Hugues Labas has a long history of working in Italy and around the world to improve the rights and uphold the dignity of migrants - every day families forcibly evicted and those who risk everything to flee war, natural catastrophes, poverty, and hunger, sometimes with only the clothes on their backs.

An experienced humanitarian professional with substantial expertise in the policy field, Hugues has advocated for the rights of migrants and refugees to access legal protection, including asylum, due process, access to courts, family unity, and other solutions that uphold the rule of Law for more than 25 years.

His early work focused on immigrant-led initiatives in Palermo - Italy’s most ethnically diverse city, one seemingly at ease with its melting pot status, where he gave the Mediterranean Lampedusa’s newcomers unprecedented visibility and influence.

Hugues worked as an Outreach Specialist for Migrant’ education at Santa Chiara - Caritas Diocesana di Palermo, a Catholic relief organization where in liaison with the Italian government and the European Union (EU) he served extensively on international migration governance and cooperation issues.

Cognizant that refugee and migrant crises are extensions of colonization, and with many former colonial powers failing to safeguard vulnerable people as required by law, he championed successful campaigns against ‘offshoring’ asylum policy, and galvanized support for a durable resettlement for refugees and the forcibly displaced while they are between camps. He also provided consultancy services to private companies wishing to improve case management for refugees and asylum seekers.

Most recently, he was African Parliamentary Alliance for United Nations Reform (APAUNR) Regional Representative for Southern Europe, based in Rome. In this capacity, he liaised with local partners and international organizations like the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and worked with governments to strengthen and change nationality laws, policies, and procedures, helping countless stateless people to acquire nationality. By helping to provide legal identity for all, including birth registration, preventing new cases of statelessness from emerging, and supporting campaigns to end Statelessness, his efforts directly advanced the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).

Before joining APAUNR, Hugues was a Peace Ambassador at the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) - an NGO in General Consultative Status with United Nation's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). As UPF-Peace Ambassador, he supported the organization’s ability to advance the universal values that are enshrined in the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This effort propelled UPF to join the United Nations in its pledge and commitment to strengthen universal peace and achieve international cooperation, so all people may live together in mutual respect, harmony, cooperation, and co-prosperity.

Fluent in French and Italian, Hugues will help UNCM have a better understanding of the role colonization is playing in migration. He holds a Bachelor of Arts with a focus on sociology and psychology from Université d'Abidjan and studied law at the Università degli Studi di Palermo.