Informal but Effective: Regional Consultative Processes as a Tool in Managing Migration

During the 1990s, the number of regional consultative processes focusing on migration increased significantly. These non-binding fora brought together representatives of States, civil society and international organizations at the regional level to discuss migration-related issues in a cooperative manner.

Regional consultative processes, which are increasingly supported by governments, are partly a response to the growing complexity and diversity of international migration. Their emergence attests the importance that governments attach to a regional approach to migration management.

Regional processes act informally, focusing on cooperative dialogue with an emphasis on information exchange and technical cooperation. The information exchange and confidence-building that occurs in regional processes is quite important in terms of developing links between States and influencing the likelihood of future bilateral and multilateral agreements.

This article focuses upon the development of regional processes, using examples as illustrations. It suggests that the development of regional processes can be understood in terms of a four-stage model: first, the decision to address issues of concern in a cooperative regional forum; second, to agree upon a ''common language''; third, to agree upon a list of goals and, fourth, a shift toward a more operational process.