Mediterranean City-Tocity Migration (Mc2cm) Phase Ii

Purpose and JustificationThe MC2CM has the objectives to ensure access to adequate housing (including access to basic services), and participatory planning for all citizens, including migrants. Such aims are specifically targeted in SDG 11 “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. Enhancing inclusive and sustainable urbanization and access to adequate, safe and affordable housing is included in SDG 11, and directly relates to UN-Habitat’s mandate.• From the perspective of the work on the right to adequate housing (UN Housing Rights Programme) an established knowledge base as well as information-gathering and exchange tools that will provide the basis for future policy development in participating cities as well as non-participating cities, and at the level of regional, national and international cooperation within the Southern Mediterranean region and beyond.• Elaboration of the City Priority Papers for migration planning, as well as the toolkit for local-level migration planning, as they relate to the Peer-to-Peer Dialogue Groups.• Representation of vulnerable groups in the CSGs and in the research (in particular past and current work on urban migration and Indigenous peoples).Local Priorities Building and maintaining network of local and national stakeholders -Lack of availability of vital data and information in participating cities might be a hindrance to the proposed action. -Lack of political support for the objectives and activities of the project at the local governmental level might also be another hindrance. National Priorities Develop a functioning and sustainable expert network of local and national focal points through 10 working groups established at city level for stakeholder dialogue, data collection and the development of City Priority Papers on migration planning. - Political changes due to local and national elections in participating cities or regional developments changing the stakeholders with whom collaboration has already been established Regional Priorities Contribute to improved migration planning at city level in the Southern Mediterranean region, including access to human rights. -Inability to or discontinuation of use of the MC2CM website and the IT-based information exchange tools might affect the proposed action. Global Priorities Have a global multiplier effects by establishing a knowledge base as well as information-gathering and exchange tools that will provide the basis for future policy development in participating cities as well as non-participating cities, and at the level of regional, national and international cooperation within the Southern Mediterranean region and beyond. -However, a broad scope of thematic areas and information to be covered might be a hindrance. National BackgroundWith most migration taking place within regions and, in fact, a majority of migrants moving from a specific place to another, cities are becoming de facto managers of migration. These developments confront cities with specific challenges related to service provision, residence, settlement and social cohesion. Cities have to prepare for the fact that they will receive both migrants intending to stay for a few weeks, months or years as well as migrants who will be staying for good. European and Arab cities have both learned important lessons from migratory movements of the past century that can serve as a cautionary tale to new immigration receiving cities. Experiences such as Lyon’s sharp social and racial divisions in as a result of housing policies, as well as Vienna’s challenge of integrating long-term immigrants who were for decades treated as temporary workers can serve as powerful lessons for cities starting to become centres of migration. The Mediterranean region, and in particular countries in North Africa, comprise a wide spectrum and diversity of situations of migrant and host communities. Migration trajectories are becoming more complex, and the division between source, transit and destination countries is becoming more and more artificial and nuanced. For example, traditional centres of origin and transit of migration, Tunis and Tangier, are becoming places of destination for migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe, among others. Against this background, there is an identified need for cities and central governments to jointly address policy implementation gaps so as to better align national migration policy to realities on the ground. This way, national policies, such as the Kingdom of Morocco’s recent national policy on migration, can guarantee their practical implementation on the ground, as well as the work done by UN-Habitat on National Urban Policies in the region.Sectoral BackgroundAs the level of government closest to citizens, cities are on the front-line, confronting challenges and opportunities that migration brings about. The MC2CM project has identified some significant common trends and challenges for migration governance at the local level, notably:• The division between source, transit and destination countries is becoming more artificial, with cities attracting increasing number of migrants. This phenomenon is coupled with growing urbanization and establishment of wider urban structures such as metropolises where migrants congregate. For example 40% of immigrants coming to Tunisia settle in the Tunis metropolitan area,  37% of newcomers coming to Vienna from another province in 2015 were born abroad, whereas the average share of international migrants in all federal provinces stood at 11% in that year.  In Turin, despite feeling the effects of the economic crisis, the incoming of migrants remained steady, with the share of foreign residents reaching just under 10% in 2016. • Migration is a local reality – with local governments facing the effects of migration policies on a daily basis. By way of example, 10% of total permits awarded during the regularization campaign of 2014/2015 in Morocco were residents of Tangier, meaning that the city is better equipped to provide services and opportunities to people who are no longer in an irregular administrative situation.  Meanwhile, the city of Madrid has to address the stark reality that a share of migrants residing in its territory are undocumented, with the consequences this has for the city in terms of pressure on services as well as the informal economy. • Legislative framework, regulated at a regional and/or national level, matters in particular when it comes to the provision of rights and entitlements to migrants. In Vienna, the fact that asylum seekers do not have the right to work provides a major barrier for long-term integration of future refugees in the city. • There is a lack of readily available data on migration at local level. In Morocco for example, official census data indicates that Tangier has a foreign born population of under 1% - but the reality of this port city, located less than 20 km away from European shore, is such that it has a much higher proportion of ‘invisible’ migrants, often in transit, with the challenges that this entails for service provision, among others. The drafting of the City Migration Profiles has been an elucidating exercise for cities such as Tangier and Tunis as a first attempt at mapping the immigration landscape at the local level. For other cities such as Lyon, the exercise has revealed new evidence about the city’s policies that was unbeknownst to sectors of the municipality addressing migrant populations. • The discourse on migration can have a detrimental effect on social cohesion. As the level of government closest to citizens, municipalities can play a direct role in dispelling myths, stereotypes and promoting a balanced narrative on migration – rooted in citizen’s everyday experiences. There is a perceived competition for resources among local populations that hinders some of the actions targeting migrant populations in host communities. This challenge is observed in every city in MC2CM and represents a major barrier to advancing in the field of migration at local level.