o elementy innych kultur, które przynoszą osiadający we Włoszech migranci, nie przychodzi z łatwością, ale jak każdy proces wymaga czasu i wzajemnego poznania. Obecni imigranci bywają postrzegani jako „Inni”, tak samo jak w przeszłości wewnętrzni imigranci ciągnący z Południa Italii ku bogatszej Północy w poszukiwaniu pracy i z nadzieją na lepsze życie.

z Wprowadzenia

The paper focuses on the (re)emergence in the late twentieth century of a specific form of cross-border labour migration--viz. guest-work or circular/managed migration--that is designed to keep migrants from settling in receiving countries. The paper is part of a larger project that situates this form of transnational work-mobility regimes within the larger historical debates over the slippery line between free labour and forced labour. Specifically, it traces the genealogy of guest-work, and makes some preliminary observations about the specificity of contemporary circular / managed migration as it becomes incrementally normalized as a desirable policy tool across the world.

The presence of immigrants from Africa in France began after World War II to rebuild France. Begin in the 1940s, the number of immigrants continued to increase and most of them came from the Maghreb countries. The high number of non-EU immigrants triggered social problems in France which later developed into Islamophobia. Also in the economic area, the number of unemployed in France was increasing caused by low skilled Maghreb immigrants. The immigrant problem was noticed by France in the 1980s, when François Mitterrand was elected as the Socialist President who ruled France for the first time in two periods. This study was conducted using qualitative methods to describe the development of the migration policy of François Mitterrand's government. The socialist style of government tends to be moderate to immigrants, while the right government has firmer measures. The finding of this article shows that the migration policy during the reign of François Mitterrand is ineffective because the number of illegal immigrants living in France keeps increasing and the process of integration between the two parties was difficult

Cieľom bakalárskej práce je charakterizovať vývoj súčasných externých migračných tokov a skúmať reakcie migračnej politiky EÚ na tieto skutočnosti. Pri písaní bakalárskej práce sme využili viaceré metódy. Pri charakterizovaní súčasných migračných tokov v EÚ sme využili analýzu a komparáciu poznatkov z dostupných zdrojov (správy a publikácie inštitúcií EÚ, štatistiky Eurostatu, odborná literatúra, novinové články). Pri formulovaní záverov a hodnotení o vplyvoch migrácie na migračnú politiku EÚ bola využitá metóda syntézy. V práci sa nám podarilo opísať a zhodnotiť vplyvy súčasných migračných tokov na politiku EÚ. EÚ na migračné toky reaguje; v prípade ich nedostatku, iniciatívami na podporu legálnej migrácie, v prípade nežiaducej iregulárnej migrácie, zlepšenou koordináciou hraníc a spoločnými operáciami. Pri hodnotení migračnej politiky EÚ je dôležité poznamenať, že EÚ častokrát reaguje na už vzniknuté problémy, akými sú i tragické straty na životoch v rokoch 2014 a 2015 v Stredozemnom mori. Adekvátnou reakciou na citlivé problémy, akým je i utečenectvo, by mala byť nielen včasná reakcia, ale najmä kooperácia s tretími krajinami a predchádzanie krízovým situáciám.

The aim of this work is to characterize the current external migration flows and to evaluate the EU migration policy responses to these phenomena. Several methods were used when writing the thesis. When characterizing current migration flows in the EU, we used the analysis and comparison of knowledge from available resources (reports and publications by EU institutions, Eurostat statistics, professional literature, newspaper articles). For formulation of conclusions and evaluation of the impact of migration on the EU migration policy the synthesis method was used. In this work, we successfully described and evaluated the impacts of current migration flows on the EU migration policy. The EU responds to the migration flows; in case of the lack of flows with initiatives to promote legal migration, in case of undesirable irregular migration with improved coordination of external borders and joint operations. When assessing the EU's migration policy, it is important to note that the EU often reacts to already existing problems, such as the tragic loss of lives in the years 2014 and 2015 in the Mediterranean. More adequate reaction to these sensitive issues such as the refugee issue should be not only timely response, but especially cooperation with third countries and crisis prevention.

