The Mixed Migration Centre (MMC) of the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is launching its 6th edition of the Mixed Migration Review (MMR), its flagship annual report, on 29 November 2023.
The MMR 2023 offers comprehensive, nuanced, and in-depth insights on mixed migration dynamics, with a focus on regional perspectives and South-South migration. Contrary to the disproportionate attention in policy and public discourse towards migratory routes to the “Global North”, the 248-page report provides a balanced understanding of mixed movements around the world.
“This year we continued to see a need for better migration policies and approaches, and, sadly, many examples of unacceptable violence and actions against migrants, such as the brutal killings of Ethiopian migrants at the Saudi-Yemen border, numerous preventable deaths at sea such as the tragic deadly shipwreck off Pylos in June and mass expulsions and pushbacks. The international community is not doing enough to achieve the agreed objectives of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. We must strive for policies that acknowledge the reality of mixed migration and prioritise human rights and protection for all. With this report, we highlight the unique challenges and opportunities that arise from interregional migration, which are crucial to consider for well-informed debates and policies on mixed migration,” said Bram Frouws, Director of the Mixed Migration Centre.
In its global overview, the report presents a ‘Normalising the extreme’ section: an overview of the increasingly extreme policies, actions and attitudes to mixed migration around the world. Its sister section ‘Resisting the extreme’ presents a more optimistic counterpoint of examples which support and protect refugees and migrants. The report is then divided into sections covering Africa, the Middle East, The Americas, Europe, and Asia, beginning with a summary of the main migration dynamics and policy developments in each region.
Thematic snapshots zoom in on specific contexts such as Egypt’s mixed migration, migrant risks and ‘disappearances’ in Mexico, the global rise of border walls and the prosecution of high-profile traffickers. Essays from each region provide in-depth analysis of critical issues such as the US administration’s “carrot and stick” approach to mixed migration in the Americas, temporary protection of Ukrainian refugees, and Bangladesh’s complex mixed migration landscape. Interviews with thought leaders and key regional experts on migration and displacement, including Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Ugochi Daniels, IOM Deputy Director General and Patricia Sellers, Special Advisor for Slavery Crimes for the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, explore topics such as the 1951 Refugee Convention, the benefits of migration and the intersection of migration, criminal and human rights law. Each section also features a personal migrant story by people who moved within their region, and alternative perspectives on regional migration issues, written by young essay competition prize winners from and based in the ‘majority world’. The report ends with five book reviews of recommended further reading on migration.
“Each year, thousands of migrants and refugees risk their lives and face violence and abuses on dangerous migration routes as a result of a lack of legal options and inadequate asylum and migration policies. To ensure safer mobility and save lives, we need to have a balanced, nuanced, and evidence-based understanding of mixed migration within regions and countries. This Mixed Migration Review should be mandatory reading for policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders to facilitate discussions and decisions on mixed migration,” said Charlotte Slente, Secretary General of the Danish Refugee Council.
The MMR 2023 is being launched in an online event on the 29th of November at 14:00 CET with a panel discussion on challenging Western-centric perspectives on mixed migration. Speakers from Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America include Sana Mustafa, Chief Executive Officer of Asylum Access, Gaia Vince, Journalist, Author and Broadcaster, Eromo Egbejule, Africa Editor of Al Jazeera, and Guerline Jozef, Founder and Executive Director of Haitian Bridge Alliance.
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For interview requests and further information, please contact:
- Bram Frouws, Director of the Mixed Migration Centre, at bram.frouws@mixedmigration.org
- Fiona Servaes, Global Communication Coordinator, at fiona.servaes@mixedmigration.org
- DRC Press Office, at press@drc.ngo / +45 28116727
About the Mixed Migration Review (MMR):
The Mixed Migration Review 2023, the flagship annual report by the Mixed Migration Centre (MMC), presents a wide-ranging global review keeping track of all mixed migration events and policy developments over the year. This Review offers a deliberately regional focus, mainly through interviews with critical regional thinkers and practitioners in the sector, essays and snapshots spotlighting regional questions and in-depth and personal migrant stories.
About the Mixed Migration Centre (MMC):
MMC is a global network engaged in data collection, research, analysis, and policy and programmatic development on mixed migration, with regional hubs in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Latin America, and a global team based across Copenhagen, Geneva and Brussels.
MMC is a leading source for independent and high-quality data, research, analysis and expertise. MMC aims to increase understanding of mixed migration, to positively impact global and regional migration policies, to inform evidence-based mixed migration responses for people on the move and to stimulate forward thinking in public and policy debates on mixed migration. MMC’s overarching focus is on human rights and protection for all people on the move.
MMC is part of the Danish Refugee Council (DRC). While its institutional link to DRC ensures MMC’s work is grounded in operational reality, it acts as an independent source of data, research, analysis and policy development on mixed migration for policy makers, practitioners, journalists, and the broader humanitarian sector.
For more information visit mixedmigration.org and follow us at @Mixed_Migration