We are proud to announce that Christian Steiner, CEO of Helvetas USA, has signed the Model International Mobility Convention (MIMC), marking a significant step in reaffirming the organization’s commitment to a rights-based and cooperative approach to global mobility.
Helvetas, an international development organization, has long operated at the nexus of migration, labor mobility, and sustainable development. Across Asia, Africa, and Europe, Helvetas’ programming offers tangible illustrations of MIMC’s core principles in action—showcasing what it looks like when migration systems are people-centered, development-oriented, and grounded in rights and dignity.
“The foundation of Helvetas is the vision of a just world in which all men and women determine the course of their lives in dignity and security,” said Steiner in a recent interview with the MIMC team. “Yet this vision is under threat. From a migration perspective, the public debate has turned toxic. We’re deeply concerned by the rise in pushbacks, migrant deaths, offshoring of asylum, and escalating violence against people on the move.”
In response to these concerning trends, Helvetas views MIMC as a timely and necessary initiative—one that puts rights and responsibilities back at the heart of global migration governance and helps steer public discourse away from fear-based narratives. “The MIMC offers a development-focused vision that helps build coalitions grounded in rights-based principles,” Steiner noted.
Helvetas’ fieldwork offers rich insight into how to translate these values into practice. The Strengthened and Informative Migration Systems (SIMS) project in Bangladesh enhances protections for labor migrants through legal assistance and financial literacy. In Nepal, the Safer Migration (SaMi) program empowers prospective migrants with information and support, while work in Tunisia supports children and youth navigating complex migration routes. These efforts are built on local partnerships with civil society, returnee networks, and migrant-led groups, ensuring that solutions are responsive to lived realities and designed for sustainability.
“By positioning migrant communities and civil society as co-creators, we ensure our programs are accountable, trusted, and locally owned,” Steiner added. “This is what people-centered mobility looks like.”
The MIMC team is inspired by Helvetas’ leadership and thrilled to welcome them into the initiative’s growing community of practice. Their signature reinforces the belief that migration—when governed ethically—can be a powerful driver of shared prosperity.
We encourage other organizations committed to this vision to explore the Convention and consider signing on here.
Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs is an independent and nonpartisan nonprofit. The views expressed within this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Carnegie Council.
