Access to documentation as a pathway to justice for migrants

This event was originally published via Pathfinders, a group of UN member countries, international organizations, and members of civil and the private sector dedicated to the delivery of sustainable development goal targets for peace, justice, and inclusion (SDG16+).

This event is co-convened by Pathfinders for Justice at the New York University Center on International Cooperation, and Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility at The New School as part of the Justice for Displaced Populations Initiative alongside Migration for Development and Equality (MIDEQ) Hub. The event is co-sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations and the Permanent Mission of Colombia to the United Nations.

The discussion will explore gaps and challenges in knowledge and practice on documentation as a pathway to justice for migrants, shed light on the importance of collecting data on the justice needs of migrant populations, and identify ways to translate evidence into action by discussing the role that national and international actors can take to ensure access to documentation as a pathway to justice for migrants– and more generally. The event will provide participants with an opportunity to learn about the challenges vulnerable migrants and displaced populations face to obtain documentation on the one hand, and the implications of living without it on the other. Building from an understanding of the challenge, the discussion will also be solutions-oriented and foster an exchange of promising practices on addressing the global legal identity gap.

Following an initial presentation that overviews the key challenges of the legal identity gap, a panel of experts representing government, non-government, and multilateral organizations will reflect on the implications of documentation for policy and practice – including delivery of the SDGs and the Global Compacts for Migration and Refugees – and on how the global community can work together to ensure that all migrants and their children have a legal identity and associated documentation.

An open audience discussion will follow, aimed at exploring existing efforts to reduce the injustices faced by migrants through the provision of documentation. Key topics will include the importance of data and evidence on access to justice in contexts of migration, unpacking the ways in which a lack of documentation acts as a barrier to justice, the promise of existing initiatives to increase the documentation of migrants and their families, and reflections on how to coordinate and maximize efforts between international and national actors when it comes to ensuring that people on the move are documented.In particular, the discussion will consider the following questions:

Understanding the challenges

• In what ways does a lack of documentation contribute to the injustices experienced by migrants and displaced populations moving between the countries?
• What are the particular challenges facing children in migrant households who lack access to official documentation and associated rights?

Looking towards solutions

• How can countries develop civil registration systems that are inclusive of migrant populations, including children born to migrant parents?
• What is needed of the international community to support these efforts?
• What role can community-based justice actors and legal empowerment play in assisting and empowering individuals and communities suffering from a lack of documentation of citizenship or other forms of proof of legal identity?
• How can these efforts be taken to scale?
• What efforts have proven successful in addressing the legal identity gap? What set of contextual factors (political, economic, institutional) best explain these successes? What lessons can be taken from these examples and applied elsewhere?

Please find information on accessibility & security at the Permanent Mission of Canada to the UN here. Attendees are encouraged to email the Events team at CNGNY-PRMNY-Events@international.gc.ca should they need any further accommodations.