17 May, New York – A landmark meeting on international migration governance is taking place from 17-20 May at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York. UN Member States and Observers, UN system representatives, as well as stakeholder groups will attend the first International Migration Review Forum where progress made under the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) will be assessed.
 
Chaired by the President of the General Assembly, the Forum is an opportunity for participants to highlight successes and challenges made in implementing the GCM at the local, national, regional and global levels, since its adoption almost four years ago. Attendees will be committing to further concrete actions to better protect and support the more than 281 million migrants in the world through policy and practice change. Highlights of pledges being made can be found here.  Dominica will be represented by a delegation made up of the Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs Mrs. Barbara Dailey, and the CEO of CREAD H.E. Ambassador Francine Baron.  

“At this first global review of the Compact, we are here to take stock of how far we have come and how much more we need to do. We have a responsibility to uphold human rights and protect those in the most vulnerable situations. We have a responsibility to save lives,” said António Vitorino, the Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Coordinator of the UN Network on Migration, which is tasked with ensuring effective and coherent system wide support to implement the Global Compact, and in supporting the organisation of the Review Forum. 

“The IMRF will be an opportunity to harness the power of multilateralism to bring about more inclusive societies, support safe and regular migration, and reduce vulnerabilities that undermine rights and wellbeing.  The Forum aims to bring about concrete coordinated action on migration, promote inclusive societies and leverage the power of migration” said Maxine Alleyne-Esprit of IOM Dominica.

“To achieve the National Resilience Agenda and the 2030 Agenda migrants need to be engaged and actively contributing to development in Dominica. Through their work, their remittances and the links they build between countries, they help reduce poverty, provide vital services, and support families and communities.”

The review will involve discussions on all the 23 objectives of the GCM, strengthening principled governance of international migration and will focus on such issues as ensuring that recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and planning for future disasters is inclusive, that human rights are respected, including in response to climate related migration, that vulnerabilities that undermine wellbeing are reduced and that legal migration pathways are built up.

“Member States will share existing practices and discuss opportunities to expand and diversify rights-based pathways for regular migration.   The Forum is premised on the principle that Migrant rights are human rights that need to be guaranteed without discrimination, whether on grounds of nationality, ethnicity or migration status” Alleyne-Esprit explained.

Consultations have taken place at the local, national and regional levels in the lead up this event. 
On Friday, 20 May, the Forum will conclude with the adoption of a Progress Declaration setting new priorities and milestones for international migration governance for the four years to come.