Understanding the Model International Mobility Convention

The Global Cable

On this episode of The Global Cable, Perry World House Inaugural Director William Burke-White is joined by Perry World House Distinguished Scholar, Former Assistant Secretary-General and special adviser to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan & Columbia University Law Professor Michael Doyle to discuss the Model International Mobility Convention, which aims to create a model set of rules and standards for mobility, considered as a whole.

Michael Doyle specializes in international relations theory, international security, and international organizations. Doyle previously served as assistant secretary-general and special adviser to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan from 2001 to 2003. His responsibilities included strategic planning (Millennium Development Goals), outreach to the international corporate sector (the Global Compact), and relations with Washington. Doyle has been a member of the Council on Foreign Relations since 1992 and is the former chair of the Academic Council of the United Nations System. He has also been a senior fellow and a member of the Board of Directors of the International Peace Institute since 1996. In 2001, he was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; in 2009, to the American Philosophical Society; and in 2012, to the American Academy of Political and Social Science. He served as chair of the board of the UN Democracy Fund (UNDEF) from 2006–2013. In 2015, Doyle helped develop the Model International Mobility Convention which represents a shared framework among over 40 academics. It serves the ambitious goal of creating a holistic, rights-respecting governance regime for all aspects of international migration, filling in the gaps in the existing international legal regime and expanding protections where needed. Doyle holds a BA from Harvard College (1970), and an MA (1972) and Ph.D. (1977) from Harvard University.

00:10 - Introduction with Inaugural Director Prof. Willian Burke-White and Global Shifts Program Manager Jocelyn Perry

03:20 - The Model International Mobility Convention

05:15 - Framing Mobility as a Broader Concept

08:02 - Human Movement - Human Right or Economic Benefit?

13:05 - The Role of the Changing Political Landscape

16:50 - Previous Conventions & Reasons for Optimism

19:20 - Doyle's Role as Assistant Secretary-General and special adviser to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan

23:40 - The Biggest Challenges faced by the World

27:20 - Career Advice

28:30 - Outro

Music & Produced by Tre Hester