GFMD Summit Hosts Roundtable Discussion on Fostering Partnerships to Achieve Migration-Related Goals -

Proposal for a Concessional Financing Facility for Migration endorsed by most State and civil society delegates.

Day four of the 13^th Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) Summit saw some 170 delegates come together for a roundtable discussion on Fostering Partnerships to Realize Migration-Related Goals.

Opening the discussion, co-chair Beatriz Alfaro of the Permanent Mission of El Salvador to the United Nations in Geneva reminded delegates of the extensive consultation and dialogue undertaken to produce the background paper that set the framework for the session. “We have to recognize that effective migration governance is a multi-sectoral and multi-level task,” Alfaro stated, “and to create a win-win for both economies and migrants requires new partnerships and the substantial engagement of different actors.”

Co-chair Alex da Costa of the Permanent Mission of The Gambia to the United Nations in Geneva expanded on Alfaro’s point, stating that “both partnerships and sustainable financing are critical elements in finding solutions to achieve migration-related goals.”

Presenting the session background paper, Dilip Ratha of the World Bank provided an overview of global migratory movements and highlighted the ongoing impact of COVID-19 for mobility, remittances and migrant access to rights. “Partnership is needed in migration,” Ratha stated, “but the willingness to partner is not enough. We need to enable partnerships with sustainable financing, and move from ‘millions to billions’ in terms of State contributions.” He highlighted several ways in which financial support to third countries could benefit migration-related goals, including:

Provision of vaccines and healthcare assistance to migrants;
Services and assistance for migrants returning to countries of origin; and
Enabling a transition from humanitarian relief to development-oriented solutions.

Moving to the session’s central proposal for a Concessional Financing Facility for Migration (CFF), Ratha outlined the lessons that can be drawn from the existing Global Concessional Financing Facility for Refugees. Responding to a poll conducted during Ratha’s presentation, 77 percent of delegates confirmed that their State or organization would be interested in participating in a CFF.

“Partnership is the very core of our being in the civil society sector.”
William Gois, Migrant Forum in Asia

Several Member States provided examples of innovative partnerships at all levels that have enabled the realization of migration-related goals.

Bettina Etter of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation highlighted how Switzerland “is prioritizing partnerships to work towards the realizations of the Sustainable Development Goals from a migration perspective.” Ambassador Khalil Hashmi of the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the United Nations Office in Geneva noted that “partnerships are absolutely essential to achieving migration-related goals,” but urged that the proposed CFF proposal be “situated in the wider context of the massive impacts of COVID-19, and reflect the reduced fiscal space and capacities of many countries of origin and transit.”

William Gois of Migrant Forum in Asia described partnership as “the very core of our being in the civil society sector.” Gois welcomed the CFF proposal, stating that “it is high time to experiment with pulling together resources to realize the aims of the GFMD and ensure its ongoing legitimacy.”

Gois presented four key civil society priorities for the proposed CFF:

Ensuring social protection for all migrants regardless of status;
Expanding regular migration pathways and regularization schemes;
Fighting xenophobia and discrimination; and
Promoting safe access to services for all migrants, including access to justice for wage theft and non-payment of benefits.

Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi of United Cities and Local Government Africa urged that financing mechanisms ensure resources reach local and regional authorities, which “have daily contact with migrants and are best placed to maximize the benefits of funding for migrant populations.” Noting both the importance of partnerships between cities in countries of origin and destination, Martijn Pluim of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development also outlined the need for partnerships at all levels to be based on “shared interest, trust and clearly defined roles for a wide range of stakeholders and actors.”

The session concluded with the co-chairs’ endorsement of a proposal to establish a GFMD Working Group to develop a detailed CFF proposal. “We cannot throw the work of the GFMD over the past 12 years out of the window,” Alvaro noted, “and a Working Group will enable us to take a holistic approach to developing the tools and approaches we need to achieve our goals together.”