E.g., 04/23/2024
E.g., 04/23/2024
Middle East & North Africa

Middle East & North Africa

The Middle East and North Africa span both poles of migration: as countries of migrant destination, particularly in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and as countries of migrant origin. The region has a large supply of young, active workers, with millions working elsewhere in the region or in Europe. The research here focuses on labor and humanitarian migration to and from the region, including the policies and regulations that govern such migration, protection and integration issues for the region's refugees, diaspora engagement, migration cooperation and reintegration agreements with European governments, and more.

Migrant workers on a farm in Jordan
Reports

Diverging Paths: The Impacts of COVID-19 on Migration in the Middle East and North Africa

The COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on mobility in the Middle East and North Africa were immediate and wide-reaching. These include the world’s largest and most sustained repatriation efforts for stranded migrants, halted and reversed irregular journeys, and a reckoning with some countries’ reliance on foreign labor. This report examines how these impacts varied across countries in this highly diverse region, as well as the uneven recovery.

Paintings of the Algerian and Moroccan flags on a brick wall
Articles

Tense Neighbors, Algeria and Morocco Have Divergent Migration Histories

Algeria and Morocco sit along a crucial migration corridor between Africa and Europe and have often been defined by their rivalry. Although both have been reluctant to welcome large numbers of sub-Saharan African migrants, their motivations have been different. And historically, their approaches to emigration have been a study in contrasts. This article explores the factors driving migration policy in these two countries.

Recent Activity

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Books
October 2016
All at Sea: The Policy Challenges of Rescue, Interception, and Long-Term Response to Maritime Migration
By  Kathleen Newland, Elizabeth Collett, Kate Hooper and Sarah Flamm
BoatMigrants ARodriguez UNHCR
Multimedia
September 16, 2016
The Mediterranean Dimension of the Refugee Crisis: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities for Cooperation
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Articles
May 18, 2016
Kenyan Migration to the Gulf Countries: Balancing Economic Interests and Worker Protection
By Froilan Malit, Jr. and Ali Al Youha
Massive Influx of Syrian Kurdish Refugees into Turkey flickr European Commission DG
Multimedia
March 31, 2016
Resettlement Plus: Clearing the Path to Safety and Opportunity for Refugees
Boat SteveEvans Flickr
Commentaries
March 2016
The Paradox of the EU-Turkey Refugee Deal
By  Elizabeth Collett
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Reports
March 2016
No Way Out? Making Additional Migration Channels Work for Refugees
By  Elizabeth Collett, Paul Clewett and Susan Fratzke
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Articles
December 17, 2015
Displacement Reaches Record High as Wars Continue and New Conflicts Emerge
By Susan Fratzke
Cover Top10 4Smuggling
Articles
December 15, 2015
Big Business of Smuggling Enables Mass Movement of People for Enormous Profits
By Elizabeth Collett

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Feature
July 2, 2014
Temporary Protected Status in the United States: A Grant of Humanitarian Relief that Is Less than Permanent
From a massive typhoon in the Philippines last November to the ongoing civil war in Syria, recent global events demonstrate that natural disasters and political strife occur suddenly and often without warning. This article examines the U.S. Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program that grants humanitarian relief to nationals of certain countries embroiled in violent conflict or recovering from natural disaster.
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Feature
April 9, 2014
Global Civil Society in Qatar and the Gulf Cooperation Council: Emerging Dilemmas and Opportunities

As Qatar races to build its infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup, international civil-society actors increasingly are highlighting the harsh conditions under which temporary labor migrants often work in Qatar and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. This article examines the emerging roles, challenges, and opportunities that civil-society groups face in the region; it also analyzes the prevailing legal and political structures where civil society operates in the Gulf.

CP Morocco 2014
Profile
April 8, 2014
Maroc: Préparer le Terrain pour Devenir un Pays de Transition Migratoire?

Sous l’effet du nombre croissant de migrants sur son sol, la société marocaine se retrouve confrontée à un ensemble totalement nouveau de questions sociales et juridiques qui sont typiques des pays d’immigration. Face à cette évolution, les autorités marocaines ont annoncé une nouvelle politique migratoire en 2013, que ce profil pays se propose d’analyser.

