Cairo – The Arab Regional Consultative Process on Migration and Refugees (ARCP) is meeting in Cairo, Egypt on 25-26 July 2017 in preparation for the ongoing consultations on the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) and the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM).

The meeting is organized in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and IOM, the United Nations Migration Agency and aims to ensure the active participation of the members of the League of Arab States (LAS) in the ongoing consultations of the two Global Compacts and encourage their diplomatic missions in New York to coordinate in this regard.

The meeting also aims to raise awareness among LAS Member States on the ongoing processes for the development of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and the Global Compact for Refugees, and to identify key messages, priorities and experiences.

The first of these forums is the Regional Consultation on the GCM, led by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), in collaboration with IOM and LAS, which will be held in Beirut in September 2017.

The ARCP meeting will take place over two days; the first day of the meeting will be dedicated to the GCR and the second day to the GCM.

Among keynote speakers are Ambassador Laura Thompson, Deputy Director General of IOM; H.E Mr. Abdelkrim Benoutiq, Minister Delegate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in charge of Moroccans Living Abroad and Migration Affairs; Ambassador Badre Eddine Allali, Assistant Secretary-General, Head of Social Affairs Sector, League of Arab States; Mrs. Carol Batchelor, Director of International Protection Division, UNHCR; and Ambassador Mohamed Ghoneim, Assistant Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Migration, Refugees and Combatting Human Trafficking, Arab Republic of Egypt.

On day two, dedicated to the Global Compact on Migration, IOM thematic specialists and GCM experts will lead the discussions on an array of topics which include:

• Addressing the drivers of migration;
• Reducing irregular migration and assisting migrants in vulnerable situations.
• Supporting the positive impact of mobility and of diaspora on all dimensions of sustainable development
• Identifying means to strengthen dialogue and partnerships between governments, civil society, private sector and international organizations for safe and orderly migration.

For more information, please contact Hend Eltaweel at IOM's Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa, Email: heltaweel@iom.int