04.2018
Pascal Fendrich & Peter Aeberhard, Secretariat Mdplatform.ch
In mid-February, the Swiss Civil Society Platform on
Migration and Development (mdplatform.ch) invited representatives of
the Swiss administration to discuss the freshly released zero draft of
the Global Compact on Migration (GCM).
The meeting could count on the participation of the Ambassador for development, forced displacement and migration, Pietro
Mona, who leads the Swiss delegation in the UN negotiations, and of
representatives of the main departments involved in the process: the
Global Programme Migration and Development of SDC, the Human Security
Division of FDFA and of the State Secretariat for Migration.
More
than 20 representatives of the Swiss civil society were present,
ranging from diaspora organisations, development NGOs, academic
institutions and labour unions.
The event allowed for an open, dynamic and very substantive discussion. Civil society representatives welcomed the migrant-centred and whole-of-society perspective promoted in the document as well as its ambition of a "360°
vision of migration" and for a comprehensive coverage of migration
implications. Exchanges however also expressed concerns about the
limited number of measurable and time-bound commitments. "Actionable
commitments" often are broad and imprecise. As well, civil society
participants demanded that reporting and review mechanisms be better
elaborated and detailed and requested to also discuss modalities of
reporting at national level.
Beyond these general
observations, discussions were also structured along three specific
topics, namely "human rights and protection", and "labour migration and
decent work" and "circular migration, role of the diaspora and
remittances".
The main points touched during the discussions are summarized and available on the mdplatform website http://mdplatform.ch/compact-on-migration-2018/ (direct link to summary here)
All
participants welcomed the openness and constructive tone of the
discussions. The conduct of consultations between representatives of the
Swiss civil society and the Swiss administration on migration and
development policy dialogue has now become a consolidated practice,
since the first exchanges initiated in the context of the Global Forum
on Migration and Development.
It is s hoped that this
consultation on the zero draft will be followed by continuing exchanges
on the progress of the Global Compact negotiations at UN level.
Related resources:
A summary of the key points of these discussions as well as a detailed list of participants are available on mdplatform’s website: http://mdplatform.ch/compact-on-migration-2018/ (direct link to summary here)
