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Migration forum and ILO recruitment strategy set 2026 test for migrant worker rights

Migration forum and ILO recruitment strategy set 2026 test for migrant worker rights
Migration forum and ILO recruitment strategy set 2026 test for migrant worker rights | Photo: Sébastien Goldberg

Global efforts to strengthen the rights of migrant workers under the sustainable development goals are set to converge in 2026 around two major processes: the Second International Migration Review Forum in New York and the International Labour Organization’s next strategy to curb exploitative recruitment practices.


Both frameworks are presented as a shift from broad commitments towards measures that can be enforced, including tighter regulation of recruitment agencies and stronger routes for workers to seek grievance handling and legal remedy.


International Migration Review Forum focuses on delivery and the next four years

The Second International Migration Review Forum is scheduled for 5 to 8 May 2026 at the United Nations headquarters in New York, with a multi-stakeholder hearing on 4 May. It is the main global checkpoint for reviewing how the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration is being implemented.


According to the published structure, the forum will include four interactive roundtables on 5 May and the morning of 6 May, followed by a policy debate on the afternoon of 6 May. Plenary meetings will take place on 7 and 8 May, when governments are expected to agree a Progress Declaration that sets the direction of global migration governance for the next four years.


The agenda is expected to cover issues spanning the drivers of migration and rights-based approaches to border governance, alongside debate on emerging challenges including climate-induced displacement and digital labour matching.


Trade unions push for binding labour standards in the declaration

The International Trade Union Confederation is campaigning to ensure the 2026 Progress Declaration contains binding commitments on labour standards, with a focus on the ratification and implementation of ILO Conventions No 97 and No 143 on migrant workers.

Those conventions aim to secure equality of treatment and protections for migrant workers, including in areas such as wages, social security and trade union rights. The ITUC is also pressing for permanent regularisation programmes to replace employer-tied visa arrangements that, it argues, can heighten risks of exploitation.


ILO fair recruitment strategy targets fees, enforcement and worker support

Running alongside the May forum, the ILO has set out a 2026 to 2030 strategy for its Fair Recruitment Initiative, framed as a move from principles to implementation.


A central target is eliminating recruitment fees and related costs that can push workers into debt bondage. The ILO estimates these fees cost migrant workers about $5.6bn annually.

The strategy sets four results areas: improved knowledge and data, stronger laws and policies, changes in business practice through human rights due diligence, and worker empowerment, including support for Migrant Resource Centres providing training and job referrals.


Regional pressure tests include EU solidarity funding and benefit portability

These global commitments are expected to be tested by regional developments in 2026. In the European Union, the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum is due to begin full application on 12 June 2026, including a solidarity pool of €420m to support member states facing high migratory pressure.


Elsewhere, regional reviews referenced in early 2026 have highlighted social protection portability, aimed at allowing workers to transfer pension and health benefits across borders, as a priority likely to feature in wider discussions on practical protection mechanisms.


For governments and employers, the combined push implies closer scrutiny of recruitment intermediaries, more robust complaint pathways, and stronger expectations around due diligence. For migrant workers and unions, the focus is on whether declarations and strategies translate into enforceable standards and accessible remedies, rather than remaining policy commitments.


Further reading

International Migration Review Forum official information page:


Registration and programme outline: https://indico.un.org/event/1022399/ILO



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