A two-day regional conference on migration
hosted by IOM and the government of Paraguay in Asunción is
ending today.

The Sixth South American Conference on
Migration brought together officials from the Paraguayan Ministries
of Foreign Affairs, Interior, and Justice, representatives
responsible for migration affairs from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil,
Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Surinam, Uruguay
and Venezuela, representatives from international organizations,
government officials from extra-regional countries, and
representatives of civil society organizations.

Stressing the importance of this gathering and
its conclusions as key inputs for the High-Level Dialogue on
International Migration and Development to be held at the UN
General Assembly this September, IOM’s Deputy Director
General Mrs. Ndioro Ndiaye told participants: “This very
first high-level event of the United Nations entirely devoted to
migration and development offers States the unique opportunity not
only to exchange with each other the best practices in migration
management but also to promote cooperation in key migration fields.
I would like to encourage you to obtain concrete results from this
conference that will feed the global debate on migration. Whatever
form of cooperation you choose, it is fundamental that the
countries of destination and the countries of origin and transit
work together to resolve common issues.”

Today, heads of delegations are holding
working meetings to discuss collective migration challenges and
actions to be taken in areas such as migration and development, the
promotion of the positive contribution of migrants and in
minimizing the negative impacts of migration, upholding the human
rights of migrants, and smuggling and trafficking. The final
“Declaration of Principles and the Asunción
Declaration” will be signed at the closure of the
conference.

The South American Conference on Migration is
a regional process that ensures access to international mainstream
mechanisms for dialogue and agreement on world migration
issues.

For more information contact:

the Technical Secretariat of the South
American Conference on Migration

"mailto:csm.mrfbue@iom.int" target="_blank" title=
"">csm.mrfbue@iom.int

"http://www.oimconosur.org" target="_blank" title=
"">www.oimconosur.org

"http://www.csmparaguay.com" target="_blank" title=
"">www.csmparaguay.com

To download the entire speech of Mme Ndiaye,
visit the IOM Website "http://www.iom.int" target="_blank" title="">www.iom.int