The Strait of Gibraltar is a migration passage for tens of thousands of Moroccans each year. (Photo courtesy of NASA)
Profile
March 19, 2014
Morocco: Setting the Stage for Becoming a Migration Transition Country?

Morocco has evolved into one of the world’s leading emigration countries. European immigration restrictions did not stop migration, but rather pushed Moroccan migrants into permanent settlement, prompting large-scale family reunification. Morocco is also becoming a destination country, and the growing presence of immigrants confronts Moroccan society with an entirely new set of social and legal issues typical for immigration countries, as this country profile explores.

Top Ten
December 18, 2013
The Escalating Syrian Refugee Crisis Challenges the International Community's Ability to Respond

With more than 2.2 million Syrians who have already sought refuge abroad and more than 4 million others displaced internally, the challenges that the international community are facing from the Syrian humanitarian crisis continue to mount.

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Recent Activity

Expert Q&A, Audio
July 12, 2023

Climate Migration 101

Climate migration sounds simple. It is not. MPI’s Lawrence Huang answers some of the most common questions around one of the least understood dynamics in human movement.

Reports
June 2023

Building Meaningful Refugee Participation into Protection Policymaking

One promising—but often underutilized—element of addressing the world’s urgent humanitarian protection needs is meaningfully engaging refugees in policymaking processes. As this report highlights, consultations, advisory roles, and leadership and staff positions can help ensure refugees’ knowledge and expertise are reflected in policy responses to displacement. The study also examines common limitations and ways to make engagement more impactful.  

Articles
May 18, 2023

Tense Neighbors, Algeria and Morocco Have Divergent Migration Histories

Algeria and Morocco sit along a crucial migration corridor between Africa and Europe and have often been defined by their rivalry. Although both have been reluctant to welcome large numbers of sub-Saharan African migrants, their motivations have been different. And historically, their approaches to emigration have been a study in contrasts. This article explores the factors driving migration policy in these two countries.

Articles
May 3, 2023

Generations of Palestinian Refugees Face Protracted Displacement and Dispossession

Palestinians constitute the world’s longest protracted refugee situation and largest stateless community. Yet their plight has often been eclipsed by more recent displacement crises and dismissed as unsolvable. Other factors have contributed to Palestinian refugees’ situation, including the near impossibility of obtaining citizenship in many host countries and precarious funding for support, as this article explains.

Reports
February 2023

External Processing: A Tool to Expand Protection or Further Restrict Territorial Asylum?

As asylum systems in many countries have come under considerable strain in recent years, there has been renewed interest in external processing—that is, conducting part or all of an asylum procedure outside a destination country’s territory. Some countries have pursued this to deter spontaneous arrivals, but as this report explores, others are using various external processing models to expand access to protection.

Policy Briefs
November 2022

Reassessing Recruitment Costs in a Changing World of Labor Migration

Migrant workers can pay a range of costs when they are recruited and relocate for jobs abroad, accruing significant debt. While many countries, international organizations, and other stakeholders have sought to reduce or eliminate recruitment costs, the pandemic has exacerbated and added to these expenses. This policy brief explores how the costs migrant workers face have changed, and what these developments mean for efforts to promote fair and ethical recruitment.

Articles
November 17, 2022

Who Represents the Country? A Short History of Foreign-Born Athletes in the World Cup

Historically, nearly one in ten male soccer players at the FIFA World Cup were born in a country other than the one listed on their jersey. At times, the presence of these internationally born athletes can prompt difficult questions about the meaning of the nation and who gets to represent it. This article examines the long history of multinational athletes in top-level competitions.

Reports
November 2022

Financing Responses to Climate Migration: The Unique Role of Multilateral Development Banks

Multilateral development banks (MDBs) have emerged as major players in responding to climate change, investing in sustainable infrastructure and climate resilience. But while many MDBs have shown interest in projects with positive impacts for climate migrants and host communities, they sometimes struggle to maximize these effects. This report examines MDBs’ role in responding to climate-related migration and displacement to date and opportunities to scale up their work.

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