This article critically diagnoses the integration difficulties encountered by Rwandan and Burundian immigrants in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1960. Main treatments, xenophobic, and discriminatory practices used against the nationals of these two countries by indigenous Congolese people were analyzed in terms of obstacles to integration. The article also scrutinizes the derogatory, hegemonic, and disdainful behavior and attitudes of these immigrants towards the host society. The problems that these immigrants have to face from the authorities of the host country in the application of national migration policies were analyzed. Also, the way they were led into a clandestine life into the host country was also studied. The article, however, aims to reveal socio-cultural, political, and legal challenges which plague the daily life of Rwandan and Burundian nationals who have chosen the DRC as their second homeland. Résumé Cet article est un diagnostic critique des difficultés d'intégration que rencontrent les immigrés ressortissants du Rwanda et du Burundi en République Démocratique du Congo depuis 1960. Il analyse, en termes d'obstacles à cette intégration, les principaux traitements et pratiques xénophobes et discriminatoires dont les ressortisants de ces deux pays seraient victimes de la part des autochtones congolais. Il scrute également le comportement et attitudes désobligeants, hégémonistes et dédaigneux de ces

The current migration and refugee crises in Europe and the Mediterranean region capture the interest of politicians, journalists, researchers and experts, and inspire many questions about the causes and consequences of these massive migratory movements for the European Union, and about the effectiveness of the EU policy on migration and asylum. Currently, from the EU perspective at least two issues seem to be crucial: 1. how to solve the crisis situation already found in the EU, taking into consideration priority level(s) to face it – global, EU and/or national, the tools to be designed and implemented, the stakeholders to be involved in the problem-solving process; 2. what steps to take in order to prevent the deepening of the crisis and to halt the influx of new migrants to the EU, having in mind the interests of the Member States, the integrity of the EU, the overall political climate in the EU and respect for international law in the area of human rights and refugees. The effectiveness of the EU migration and asylum policy has proven to be limited, because a national approach to the current problems and challenges prevails over the EU one. It is evident that, the European Agenda on Migration so far has been slow to be implemented, some strategic commitments have not yet been met and some others have been marginalized by different Member States. All that despite the fact that the EAM covered an immediate action plan to solve the difficulties in the Mediterranean, as well as medium and long term measures. This means that we also face a crisis of a common policy on migration and asylum in the EU – and even raises doubts whether such a policy exists, but also we are heading towards a much deeper political and institutional crisis of the EU, amplified by the potential exit of the UK from the EU (called " Brexit ") and a fundamental risk of lessened integrity and functioning of the Schengen area. The elaboration of a truly comprehensive and common migration and asylum policy at the EU level requires much more time, a revision of the legal framework (but more legal acts does not mean better); developing and sharing best (good) practices; adequate funding, but also solidarity and will to cooperate of all EU Member States. Additionally, a greater understanding and awareness of European societies in the field of migration processes, issues of human rights and mechanisms of integration of foreigners and migrants are necessary to design and effectively implement any policy.

[EN] The 2016 Policy Report of the German National Contact Point for the European Migration Network (EMN) gives an overview over the most important political discussions and developments in the areas of migration, integration and asylum in the Federal Republic of Germany in the year 2016. The Report was authored by Janne Grote, Paula Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik, Özlem Konar and Julian Tangermann. A European Synthesis Report is available.

This paper analyses international experience with regard to protection of
labour migrants’ rights and the relevant lessons from this experience for
Kyrgyzstan. We look at seven dimensions that help determine outcomes for migrants: how other migrant-sending countries organise migration policy management; institutions developed by other countries to support labour migrants; protection of migrants from abuse by recruiters and employers; accountability of law enforcement and policies to reduce discrimination and abuse of migrant workers; policies that facilitate pension portability for migrants and their access to health care and other social services; the ways other countries mobilise resources from the diaspora for local economic development; and the modes of international cooperation in the areas of migration and human rights. Based on lessons from these dimensions, we develop policy recommendations for Kyrgyzstan.

Millions of people worldwide are being uprooted from their homes and communities. Central Americans are fleeing from economic precarity, climate disaster as well as state and criminal violence. Most head towards Mexico and the United States in search of a livable life. The Vertical Border (Mexico, 2022) looks at what happens when forced migrants demand dignity and rights. How does the United States externalize its borders in an attempt to stop desperate migrants from reaching its territory? How does Mexico cope with the pressures of being a buffer state where displaced populations are trapped in inhospitable limbo?

The Vertical Border sugiere que Centroamérica debería abordar las causas raíces de la migración forzada, que México debería desmilitarizar sus políticas de seguridad y migración, y que Estados Unidos debería apostar por la seguridad humana, no la seguridad fronteriza. Sin embargo, la formulación de políticas puede estar influenciada más por la política que por la evidencia de la investigación. Como investigadores y activistas, reconocemos que el cambio de políticas públicas es lento y requiere un tipo diferente de participación cívica. Con el documental queremos cambiar la conversación sobre la migración forzada, en lugar de decisiones políticas específicas.

This paper evaluates two innovative systems which are encouraging higher employment standards amongst those engaged in the world's food production. They are through retailer led supply contracts, such as GLOBALGAP, and indirect regulation, such as the licensing of labour contractors. The former contractual initiative has evolved from EUREPGAP, an initiative of supermarket retailers from Europe, which now extends worldwide. The paper outlines the evolution of EUREPGAP to GLOBALGAP and how this retailer initiative has increased the focus on worker welfare and development. This is not at the expense of governments and taxpayers, but at that of producers and the final consumers, who wish to consume safe, healthy and ethically produced foods. The paper reviews how compliance with GLOBALGAP standards is achieved. The second initiative is focused on the developed world, where farm work is no longer popular. Finding the labour supply for seasonal production processes is difficult. Conse...

This report indicates measures for implementing Brazil's new migration law with an approach focused on guaranteeing human rights and boosting the benefits related to migration. In its first part, the report presents a mapping of demands and expectations from stakeholders of the Brazilian migration sector concerning this new law. In the second part, the report suggests measures to regulate the new law according to a humanist approach. In the third and last part, the study indicates public policies to promote the socioeconomic inclusion of immigrants in Brazil, as well as to stimulate their contribution to the country's development.

In recent years, scholars have suggested using human security to address the challenges of migration. By shifting from a state-centric to people-centered focus, human security aims to address the problems of migrant protection, human rights, and suggests long-term solutions. Since the Philippines is highly dependent on remittances while Japan is seen as a possible model for rapidly aging societies, it is important to see how human security is both conceptualized and implemented both cases. Some of the questions that this study raises are: How can the problems of migration be addressed through a human security framework? How have migration policies in the Philippines and Japan changed throughout the years, and how is human security reflected? Has the Philippines and Japan achieved human security for its migrants?
This study argues that human security is an ideal approach for migrants as it address issues related to non- citizenship and protection. While some progress has been made, the main objectives of human security have not been reached. This is because: first, state policies are often limited, shortsighted and reactive. Second, although they aim to follow principles of human security, the Philippines and Japan are still state- centric rather than people-centered. In the final analysis, in order to reach a people-centered, bottom-up approach, both countries should work towards building a national dialogue on migration. Through such an endeavor, stakeholders from the state, civil society, and migrant groups can participate in the national debate on the future of migration.

This chapter, after having introduced the activities of the Italian Society of Applied Anthropology and the plurality of approaches, postures and methodologies that characterizes it, will focus on the complex nexus between migration, policies and anthropological perspectives. Differently than " development " , this is a field where reflections is still needed and I argue that using professional reflexivity on the problems (time, lack of flexibility, objectification) as much as on the opportunity to champion anthropological approaches, constitutes a useful process for the design of anthropological contributions to migration and asylum policies. It is an ongoing but fruitful process.

Las violencias en Centroamérica han ido alimentando, cada vez más, la migración forzada interna y externa. Sin embargo, los gobiernos del Triángulo Norte (El Salvador, Guatemala y Honduras) se han mostrado reacios a reconocer la existencia de este fenómeno. México y Estados Unidos, los países de tránsito y destino, han respondido ante la llegada de migrantes forzados con políticas de contención, dificultando o negando el acceso de las personas a derechos humanos, servicios básicos y asilo. Aún no existen muchos datos sistemáticos y confiables sobre la migración forzada desde Centroamérica, ni programas y políticas sostenibles y efectivos de asistencia y protección.

