On the 19th of September last year (2016), Heads of State and Government at the United Nations General Assembly adopted the first ever UN declaration on migration – the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants.  This complements Target 10.7 of the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, which calls for Member States to facilitate responsible migration and mobility of people; “…including through implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies.”

Currently, wide-ranging consultations are being conducted around the world to develop a comprehensive approach to human mobility via two global agreements: a Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration; and another Global Compact on Refugees.
IDC members and partners have already been involved in several Regional consultations, while still others have been invited to contribute National level input to the processes, through upcoming meetings taking place in their countries.
Throughout, the IDC has contributed to Civil Society consensus building, resulting in position documents that Members may choose to draw from when engaged in the Global Migration Compacts processes.  Two documents in particular may be of use in ensuring a rights based approach is upheld:
  • The Children’s Rights in the Global Compacts Recommendations, were put together by a consortium of Global Child Rights Expert NGOs.  Section Five in this document focuses on ending the immigration detention of children and ensuring alternatives to immigration detention of children. It outlines the issue, the connected international legal framework, the New York Declaration commitment, examples and then a set of goals, targets and indicators.
  • The second is the Global Migration Group’s draft ‘Principles and Guidelines, supported by practical guidance, on the human rights protection of migrants in vulnerable situations within large and/or mixed movements‘.  This comprehensive guidance was specifically referred to in the New York Declaration itself: “We take note of the work of the Global Migration Group to develop principles and practical guidance on the protection of the human rights of migrants in vulnerable situations.” (New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, para. 51)”.  It is to be hoped that the human rights outlined in this document will be upheld in the final Compacts once all consultations are concluded in July 2018.

 

Interactive Dialogue

The Office of the Special Representative for International Migration will be holding an interactive dialogue with the SRSG Ms. Louise Arbour, who will give an overview of the state of play on the Global Compact for Migration, with a specific focus on the Secretary-General’s report. This meeting will take place as follows:

Date:  Tuesday, 14 November 2017

Time:  10:00AM – 11:30AM (New York time)

Venue:  Church Center for the UN (CCUN) in New York, 777 United Nations Plaza, NY 10017 (room to be confirmed).

Please confirm your attendance to Colin Rajah.

For those not able to attend in person, you may watch the dialogue from your computer, tablet or smartphone.

Click to: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/621573717.

Or, you can also listen to the dialogue by dialing in using your phone: +1 872-240-3311 (U.S.), Access Code: 621-573-717.

Please note that you will not be able to interact during the livecast, but only to watch or listen in.

 

Interactive Webinar

Following the meeting, an interactive webinar with the SRSG, Ms. Louise Arbour, will be held as follows:

Date:  Wednesday, 15 November 2017

Time:  10:00AM – 11:00AM (New York time) (see your respective time zones here.)

To join the webinar, go to: https://bluejeans.com/347796322

Or dial in to: