IRIS Handbook for Governments on Ethical Recruitment and Migrant Worker Protection

The IRIS Handbook for Governments on Ethical Recruitment and Migrant Worker Protection is IOM’s flagship global guidance tool for governments on ethical recruitment and migrant worker protection. It builds directly on the Montreal Recommendations on Recruitment: A Road Map towards Better Regulation with more detailed measures for consideration, and profiles relevant concrete actions that governments around the world have taken. It is complementary to and in close alignment with the priorities and objectives of the Global Policy Network on Recruitment and its thematic working groups.

The IRIS Handbook is intended to assist government officials in their capacities as policymakers, regulators, inspection and enforcement authorities, labour attachés and other practitioners at various levels of administration (national, subnational), across relevant portfolios (immigration, labour, consumer foreign affairs, etc.) and in countries of origin, transit and destination. Guidance is arranged thematically in the following chapters:

• Chapter 1: Adopting a rights-based regulatory approach to international labour recruitment: Ensuring the protection of migrant workers through ethical recruitment regulation   (español)
• Chapter 2: Implementing and improving licensing frameworks   (español)
• Chapter 3: Strengthening the effectiveness of inspectorates    (español)
• Chapter 4: Advancing inter-state cooperation    (español)
• Chapter 5: Migrant-facing information and awareness campaigns and initiatives: a compendium of examples

The IRIS Handbook is a comprehensive tool to support governments in their regulatory and operational efforts to enhance migrant worker protection and create regulatory environments that enable ethical recruitment worldwide. It aligns closely with the IRIS modular training programme for governments: for which officials are encouraged to contact the IRIS Secretariat for more information (iris@iom.int).