Este libro se basa en 134 entrevistas semiestructuradas realizadas en México a migrantes forzados provenientes del Triángulo Norte de Centroamérica. Se argumenta que las personas se convierten en migrantes forzados cuando se ven obligadas a abandonar sus comunidades y países de origen debido a amenazas a su vida y/o a su bienestar. A través de un análisis minucioso de los testimonios, la autora discute las violencias que los migrantes experimentaron en casa y en el exilio, así como las formas en que alteraron su vida inesperada e irrevocablemente. ¿Qué los motivó a los migrantes a participar en la investigación y compartir sus historias? ¿Cómo se sintieron al hacerlo? ¿Qué esperanzas tienen para su propio futuro y él de sus países de origen? Estas y otras preguntas tienen implicaciones amplias para políticas públicas en las áreas de desarrollo, seguridad y migración en Centroamérica, México y Estados Unidos.

This article uses recent household survey data from the Kayes area (western Mali) to analyse the determinants of remittances from both internal and international migration. The underlying assumption is that remittances are part of an insurance contract between the migrant and his family. Although this idea is not new, few tests have appeared in the recent literature. After a discussion of various measures of crop income shocks, we employ Powell's censored least absolute deviation (CLAD) estimators in addition to more standard parametric estimators to assess the influence of shocks on remittance behaviour. In contrast to Heckman's two-step or the Tobit estimator, Powell's estimator is consistent in the presence of heteroscedasticity and is robust to violations of the normality assumption for the residuals. Regression results bring some support for the view that insurance is an important motivation for remittances. This welfare function should be taken into account by policy-makers in the design of migration policies.

Arrivés dans le courant des années 1990, les mineurs non accompagnés sont des individus de moins de 18 ans qui, après un parcours migratoire, se trouvent sur le territoire français sans leur représentant légal. Enfants en danger devant être pris en charge inconditionnellement par les services départementaux compétents, pourquoi ces mineurs sont-ils devenus les objets d’une politique du tri et du contrôle ? Comment ces considérations ont-elles pu s’inviter dans le champ de la protection de l’enfance ? Qui sont les acteurs impliqués dans ce basculement du parcours dédié aux mineurs non accompagnés ? Mineurs à protéger d’un côté et étrangers à contrôler de l’autre, cette population est perçue à travers des représentations bipolaires qui ont conduit à l’édification de frontières administratives, institutionnelles et symboliques jalonnant aujourd’hui le parcours de l’accueil de ces jeunes. Alors que leur minorité et leur isolement devraient suffire à justifier une prise en charge, le soupçon qui plane sur ces jeunes a fait de ces deux critères des données scrupuleusement vérifiées par les autorités. La contribution revient sur la logique de sous-traitance de la mission d’évaluation et de mise à l’abri ayant permis d’exclure ces mineurs du circuit traditionnel de la protection de l’enfance. Associations, organisations humanitaires, société civile, ministère de la Justice incarnent les nouveaux protagonistes d’un paysage de l’accueil, où les idéaux et les engagements en matière de défense du droit des enfants ont été relégués au second plan.

Mots-clés : mineurs non accompagnés, sous-traitance, protection de l’enfance, politique migratoire, discrimination, associations, contrôle, tri

Arrived in the course of the 1990s, unaccompanied minors are individuals under 18 who, after a migratory journey, are on French territory without their legal representative. Children at risk to be cared for unconditionally by the relevant departmental services, why these minors have become the objects of a policy of sorting and control? How could these considerations have been invoked in the field of child protection? Who are the actors involved in this changeover of the path dedicated to unaccompanied minors? Minors to protect on one side and foreigners to control on the other, the bipolarity of representations that surrounds this population has led to the construction of administrative, institutional and symbolic boundaries that today mark the course of the reception of these youth. While their minority and their isolation should be sufficient to justify a care, the suspicion that hangs over these young people made these two criteria data scrupulously verified by the authorities. The contribution goes back to the logic of subcontracting the evaluation and shelter mission which made it possible to exclude these minors from the traditional circuit of child protection. Associations, humanitarian organizations, civil society, the Ministry of Justice, embody the new protagonists of a welcoming landscape where ideals and commitments to the defense of the rights of children have been relegated to the background.

