Austria - There is now more than ever a strong need for inclusive and collaborative dialogue to promote a positive agenda on migration governance, according to delegates at a meeting on the future of the UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration hosted by OSCE and IOM in Vienna.

The event, organized to mark International Migrants’ Day on 18 December, aimed to raise awareness among participating State delegations, experts, academia and think-tanks of future steps and key challenges ahead for the development of the Global Compact, which is expected to be adopted in 2018.

The Compact, which will be the first comprehensive international framework on international migration, was a key outcome of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2016.

It will aim to establish a set of principles and commitments to enhance global governance and coordination of migration and is expected to dominate the international migration policy agenda over the next two years. 

 “The OSCE has an obvious role in contributing to good migration governance at the regional level and supports the development of a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration,” said OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier.

He noted that in the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, States reiterated their determination to effectively and positively govern migration flows through the use of preventive diplomacy; the promotion of economic prosperity and good governance; and the protection of the human rights of individuals. “These are indeed the founding pillars of the OSCE multi-dimensional and comprehensive concept of security,” he said.

IOM will provide technical and policy expertise in the development of the Global Compact, according to IOM Deputy Director General Laura Thompson, who noted that the development and negotiation of an agreement of this magnitude is an ambitious undertaking to be accomplished in just two years.

“We will succeed only if we join forces and continue strengthening our partnerships. We cannot pass up the opportunity that we have been given to bring a global response to the global phenomenon that is migration. This meeting is showing us that we are on the right path,” she said.

Ambassador Eberhard Pohl, Chairperson of the OSCE Permanent Council in 2106, underlined that the decision on the governance of large movements of migrants and refugees adopted at the OSCE Ministerial Council last week in Hamburg also sends a strong signal. “OSCE participating States will continue to work on this issue with high priority and the OSCE’s efforts will contribute to global processes led by the United Nations,” he said.

He also noted the continuing commitment of Germany to better migration governance, highlighting its decision to co-chair the 2017-2018 Global Forum on Migration and Development with Morocco.

For more information please contact Alina Narusova at the IOM Regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe in Vienna. Email: anarusova@iom.int, Tel. +43.1581222213.