Policy Brief WP6 – Migration Aspirations and Development Interventions.

This policy brief highlights the results of WP6 in the ADMIGOV project focusing on development interventions and refugees' and other migrants' migration aspirations. The primary questions guiding WP6 were: Under what conditions are migration decision-making processes influenced by development interventions? To what extent do different migration decision-making factors shape migration decisions? The selected countries for analysis were chosen as large refugee hosting environments (Ethiopia, Lebanon, Turkey), being core transit countries towards the European Union (EU) (Mali), and having regular migration of nationals (Ethiopia and Mali). The results show that there is a diversity of access to development assistance across the study countries, that refugees and other migrants are the most likely to plan to migrate, and that the study countries have faced compounding crises' where COVID-19 was not the most formidable crisis facing the individual countries. Three policy implications are highlighted. First, refugees seek to migrate onward due to poor conditions, reflecting that there is a pressing need for further daily assistance and long-term solutions for refugees. Second, very few respondents aspired to return, however, respondents did fear involuntary return, demonstrating that the right to non-refoulement must be protected. Third, the ability of development funding to reduce migration aspirations to the EU is uncertain while development needs continue to be very high.This is the policy brief of AdMiGovwork package 6, more information https://admigov.e