Keywords: unaccompanied minors, subcontracting, child protection, migration policy, discrimination, associations, control, sorting

This paper focuses on African policy positions on migration to Europe and towards cooperation on
migration with the EU and its Member States. It draws on existing research to discuss the key features
and drivers of migration policies in Africa.
Paying attention to both commonalities and variations across different national economic and political
contexts, the paper discusses seven inter-related factors that inform, influence and determine the policy
approaches of African countries: (i) the common view that migration and development are intrinsically
linked; (ii) the political regime type and domestic politics (both of which can influence governments’
responsiveness to human rights issues, public demands related to bilateral agreements on migration both
from within the country and outside); (iii) the financial gains to be made from cooperation with the EU
in the form of development aid as well as remittances; (iv) diplomacy, geographic proximity and routes
to Europe; (v) policy and capability limitations of current migration governance structures; (vi) lobbying
by migration facilitators and, in some cases, corruption; and (vii) the pan-African agenda of integration,
especially on the mobility of persons.
Considering the dynamics of past and existing Africa-Europe agreements, I argue that the power
asymmetry (financial and diplomatic) between Europe and Africa has distorted the priorities of Africa
and created pressure to implement policies that give precedence to Europe’s interests over those of
African countries and migrants. The paper further discusses the implications of these dynamics in the
Africa-Europe migration partnership, including the challenges and opportunities for more effective
cooperation in the future.

To cite/refer to: Paweł Strzelecki, Marta Pachocka, Procesy migracyjne w krajach Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej – transformacja od państw emigracji netto do imigracji netto, in: Raport SGH i Forum Ekonomicznego 2020, eds. Hanna Godlewska-Majkowska, Piotr Wachowiak, Mariusz Strojny, Bartosz Majewski, Oficyna Wydawnicza SGH, Warszawa 2020, pp. 254-289, DOI: 10.33119/978-83-8030-386-7.2020

Celem opracowania jest przedstawienie transformacji wybranych krajów Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej (Czechy, Polska, Węgry, Słowacja, Litwa i Rumunia): od typowych obszarów wysyłających emigrantów do krajów o dodatniej migracji netto. Zaprezentowano bieżące dane, szacunki oraz prognozy migracji, a także oszacowano wpływ migracji na wzrost PKB wybranych krajów. Opracowanie uzupełnia także lukę w dyskusji o polityce migracyjnej Polski i krajów regionu EŚW poprzez przedstawienie różnych modeli tej polityki, ocenę stanu obecnego oraz sformułowanie zaleceń na przyszłość.

“A Roadmap for Advocacy, Policy Development and Programming: Protection in Mixed Movements along the Central and Western Mediterranean Routes 2021” is an edited volume that presents key recommendations from more than 40 researchers, protection actors, policy-makers and people with a displacement experience from North, West, East and the Horn of Africa as well as Europe and North America, who came together in February 2021 for a Policy Workshop convened by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Mixed Migration Centre (MMC). Recommendations are drawn from 25 research papers aimed at informing policy, programming and advocacy.

The volume aims to be a roadmap for strategic engagement with different asylum and migration stakeholders at local, national and international levels. It offers concrete ways forward for a number of issue-areas key to the protection of people on the move: the important role of local authorities and community-based approaches to protection, the need for a stronger focus on children and youth on the move, and more sustainable approaches to combatting trafficking in persons, to name a few.

A Roadmap to Protection in Mixed Movements 2021: https://mixedmigration.org/roadmap-protection-2021/

Virtual Policy Workshop:
The Policy Workshop on Protection Challenges on the Central (CMR) & Western Mediterranean Routes (WMR) brings together approximately 50 academics, practitioners, civil society advocates and policy influencers to highlight protection challenges and identify opportunities for advocacy, policy development and reform of asylum and protection in the context of broader migration management.

