The Civil Registration and Migration Project was launched in May 2011. With it, Jamaica strives to maximize the benefits associated with the management of migration and civil registration through the implementation of growth initiatives driven by the review and formulation of foreign policies; diaspora partnerships and investment; urban and rural development; public and private partnerships; and facilitation of an enabling environment conducive for generating economic growth. These are all key components of our country’s growth agenda.

Objective of the Civil Registration and Migration Project

The aim of the project is to enhance the government’s capacity to effectively integrate migration into development planning and to develop a framework for data collection and analysis which will lead to the design of evidence-based development programmes.

Highlights of the project to date:

• Establishment of a National Working Group on International Migration and Development and sub-committees
• Tabling of a National Policy on International Migration and Development as a White Paper
• Provision of support to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the development of a draft Diaspora Policy
• Collaboration with STATIN in the design and implementation of a national migration statistics database
• Provision of technical support to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in Diaspora Mapping Project
• Facilitation of south to south dialogue with Cape Verde and Belize
• Facilitation of study tour to the Philippines to learn and adopt migration labour statistics, policy and diaspora best practices
• Contribution to Global Project Board Meetings and other international migration meetings
• Facilitation of feasibility study for the introduction of a diaspora card
• Facilitation of a plan of action for the reintegration and integration of forced returnees
• Development of a Migration Policy Implementation Plan (2017–2022)
• Training and sensitization in trafficking in persons across ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs)
• Facilitated national consultations and participation in international negotiations of Global Compact for Migration