Stranded migrants: a call to rethink the current labour migration paradigm

Abstract

Examining recent cases in which migrant workers have been deemed ‘stranded’ and the emerging international discourse on the concept of stranded migrants, we explore the need for clarity with regard to who stranded migrants are, and for a paradigm shift in the governance of labour migration in response to such circumstances. The crisis in Libya, flooding in Thailand and the tsunami/nuclear disaster in Japan – all of which have legitimately rendered migrants stranded – and the ensuing talk about stranding at the international level reveal significant gaps in the current thinking on labour migration. Migrants stranded in emergencies call attention to serious flaws in the prevailing labour migration regime, and their struggle for the recognition of their rights illuminates the need for a thorough overhaul of accepted practices in migration governance. Furthermore, the emerging international discourse on stranded migrants points to a worryingly myopic understanding of the concept of stranding that risks relegating stranded migrants to the realm of humanitarian assistance, smartly giving states leeway to circumvent more complex conversations about the human rights failings of the labour migration regime that continually lead migrants to become ‘stuck’ in countries of transit and/or destination.