To commemorate thirty years of work and cooperation between its Participating States and organizations on migration, asylum and refugee issues, the Intergovernmental Consultations on Migration, Asylum and Refugees (IGC) commissioned a publication that explores the history, operating methods and impact of the IGC process. Entitled In a Constructive, Informal and Pragmatic Spirit, it gives the reader a thorough understanding of the circumstances surrounding the establishment of the IGC, the manner in which it has evolved, the way in which it operates today, and the impact that it has had on the migration, asylum and refugee policies of its Participating States.

The report mounts a powerful argument for the role of inter-governmental cooperation in improving migration, integration and protection outcomes, a topic of particular relevance as states work towards the adoption of the global compacts on refugees and for safe, orderly and regular migration. Throughout three decades, IGC has been a place for innovation and exchange of information and ideas on how to manage migration, asylum and refugee systems.

The author Patrick Wall drew on extensive archival research and interviews with relevant actors. The report demonstrates the accomplishments of this process to date and is structured as follows:

• An Introduction that places IGC in the wider constellation of regional consultative processes on migration;
• An examination of the History and Evolution of IGC from the first ad hoc meeting in 1985 to the mature and sophisticated present structure;
• A chapter on IGC’s Operating Principles, Composition, Structure and Activities detailing the current organization;
• A chapter on IGC’s Impact, its influence in creating conditions for de facto harmonization and substantive improvements to asylum, refugee and migration systems of IGC States; and
• A Conclusion exploring the future of IGC.