The Model International Mobility Convention (MIMC) proposes a better system for migration and mobility by addressing gaps in existing international law. It offers a comprehensive set of rules, outlining actions, rights, and duties that benefit both migrants and refugees as well as their states of origin, transit, and destination.
Overview
International mobility—the movement of individuals across borders for any length of time, such as visitors, students, tourists, labor migrants, entrepreneurs, long-term residents, forced migrants, refugees, victims of trafficking, people caught in countries in crisis, and family members—has no common definition or legal framework.
The Model International Mobility Convention (MIMC) creates, for the first time, a holistic and cumulative framework to cover different categories of mobile people. It proposes a framework for international human mobility with goals of reaffirming their existing rights, while also expanding those rights where warranted.
Seeking to better protect the rights of all persons crossing international borders, the MIMC covers a broad spectrum of migrants and unpacks a range of migrant rights. By demonstrating what a better international mobility regime could look like, it hopes to take away undue concerns, assure uneasy publics, and inspire action.
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Model International Mobility Declaration
In 165 articles divided over eight chapters, the Convention establishes both the minimum rights afforded to all people who cross state borders as visitors, and the special rights afforded to tourists, students, migrant workers, investors, and residents, forced migrants, refugees, migrant victims of trafficking, and migrants caught in countries in crisis.
Some of these categories are covered by existing international legal regimes. However, in this Convention these groups are for the first time brought together under a single framework.
Development of the MIMC
The Model International Mobility Convention (MIMC) was developed by an International Mobility Commission at meetings organized by the Columbia Global Policy Initiative. It involved over forty eminent academic and policy experts in the fields of migration, human rights, national security, labor economics, and refugee law. The Commission came together to debate and develop the MIMC in workshops conducted regularly from early 2015 through April 2017. The MIMC is the outcome of this collaborative effort to produce a comprehensive and greatly needed international legal framework for human mobility. Through extensive deliberation, the Commission developed a coherent and equitable Model Convention
Having published the Convention, MIMC 1.0, in 2018, the next step in the development of the Convention was a meeting hosted in the University of Pennsylvania’s Perry World House in February 2019. The workshop produced the Model International Mobility Declaration (or MIMC 2.0), a summary version of MIMC 1.0. Continuing the promotion and progressive development of the Convention, the MIMC project joined Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs as an Impact Initiative.
Thematic Areas of Inquiry for MIMC 3.0
Climate-induced Mobility
With climate change disproportionately affecting people in vulnerable situations, migration due to climate and weather-related events will continue to increase in the coming decades. What are some ways that governments and international institutions can help these displaced populations? Are there legal pathways for people displaced due to climate change?
For more on this issue:
A Reflection on Climate Mobility: Has Causality Lost Resonance? by Mehreen Afzal
"Forced Migrants," Human Rights, and "Climate Refugees" by Michael Doyle
Pandemic-induced Mobility
As the COVID-19 pandemic showed, diseases and viruses can have destabilizing effects on societies and increase migration, especially among the most vulnerable populations. How can governments and international institutions be better prepared for the next pandemic? Should migrants moving because of a pandemic have a different type of legal status?
Digital Commuting/Digital Nomads
With the ubiquity of Internet-enabled devices and WifI across many nations and societies, people can now live in one nation and virtually work in another. What are the global implications of digital border-hopping? How will this affect migration in the coming decades?
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Featured MIMC Podcasts, Events, & Articles
Insights from our Senior Fellows & Advisory Board
MAR 10, 2025 • Article
In Search of a Migration Governance Framework for the Modern Age
The time for a crisis-driven approach to migration has passed. A pragmatic global response is needed—and MIMC is the mechanism to get us there.
MAR 17, 2025 • Article
An Immigration Philosophy Fit for Our Better Selves
America needs an immigration policy that can meet its duties, reflect its values, and serve its interests. How can we create this more ethical framework?
MIMC Team
Michael W. Doyle
Carnegie Council Senior Fellow, Model International Mobility Convention (MIMC); Former Carnegie Council Trustee; Columbia University
More MIMC Podcasts, Events, & Articles
APR 23, 2025 • Video
The State of Migration in 2025: Balancing Values and Interests at the International and Local Levels
This event examined the state of migration in 2025 at the international & local levels, featuring discussions led by Senior Fellow Michael Doyle and journalist Molly O'Toole.
MAR 17, 2025 • Article
An Immigration Philosophy Fit for Our Better Selves
America needs an immigration policy that can meet its duties, reflect its values, and serve its interests. How can we create this more ethical framework?
MAR 10, 2025 • Article
In Search of a Migration Governance Framework for the Modern Age
The time for a crisis-driven approach to migration has passed. A pragmatic global response is needed—and MIMC is the mechanism to get us there.
MAY 30, 2024 • Article
A Reflection on Climate Mobility: Has Causality Lost Resonance?
With the recent European Court of Human Rights' ruling against Switzerland in mind, Dr. Mehreen Afzal discusses a legal pathway forward for climate-induced cross-border migration.
MAY 28, 2024 • Article
Addressing the Human Tragedy in the Darién Gap: A Call for Innovative Solutions
With hundreds of thousands of migrants making the dangerous trek through the Darién Gap each year, MIMC could offer new solutions, writes Susie Han.