{"id":2074,"date":"2020-01-23T20:13:29","date_gmt":"2020-01-23T19:13:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gfmdcivilsociety.org\/staging\/9981\/?p=2074"},"modified":"2020-01-23T21:59:59","modified_gmt":"2020-01-23T20:59:59","slug":"civil-society-recommendations-for-the-12th-global-forum-on-migration-and-development-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gfmdcivilsociety.org\/staging\/9981\/civil-society-recommendations-for-the-12th-global-forum-on-migration-and-development-summit\/","title":{"rendered":"Civil Society Recommendations for the 12th Global Forum on Migration and Development Summit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This morning, at the opening of the Common Space of\nthe 12th<\/sup> Global Forum on Migration and Development Summit in Quito,\ncivil society Co-Chair Stella Opoku-Owusu took the floor to put the perspective\nof civil society under the spotlight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She shared with participants a series of\nrecommendations agreed during yesterday\u2019s Civil Society Day. Two of the issues discussed\nby civil society representatives (criminalization of migrants and climate\nchange-related displacement) are not present on the agenda of the other Forum\u2019s\nmechanisms, so they become even more important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recommendations brought to the Common Space by\ncivil society representatives reflect five different, though interlinked, thematic\npriorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. The\neffects of climate change<\/strong> are often\nborderless, therefore, tackling them requires collective action which involves\nnational and local state actors, climate change experts, academics, and also\nregional civil society networks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The links between climate change and human mobility are\ncomplex, yet the focus should remain on climate change. Focusing too much on\nmigration and displacement numbers risks feeding into a narrative of \u201cinvasion\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Cities can play a major role in keeping migrants\nsafe. In that sense, sanctuary cities are an important alternative to the criminalization<\/strong> of migrants and\nmigration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Civil society representatives acknowledge the\nimportance of upholding shared human values and demand to immediately stop the\ninterference with humanitarian search and rescue missions at sea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, civil society representatives ask that governments “be mindful of language that perpetuates this idea that migrants in themselves are \u2018illegal\u2019 and therefore not deserving, or simplified narratives of migrants being responsible for the lack of jobs. \u00a0These not only exacerbate negative public opinion but also provide the basis for discriminatory policies. \u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. The focus should be on migrants\u2019 access to rights <\/strong>as opposed to \u2018access\nto services\u2019, with an emphasis on respecting the dignity and humanity of all\nmigrants regardless of their migration status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Effective partnerships involving all necessary\nactors at local and national level and across borders are key to upholding\ndignified labor migration<\/strong> policies\nand practices as well as access to decent work and safe working conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a positive example, \u201cthe Global Compact for\nMigration provided an opportunity for trade unions and civil society in Nepal,\nBangladesh, India and Sri Lanka to engage more effectively together and with\ngovernments on labor migration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. The needs of\nmigrants in mixed migration<\/strong>\nmovements need to be met through the application of humanitarian principles, regardless\nof their status, and in partnerships across all agencies, civil society\norganizations, governments and local state actors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three\nrecommendations highlighted the importance of the following cross-cutting\nissues:<\/p>\n\n\n\n