Progress and challenges of the Global Compact for Migration (GCM)’s implementation were at the center of the event’s discussion between government representatives and non-state stakeholders. The Civil Society Mechanism brought to this stocktaking event a compilation of civil society collective contributions, emphasizing the unique and crucial role of the GFMD space and process.
On 18 November 2021, a Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) Friends of the Forum meeting was held in Geneva, Switzerland in a hybrid format.
The purpose of the event was to enable Member States and other GFMD non-governmental stakeholders to input into the GFMD’s reporting to the first International Migration Review Forum (IMRF), that took place in May 2022 to discuss and share progress on the implementation of all aspects of the Global Compact. To that end, the Committee on GFMD-GCM Relations, led by the Government of Sweden, had prepared a Discussion Paper, with the dual aims of promoting dialogue during the meeting and serving as an initial draft of the GFMD Input Report to the IMRF.
The discussions were focused on how the GFMD governance model contributes to achieving GCM objectives and principles (in particular, GCM objective 23 on International Cooperation), while identifying challenges, opportunities and key examples of GCM implementation, and giving contributions on thematic partnerships that are international or regional in scope.
The event was structured around four stocktaking sessions aligned with the four Roundtable discussions of the IMRF and centered around a number of clustered GCM objectives. Each session was chaired by a representative of a Member State with the facilitation managed by a representative of a mechanism or of the youth component.
Stéphane Jaquemet, ICMC COO and Head of the Civil Society Mechanism, facilitated the Roundtable 3 discussion chaired by the government of Portugal. This discussion focused on the clustered GCM objectives 14 (Consular protection), 15 (Access to basic services), 16 (Inclusion and social cohesion), 19 (Migrant and diaspora contributions), 20 (Remittances) and 22 (Social protection).
The GFMD Civil Society Mechanism delivered four official interventions during the event, based on the inputs received in a global civil society consultation that it had organized prior to the meeting, attended by the members of the International Steering Committee and members of the Civil Society Action Committee which are the leading civil society engaged in the GCM.
“We are not just victims, but we also have agency”, said Colin Rajah, on behalf of the Civil Society Mechanism, repeating the motto “Nothing about us, without us!” on the involvement of migrants in migration decision-making processes.
In his statement reflecting the joint civil society priorities and proposals, Stéphane Jaquemet draw attention on the GFMD itself as a “strong instrument for the informal exchanges between and among governments and other stakeholders in seeking solutions that are then implemented for the well-being and protection of migrants”. He pointed out that the GFMD helps “create the environment in which progress can be made”, which makes it a “unique and critical multilateral and multi-stakeholder dialogue space” for meaningful non-State stakeholder engagement.
The meeting was an important step that marked a revival of the Forum after one year with a vacant Chair and the unique value of this space for an informal annual dialogue on migration was recognised in statements by Member States and stakeholders.
The other key aspect of the meeting was the official announcement of the Franco-Senegalese co-chairmanship, which will chair the GFMD from July 2022 until December 2023, succeeding to the 2020 United Arab Emirates Chair.