Safeguarding Economic Rights in Irregular Migration: Practical Pathways for Protection and Regularisation

This research project seeks to explore two interrelated, critical questions: “how do States situated along key migration corridors safeguard irregular migrants’ economic rights?” and, more specifically, “to what extent are measures and models to prevent and prosecute labour exploitation and forced labour (incl. through anti-trafficking efforts) effective in practice?”

Kondan & Symss Consultancy Inc. is a Toronto-based international consulting firm that works globally across more than 30 countries. Over the past decade, the firm has developed strong expertise in irregular migration by evaluating various global return and reintegration platforms/facilities alongside multiple protection and migration-related projects.

Through these engagements, the firm has observed that while policymakers and practitioners often voice strong interest in upholding the economic rights of irregular migrants, there is little case study documentation that shows what has worked and why certain commitments fall short. This gap is especially pressing in States facing rising demand for labour migration but with limited experience in managing bilateral agreements or temporary migration schemes. Therefore, the project aims to address this evidence gap by producing research across the proposed objectives, alongside a series of public-facing briefs that synthesize findings into accessible lessons learned.

Faculty Supervisor:

Robert Austin

Student:

Partner:

Kondan & Symss Consultancy Inc.

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of Toronto

Program: