- a milestone in the process towards a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration
2018
Bettina Etter, Programme Officer on Migration and Development, New York, SDC
The preparatory
(stocktaking) meeting, held from 4 - 6 December 2017 in Puerto Vallarta,
Mexico, not only marked the beginning of phase II but a pivotal
milestone in the three-phased process towards the elaboration of a
Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM). The
purpose of the stocktaking meeting was to review and distil the wealth
of information, data and views gathered in phase I – the consultation
phase – of the process as well as to engage in a constructive analysis
that will inform the process going forward, namely the intergovernmental
negotiations in the first half of 2018.
Mandated
in Annex II of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, the
preparatory process towards the adoption of a Global Compact for Safe,
Orderly and Regular Migration was launched in April 2017. Throughout
phase I, six informal thematic sessions, five regional consultations,
seven regional civil society consultations and numerous national
consultations have contributed inputs to the process. Over 250 concrete
inputs were submitted in relation to the six overarching thematic areas
phase I was framed around. Phase I has been about generating space for
dialogue, building trust, and sharing national realities on all aspects
of international migration. Over the course of the discussions, a wide
range of views, best practices and innovative proposals aimed at
facilitating safe, orderly and regular migration have been shared. It is
important to note that phase I was not about negotiating so much as it
was about building a common understanding of international migration in
all its dimensions and thus bridging the gap between perceptions and
reality. The participation of non-governmental stakeholders has enriched
this discussion and contributed to important reflections at different
levels.
In
line with the ambition of achieving a 360-degree understanding of
migration, the stocktaking meeting allowed delegations to consider the
six themes discussed in phase I in conjunction with different dimensions
of international migration: the human, community, local/sub- national,
national, regional and global dimensions. As in phase I, the objective
was not to negotiate. The stocktaking meeting provided a platform for
delegations and other stakeholders to jointly shape a vision for the GCM
and collectively identify actionable commitments as well as respective
means of implementation and partnerships the GCM may include.
Furthermore, the preparatory (stocktaking) meeting also provided an
important first opportunity to consider questions relating to follow-up
and review of the GCM.
Besides
an innovative concept, the mostly smooth organization of the meeting,
the eloquent moderation by the co-facilitators, also the generous
hospitality of the Government of Mexico and the warm climate in Puerto
Vallarta contributed to the successful conclusion of the stocktaking
meeting. The dynamic among the 133 participating Member States and
approximately equal number of other stakeholders grew increasingly
interactive and their contributions became more concrete and substantive
by the day. A "Recommendations Box" placed at the entrance of the
conference venue was widely used by delegations to deposit their
proposals for actionable commitments to be included in the GCM. With
over 300 recommendations in their luggage the co-facilitators traveled
back to New York where they will elaborate the zero draft over the
Christmas and New Year's holidays. Before Christmas, the co-facilitators
will elaborate a chair's summary of the stocktaking meeting which
together with the report of the UN Secretary-General to be released by
mid-January will inform the co-facilitators' zero draft of the Global
Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
The
intergovernmental negotiations will take place from February to July
2018. The challenge and ambition of this third phase is to maintain the
level of common understanding about the multi-faceted phenomenon of
migration achieved in phases I and II of the process with a view to
forging a globally relevant and practical cooperation framework for
safe, orderly and regular migration. Such an achievement certainly
requires political willingness and leadership of Member States. Despite
the US withdrawal from the process on the eve of the stocktaking
meeting, the commitment of Member States to the process remains intact
and the unsettling news has even led to a noticeable sense of
collectivity among delegations at the stocktaking meeting. Maintaining
this spirit of commonality will undoubtedly be the critical factor for
success of the process and a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and
Regular Migration that has the potential of realizing triple win
outcomes for countries, migrants and local communities alike.
Related resources:
http://refugeesmigrants.un.org/stocktaking-phase
http://madenetwork.org/civil-society-stocktaking
