Dubai – Multi-stakeholder partnerships on migration are increasingly important as demographic and economic changes and enhanced mobility redefine the global work force and the nature of labour mobility across countries, IOM Director General António Vitorino stated at the opening session of the Abu Dhabi Dialogue’s (ADD) Fifth Ministerial Consultation last week (16-17 October). 

Established in 2008, the ADD is an inter-State consultation mechanism on migration that provides a forum for dialogue on contractual labour mobility for 18 States in Asia and the Middle East – among them countries of origin, transit and destination. Three other Asian States, IOM, the International Labour Organization and UN Women attend as observers. The Fifth ADD Ministerial addressed the future of work and interregional cooperation on migration.

The impact of demographic change will lead to significant shifts in labour markets, IOM Director General pointed out: countries should anticipate that their competitiveness on the global marketplace will be increasingly predicated upon the wise use of migrant labour. 

“Labour markets themselves are also changing. Employers will need different skill profiles in 2030 than they did in 2010, as technology underpinning key sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, transport, finance and services rapidly develops,” he said.

Vitorino acknowledged the important role that inter-State consultation mechanisms on migration (ISCMs) have played in the development of a common approaches to migration. IOM convenes at regular intervals, the Global Meeting of ISCMs (known as GRCP).

ISCMs by themselves are indispensable actors in migration governance. But they have also benefited from partnerships with political and economic unions, intergovernmental organizations or non-State actors.

IOM’s Director General specified that inter-State consultation will continue to underpin migration governance as implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration becomes a priority for many States across the globe. 

“New forms of consultation and exchange will inevitably spring up in the next years, as States prepare to report on their progress. This should not be seen as competition or a threat to existing mechanisms,” he said. “Rather, international cooperation is one of the Global Compact’s guiding principles.” 

Formally endorsed by the UN in December 2018, the Global Compact for Migration is a non-binding global agreement on a common approach to international migration.

For more information, please contact Farah Abdulsater at Tel: +202 2736 51 40, Email: fabdulsater@iom.int