Quito – IOM, the UN Migration Agency is supporting the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of Ecuador in organising a two-day Regional Workshop on Labour Mobility and Youth Employment that starts today (15/05) in the capital, Quito.

The event is also supported by the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB by its Spanish Acronym) and the International Labour Organization (ILO). The workshop seeks to initiate a dialogue and exchange of experiences among countries of the Ibero-American region on the challenges and opportunities of modern policies on labour mobility and youth employment.

The workshop, which brings together both high-level authorities from the Ministries of Labour in the region and technical experts of employment, will contribute to the various regional and sub-regional integration processes, including the Ibero-American Community as a process of inter-regional integration.

IOM Regional Director for South America Diego Beltrand, highlighted the importance of the workshop to promote a permanent dialogue between the Ministries of Labour and institutions linked to migration, both nationally and regionally, as a solid basis for the formulation of public policies on human and labour mobility, that promote the human and labour rights of migrant workers.

"Labour mobility is an important driver of the world economy, with a positive impact on development; but if it is not well managed, it can be a source of exploitation of workers, inequality and poverty,” said Beltrand.

During the workshop, IOM and ILO will lead some of the sessions, which will explore trends, the current situation, challenges and opportunities for labour mobility and youth employment in Latin America, in addition to thematic presentations on human mobility management and its link to development, as well as the ethical and fair recruitment of migrant workers.

The expected results of this meeting include a regional inventory and conclusions on public policies, good practices and other measures adopted by the countries in the region on labour mobility and youth employment. They will also include the systematization of proposals discussed among the participating countries to strengthen regional integration through mechanisms of information exchange and facilitation of labour mobility.

According to the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC), in 2016 more than 20 million Latin Americans worked outside their countries of origin, of which 4.35 million were intra-regional. The ILO estimates that in 2017 there were more than 56.1 million young people who were part of the Economically Active Population (PEA in Spanish) in Latin America and the Caribbean, of which 7.8 million were unemployed and 26.9 million had informal jobs.

For more information, please contact Juliana Quintero at the IOM Regional Office in Buenos Aires, Tel: + (54) 11 4813 3330, Email: juquintero@iom.int.