In a three-day digital workshop, UNHCR and the Mixed Migration Centre of the Danish Refugee Council will bring together 50 specialists on mixed migration to discuss and develop strategic recommendations to engage asylum and migration policymakers at the local, national, and international level. Follow the workshop here: http://www.mixedmigration.org/unhcr-mmc-policy-workshop/

15-17 Feb. 2021

Panel 1: Critical approaches to human trafficking and policy, Feb. 15th 2021.

The country case study report was prepared in the framework of the project “Legal migration for work and training: Mobility options to Europe for those not in need of protection”, coordinated by the Research Unit of the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration in cooperation with the Migration Policy Institute Europe, funded by Stiftung Mercator.

Migration from Turkey to Austria started as labour migration and has diversified over time. National and transnational factors have shaped migration policy and the migration process over the last fifty years. In different phases, the government has used a mix of instruments to control migration flows. In this paper I analyse the role of those factors which worked against restrictive tendencies on the national level and discuss the relevance of transnational factors such as the Association Agreement with Turkey and European Union directives, migrant networks and dynamics in the emigrant state in explaining migration outcomes

Th is article briefly reviews a variety of literature on the political and social characteristics of our contemporary times, through which it paints a picture of the relative decline of the nation-state in the international system. Th is is particularly clear when addressing the issues of the universalization of human rights and the resistance to this process in the context of migration. These two issues are opposite sides of the same reality, since it is through the universalization of human rights that significant changes have occurred, such as the rise of social movements and the emergence of the concept of cosmopolitan citizenship, or even the responsibility to protect. The universalization of human rights, therefore, has been responsible for the relativization of State sovereignty vis-a-vis the international system. Th e issue of
migration, meanwhile, based on ideas from the 17th century that invoke a nationalism – anachronistic in this day and age – that confines human beings to the territories where they “belong”, performs a dual function: on one hand, it preserves some fundamental characteristics of the Westphalian nation-state, such as the principles of sovereignty and self determination; on the other, it impedes the broad and effective protection of fundamental human rights.

There is not much solidarity with migrants in major host countries and conditions for it are deteriorating. The purpose of this work is to try and assess prospects for such solidarity in those countries and specific conditions for it in Russia. Labor migrants in Russia make up the bulk of migration flows, but they have minimal opportunity for support and have to strengthen their “parallel” communities, hoping for help only from their families, and avoid as much as they can interaction with the local population, even with people of the same faith. Such estrangement leads, among other things, to the radicalization of migrants. On the other hand, Russians have long been gripped by fear of migrants due to the absence of comprehensive and specially funded adaptation and integration programs for migrants in the country. The authorities’ work with migrants’ associations in Russia has so far been largely ineffective. At the same time, Russian non-governmental organizations have some experience of direct work with migrants, and research organizations, including NGOs, are quite efficient at assessing migration processes. Meanwhile, the government is updating its migration policy to encourage people to come to Russia, which is creating a positive background for stimulating solidarity with migrants.

The integration of immigrants into the host society occurs at three basic levels: cultural, socio-economic, and political. The present study examines the status of immigrants' integration into British society at the political level of integration in the run-up to the 2015 UK House of Commons election, which subsequently led to the announcement of the referendum on the UK's withdrawal from the European Union (Brexit). It introduces the basic concepts of immigrant integration theory and the criteria or indicators against which this integration can be evaluated or compared. It then uses available sources to describe and assess the level of this political level of immigrant integration in the UK and concludes that, on a political level, immigrant integration in the UK has been only partially successful – somewhere between political accommodation and political assimilation.

This article introduces a special section that focuses on the analysis of migration policy and on how to measure the nature of these policies. It aims to take stock of previous studies and build on this knowledge to propose paths for further development.

This paper uses international human rights instruments as a benchmark to evaluate the July 2009 protections extended to migrant trainees under Japanese law. The first section traces the evolution of the trainee program from 1971 to the present, details the features of the program that facilitate exploitation of trainees and concludes with an analysis of the recent attempt by the Japanese government to remedy the exploitative features of the program.  The second section reviews relevant human rights instruments, including the International Labour Organization and United Nations Conventions.  The third section applies these international standards to evaluate the recent protections extended by the Japanese government to migrant trainees.  Finally, the fourth section concludes with recommendations for advancing the rights of migrant trainees in Japan.