{"id":2732,"date":"2021-01-19T00:20:40","date_gmt":"2021-01-18T23:20:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gfmdcivilsociety.org\/staging\/9981\/?p=2732"},"modified":"2021-01-19T00:20:44","modified_gmt":"2021-01-18T23:20:44","slug":"civil-society-presents-advocacy-priorities-gfmd-summit-opening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gfmdcivilsociety.org\/staging\/9981\/civil-society-presents-advocacy-priorities-gfmd-summit-opening\/","title":{"rendered":"13th GFMD Summit Opening Ceremony: Time to Change the Approach on International Migration"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Strong and inclusive partnerships, respect for fundamental rights, and social protection for all were highlighted by civil society at the GFMD Opening Ceremony.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Opening Ceremony of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) Summit<\/a> took place on 18 January 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ceremony featured keynote addresses from senior political and institutional leaders from around the world. Stella Opoku-Owusu of the African Foundation for Development (AFFORD)<\/a>\u00a0 presented civil society advocacy priorities<\/a>, developed in the Civil Society Preparatory Meeting during January 7-15. Opoku-Owusu acted as co-facilitator for the preparatory meeting, following from her role as co-chair of the Civil Society Days at the 2019 GFMD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interventions focused strongly on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for migrants and mobility, and the need for an effective response to be underpinned by strong cooperation and dialogue. As 2020 GFMD Chair H.E. Nasser bin Thani Juma Al-Hamli noted, the pandemic \u201ccalls us to act as a global community. This is why the GFMD was invented, and why it has enduring value.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opoku-Owusu reminded all delegates that this 13th<\/sup> GFMD Summit is the first to be open to all civil society delegates, noting how \u201cas political spaces for civil society continue to shrink, the GFMD has become a standout example of how self-organized engagement by all stakeholders should look like, and how this enables us to reach our shared goals together.\u201d She urged that the Summit maintain a focus on \u201crecurring fundamental principles: that movement and mobility is a human right, and protection is ensuring that the human rights of people are respected, fulfilled, and implemented.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interventions also focused on the opportunities presented by the COVID-19 crisis. Opoku-Owusu identified several examples of \u201cgood practices that have given us all some hope and a glimpse into a future of possibilities of building back better,\u201d including expanding regular pathways for migration, visa extensions and the recognition of the essential nature of many migrant workers and remittances. Echoing this perspective, H.E. Jos\u00e9 \u00c1ngel Gurr\u00eda Trevi\u00f1o of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development<\/a> urged the Summit to \u201cseize the opportunity presented by the pandemic to change our approach on the global challenge of international migration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe years of co-creating this space together will lead to progress and overall building back better for migrants.\u201d<\/p>Stella Opoku-Owusu, African Foundation for Development<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to the Addressing Gaps in Migrant Protection <\/strong>theme, Opoku-Owusu noted the strong focus of civil society discussions on \u201cthe vulnerability of those who need social protection the most, including the need for access to health services.\u201d Describing how COVID-19 has caused \u201ca protection crisis for migrants and refugees, not just a health pandemic,\u201d she noted the \u201cadditional impact of measures to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic, such as restrictions on movement, which in itself have inadvertently put migrants and refugees in precarious situations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opoku-Owusu urged that access to public health assistance and vaccinations \u201cbe done without discrimination or lack or breach of safeguards or firewalls…to build a safety net that leaves no one behind.\u201d H.E. Carola Gunnarsson of United Cities & Local Governments<\/a> and Lord Mayor of Sala, Sweden, noted the specific perspective of local and regional authorities, in which \u201cmigrants are our neighbors first. They live and work in our cities, and need to use the same public services as other citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opoku-Owusu noted how civil society had dealt with the GFMD Summit themes of Governance of Labor Migration <\/strong>and Skilling of Migrants<\/strong> together, because \u201cwe felt strongly that in addressing them as one, solutions for one would complement and enhance the other.\u201d She gave several examples of the benefits of this approach, such as ensuring that the labor migration component includes protection for migrants, and the skilling component includes decent jobs. Opoku-Owusu particularly highlighted the issue of wage theft, a pre-existing issue that has been exacerbated by the economic shocks caused by COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Irregular Migration<\/strong>, Opoku-Owusu emphasized two core civil society advocacy messages for the Summit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n