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Strengthening international cooperation on and governance of migration towards the adoption of a global compact on migration in 2018
On 19 September 2016, Member States adopted the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, A/70/L.61, which in Annex II sets out steps towards the achievement of a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration (GCM) in 2018. Member States called on IOM to make use of its premier policy forum, the International Dialogue on Migration (IDM), to contribute to the preparatory process of the global compact.
IOM devoted the two workshops planned under the framework of the IDM in 2017 to stimulating exchanges of views between Member States and with other relevant stakeholders on core aspects of the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration. The results of the 2017 IDM were consolidated in a publication constituting part of IOM’s contribution to the development of the global compact on migration, and specifically in relation to the elaboration of the first comprehensive global framework for cooperation on international migration.
Overview
The first of the two events of the IDM in 2017 was held on 18 and 19 April in New York and discussed international cooperation on and governance of migration with a view to identifying concrete elements, models and potential actionable commitments for the global compact. The workshop facilitated exchange on the following aspects, among others:
- Implementation of the migration-related SDG targets
- Whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches to migration
- Strengthening migration governance capacities for the protection of migrants at risk, for facilitating labour migration, and for arrangements for return and reintegration consistent with international standards
- Existing and envisaged cooperation and follow-up mechanisms aimed at facilitating safe, orderly and regular migration
The outcomes of this workshop informed the preparatory process for the global compact and helped elaborate recommendations covering various aspects of migration as identified in the New York Declaration, including, but not limited to, facilitating safe, regular and orderly migration; protecting the rights and well-being of migrants; reducing the incidence and impact of forced and irregular migration; and addressing the mobility dimensions of crises.
The second workshop was held on 18-19 July in Geneva and offered Member States and other relevant actors the opportunity to explore protection of and assistance for migrants in vulnerable situations from a policy, cooperation and practical perspective.
- Agenda
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DAY ONE – 18 April 2017
10:00 - 11:30 Opening Session
- William Lacy Swing, Director General, International Organization for Migration (Opening remarks)
- Louise Arbour, Special Representative of the Secretary General for International Migration (Keynote remarks)
11:30 - 13:00 Panel 1 – Implementing the SDGs and other major frameworks: how the Global Compact on Migration can help meet commitments made
Moderator: William Lacy Swing, Director General, International Organization for Migration
Speakers:
- Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, Canada (Statement)
- Isata Kabia, Minister of State II, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Sierra Leone
- Juan José Gómez Camacho, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations, Co-facilitator of the intergovernmental consultations and negotiations on the GCM
- Robert J. Vitillo, Msgr., Secretary General, International Catholic Migration Commission (Statement)
- Gregory Maniatis, Co-director, Columbia Global Policy Initiative, International Migration, Project, Senior Advisor, Open Society Foundations (Statement)
13:00 - 15:00 Break
15:00 - 16:30 Panel 2 – The Global Compact on Migration as a tool for migration governance and the role of global and regional actors
Moderator: El Habib Nadir, Secretary General, Ministry in Charge of Moroccans living abroad and migration affairs, Morocco
Speakers:
- Luigi Maria Vignali, Principal Director for Migration Policies, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Italy (Statement)
- Paddy Torsney, Permanent Observer of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) to the United Nations (Presentation)
- Ildegarde Niyonzima, Director General of Diplomatic inspection, Diaspora and Communication, Burundi (Presentation)
- Alex Zalami, Advisor to the Minister, Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization, United Arab Emirates (Statement)
16:30 - 18:00 Panel 3 – Reaching a-whole-of-government approach to migration: national and local perspectives
Moderator: Sarah Cliffe, Director, Center on International Cooperation (CIC), New York University
Speakers:
- Elona Gjebrea Hoxha, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Albania (Statement)
- Francisco Hagó, Vice-Minister of Human Mobility, Ecuador (Statement)
- Berhane Gebre-Christos, Special Envoy for Regional Affairs, Office of the Prime Minister, Ethiopia (Statement)
- Bart Somers, Mayor, City of Mechelen, Belgium (Statement)
DAY TWO – 19 April 2017
10:00 - 11:30 Panel 4 – Building from the ground up: promoting a whole-of-society approach to good migration governance
Moderator: Ashley William Gois, Regional Coordinator, Migrant Forum in Asia
Speakers:
- Carmen Muñoz Quesada, Vice Minister of Government and Police, Costa Rica
- Firudin Nabiyev, Chief, State Migration Service, Republic of Azerbaijan (Statement)
- Hisham Badr, Assistant Minister for Multilateral Affairs and International Security Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Egypt (Statement)
- Gordon Kihalangwa, Maj.Gen. (RTd), Director, Department of Immigration Services, Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, Kenya (Presentation)
11:30 - 13:00 Panel 5 – The Global Compact on Migration: an opportunity to synergize the efforts of the international community
Moderator: Götz Schmidt-Bremme, Ambassador for the 2017-2018 GFMD Co-Chairmanship, Federal Foreign Office, Germany
Speakers:
- Mehmet Samsar, Director General for Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Turkey (Statement)
- James Cockayne, Head of the United Nations University (UNU) Office at the UN, and Representative of the Chair of the Global Migration Group (GMG) (Statement)
- Thomas Gass, Assistant Secretary General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA)
- Maria Pia Belloni Mignatti, World Organization for Early Childhood Education, Chair of the NGO Committee on Migration (Statement)
13:00 - 15:00 Break
15:00 - 16:30 Panel 6 – Implementing the Global Compact on Migration: existing and envisaged cooperation and follow-up mechanisms
Moderator: Laura Thompson, Deputy Director General, International Organization for Migration
Speakers:
- Jürg Lauber, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations, Co-facilitator of the intergovernmental consultations and negotiations on the GCM (Statement)
- M. Riaz Hamidullah, High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Sri Lanka
- Margaret Pollack, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, United States Department of State (Statement)
- Berenice Valdez Rivera, Coordinator of Public Policies, Institute for Women in Migration (IMUMI), Mexico (Statement)
- Austin T. Fragomen Jr., Chair, Business Mechanism, Global Forum on Migration and Development (Statement)
16:30 - 17:00 Closing session
- Peter Thomson, President, United Nations General Assembly (Closing remarks)
- Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations (Closing remarks)
- Laura Thompson, Deputy Director General, International Organization for Migration (Closing remarks)
End of Workshop
- Event documents and photos
