Crisis migration

Conflict, violence, human rights violations and climate change are major drivers of forced displacement worldwide. Persistent instability and the absence of durable solutions contribute to protracted displacement, posing significant socio-economic challenges for both refugees and host communities.

Refugees face several legal and practical barriers to access the labour market and secure decent work. As a result, many refugee workers are often concentrated in low-skilled, informal employment or under-regulated sectors where they are highly vulnerable to poor working conditions, discrimination and exploitation.

Ensuring access to decent work is a vital element of sustainable development solutions. It empowers refugees to actively participate in and contribute to the economies and societies of host communities, while fostering equitable opportunities for national workers and other vulnerable groups in conditions of equality.

122.6 million

people forcibly displaced worldwide, including 32 million refugees and 72 million internally displaced persons

69%

of refugees are hosted in low- and middle-income countries

67%

of refugees have the legal right to work, although practical barriers remain

ILO Response

The ILO has engaged in the labour aspects of forced displacement since its inception, focusing on ensuring access to decent work for both refugees and host communities. Its work is grounded in a comprehensive rights-based framework, aimed at reducing vulnerability and exclusion, enabling rights, ensuring social cohesion, and promoting greater protection and durable solutions for women and men.

Collaborating closely with governments, workers’ and employers' organizations, the ILO implements interventions to:

Enhance governance of labour market access and decent work, by strengthening policy and regulatory frameworks to facilitate refugees' entry into labour markets, enhance institutional capacities and support transition to the formal economy
Ensure respect of fundamental principles and rights at work and access to social protection, including through enhancing awareness and improving enforcement capacities, including for workers in the informal sector
Expand opportunities for employment, skills development and lifelong learning, encompassing initiatives to create jobs, enhance vocational training, and support sustainable income-generating activities for both refugees and host communities.

The ILO ensures that decent work is positioned at the core of the humanitarian, development and peace nexus, fostering sustainable solutions that enhance economic stability, social cohesion, and long-term resilience for both displaced populations and host communities.

International Labour Standards and Guidance

In principle, all international labour standards are applicable to all workers irrespective of nationality and immigration status – including refugees and forcibly displaced persons – unless otherwise stated. Specific standards and guidance applicable to refugee and displacement contexts are the:

Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience Recommendation No. 205, (2017)

Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience Recommendation No. 205, (2017)

Guiding Principles on the Access of Refugees and Other Forcibly Displaced Persons to the Labour Market (2016)

ILO tools and interventions models

Programmes and projects

Partnership for improving prospects for forcibly displaced persons and host communities (PROSPECTS)

students of technical schools wearing helmets smiling

Partnership for improving prospects for forcibly displaced persons and host communities (PROSPECTS)

Proyecto Lazos: Integración socioeconómica de personas refugiadas y migrantes

Improving Skills and Economic Opportunities for the Women and Youth in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh (ISEC)

Promoting Decent Work For Syrians Under Temporary Protection and Turkish Citizens

Promoting Decent Work For Syrians Under Temporary Protection and Turkish Citizens

Regional responses

The ILO implements interventions across all regions to support displaced populations and host communities through employment and decent work initiatives. These efforts include:

Implementing activities in Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritania, Niger, Sudan, Uganda, and Zambia to enhance economic inclusion, promote decent work, and foster social cohesion between displaced populations and their host communities.
Supporting the Syrian refugee response in Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq, focusing on labour market integration, skills development, and social protection; as well as interventions to support refugees and internally displaced people in Yemen.
Supporting the Syrian refugee response through skills development and access to formal employment in Türkiye. Labour market recovery activities in Ukraine and interventions in Moldova to enhance employment opportunities for Ukrainian refugees and the host community.
Responding to the Venezuelan displacement crisis and broader forced and mixed migration challenges through interventions in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay with a focus on job creation, skills recognition, and formal labour market access.
Facilitating employment opportunities and skills development for vulnerable communities in the Cox’s Bazar district in Bangladesh; supporting access to decent employment opportunities for refugees and host communities in Nepal and Pakistan; and support for labour market reintegration of returnees from Afghanistan.

Partnerships

The ILO and the Global Compact on Refugees

The ILO and UNHCR

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