Switzerland - The Sixth Global Meeting of Chairs and Secretariats of Regional Consultative Processes on migration (Global RCP Meeting) took place yesterday (13/09) in Geneva, Switzerland under the theme: Migration and the Sustainable Development Goals: the Role of Inter-state Consultation Mechanisms on Migration and of Regional Economic Organizations.

The meeting brought together representatives of 19 Inter-State Consultation Mechanisms on migration (ISCMs), Regional Consultative Processes on migration (RCPs), Inter-regional Forums on migration (IRFs) and global dialogues on migration. Also present were representatives of regional economic organizations and the UN Regional Economic Commissions (RECs).

The meeting sought to identify potential regional partnerships with other non-traditional actors on migration for synergies that would help ensure the attainment of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) related to migration.

The inclusion of migration in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda provides momentum for collaboration to develop effective, human-rights based migration policies, and ensure that migrants are fully taken into account in national and regional development plans and frameworks. 

“The Sixth Global RCP Meeting is a key opportunity for regional actors – UN RECs, regional economic organizations and RCPs – to enhance existing partnerships in support of the migration-related SDG targets and to build new ones,” said IOM Director General William Lacy Swing. 

“IOM will continue to support RCPs as part of its core work, fully respecting the state-driven character of your achievements. I am confident that the Global Meetings of RCPs will continue being instrumental to enhanced dialogue and information exchange between RCPs and regional and global processes on migration, and I believe that future Global RCP Meetings will continue to bear even more fruit,” he added. 

He also thanked the Governments of Australia and the United States for their financial contributions to make the meeting possible and acknowledged the financial and in-kind contributions of several other donors to various RCPs. 

The outcome document of the Meeting recommends a way forward for the RCPs to support the attainment of the migration-related SDGs. 

IOM has engaged with various Inter-State Consultation Mechanisms on migration around the world for the past three decades to advance multilateral understanding and action on migration trends and challenges.

Since 2005 it has tried to bring them together biennially (previous meetings were held in Thailand, Peru, Botswana and Egypt) to foster synergies and exchanges among the various mechanisms.

For further information, please contact Kristina Galstyan IOM HQ at Tel: 41227179419, Email: kgalstyan@iom.int