As the 14th Summit of the GFMD approaches, we take a look back at the year-long civil society global preparation process and the key advocacy priorities to be taken forward into the Summit.
The 14th Summit of the 2023-24 Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD)* process under the French Chairmanship takes place on 23-25 January 2024 in Geneva. Alongside representatives from member states, the Business and Mayors Mechanisms, and the Youth Stakeholder Network, 120 civil society delegates from around the world will participate in the Summit as part of the GFMD Civil Society Mechanism (CSM) coordinated by ICMC.
In reality, civil society preparations for the GFMD began early in 2023, when the Civil Society Mechanism started building its own year-long civil society process to feed into GFMD activities. The process was launched at the Abuja Civil Society Forum, held in Abuja, Nigeria, from 30 January to 1 February 2023, which brought together representatives of African civil society and diaspora from all regions of Africa. The Abuja Forum and the wide range of subsequent self-organised GFMD civil society preparatory events and activities have together been coined the civil society ‘Road from Abuja to Geneva’.
“This year is really a complete change in the sense that it has been a year-long process, starting with our African colleagues preparing a very successful event in Abuja,” explains Stéphane Jaquemet, Chief Operating Officer and Director of Policy at the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC), the organization mandated to coordinate GFMD civil society efforts. “All our preparatory work is very important because if we want to challenge governments on their migration policies, we need to be united. We are also limited by having the smallest civil society delegation in the history of the GFMD. Although we are a smaller group, we can have much more impact by being well prepared.”
Structuring civil society inputs for the GFMD process: A global consultation process
The French Chairmanship of the GFMD began in July 2022 and will last until the January Summit. Per the normal GFMD process, the Chair identified six thematic ‘roundtable’ priorities to guide GFMD discussions and exchanges: the central theme of ‘The Impact of Climate Change on Human Mobility’, for which the Civil Society Mechanism is a co-chair, and five additional priorities (Rights, Diaspora, Labour migration, Migration narratives, and Multilevel governance).
For civil society, the six thematic priorities have acted as an entry point to shape exchanges on lessons learned and propose substantive action to governments and other stakeholders within the GFMD process.
In addition to the Abuja Forum, multiple self-organised GFMD consultations and activities have taken place at national, sub-regional, and regional levels throughout 2023: for instance, in Nepal (Asia-Pacific regional consultation, January 2023), Dakar (joint African-European civil society consultation, February-March 2023), the United Arab Emirates (Gulf sub-regional consultation, March 2023), and Dhaka (Bangladesh national consultation, November 2023). The Africa Forum, two virtual follow-ups to the Abuja Forum, additionally took place in May and November 2023.
At the global level, two civil society GFMD preparatory consultations were held online in April and October 2023, in addition to a virtual thematic civil society consultation on Climate, Culture, Narratives, and Mobility in June 2023.
“Aside from the upcoming Summit, there were a number of official GFMD preparatory events throughout 2023 in which civil society was able to participate, albeit in a highly limited way,” says Colin Rajah, Coordinator of the GFMD Civil Society Mechanism. “So to maximise our impact, we organised our global and thematic consultations prior to each of these preparatory meetings and workshops, and collectivised the main outcomes and inputs to be taken forward by civil society representatives attending and speaking at them.”
The opportunity to participate in virtual regional and global consultations has been welcomed by civil society representatives, and has proved to be a successful approach for engaging a diverse range of stakeholders and perspectives. “‘I don’t remember a year in which we’ve had so many GFMD lead-up events such as all these regional consultations,” reflected Michele LeVoy of the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM). “It’s pretty new, and shows how we’ve successfully moved on from solely in-person events to also include other forms of collaboration, to really ensure everyone’s on board.”
Determining shared civil society priorities: Global Civil Society Preparatory Meetings
The Civil Society Mechanism has used the outcomes of civil society consultations throughout 2023 to consolidate priorities, recommendations, and best practice examples across the six thematic GFMD priorities, and civil society expert thematic leads have shaped and structured draft key civil society priorities.
Leading into the Summit, three global Civil Society Preparatory Meetings (CSPMs) serve to prepare all delegates and communicate the outcomes of the various preceding consultations. During these meetings, civil society delegates collectively discuss the range of key priorities to advocate for at the Summit. These three meetings will produce a set of six thematic Civil Society Advocacy Papers, which together provide a full view of the civil society priorities, including region-specific priorities and further detail on recommendations and best practices.
The first Civil Society Preparatory Meeting (CSPM1) took place online on 7 December 2023. It served to introduce the official 120 members of this year’s civil society delegation to one another, and to reflect on the preceding program of consultations that have taken place on the ‘Road from Abuja to Geneva.’ The agenda also included an overview of the intersectional approach to migration that underpins the Civil Society Mechanism’s engagement in the GFMD.
“Intersectionality describes the ways in which systems of inequality intersect to create unique dynamics and effects, and taking an intersectional approach means that our recommendations, priorities, and policies can work for everyone,” explained Elana Wong, Policy Officer for the GFMD Civil Society Mechanism. “This can only be achieved by meaningfully engaging migrants and including them as equal partners and experts, which is something that we do amazingly well by bringing civil society to the GFMD process in all our diversity, strength and numbers.”
The second Civil Society Preparatory Meeting (CSPM2) took place online on 11 January 2024. It provided delegates with an opportunity to engage in focused discussions on shared civil society advocacy priorities to take forward into the Summit. “Our task today is to present to you where we are now, and to together discuss the priorities that will have the maximum impact possible during the Summit,” explained civil society co-facilitator Marie Lobjoy of Secours Catholique – Caritas France. Reacting to the news that civil society participation at the Summit will be restricted to two delegates per thematic roundtable, she added that “our challenge is to be both united and diverse, so we can really hold states to account despite the very limited space we have.”
Delegates participated in parallel thematic breakout discussions, held in English, French, and Spanish, to review draft civil society priorities for the six GFMD thematic areas. Based on the outcomes of these discussions, civil society expert thematic leads and the Civil Society Mechanism Secretariat will further review and refine the key civil society priorities for the GFMD.
A final Civil Society Preparatory Meeting (CSPM3) will take place in-person on 22 January 2024 in Geneva, the day before the Summit begins. The agenda will include plenary discussions on the relationship of GFMD civil society priorities to the wider ‘state of play’ of migration, and the contrasts between the positions taken by some member states at the GFMD and their policymaking on migration and asylum at the national level. A series of breakout discussions will facilitate a final consolidation of civil society priorities for the Summit and select final civil society speakers for each thematic roundtable.
United in diversity: Civil society priorities for the Summit
Discussions at CSPM2 focused on delegate inputs on the civil society priorities developed for each of the GFMD’s six thematic areas. Delegates discussed the most important points within each of the six priorities to be taken forward by civil society at the Summit. A summary of key discussion points is set out below:
- RT1: Climate change and human mobility
Delegates focused strongly on policy coherence across all levels of governance, highlighting in particular the need to engage local authorities and communities in policy design and implementation, and to develop better mitigation strategies and adaptation solutions. Delegates emphasised the need to expand and reinforce partnerships with stakeholders, including diaspora, youth, and the private sector, and to focus on improved climate literacy, particularly amongst states, donors, and local authorities.
Discussions on climate financing focused on the recently agreed Loss and Damage Fund, and the need for loans provided via this facility to be accessible, support sustainable investments, and uphold fundamental rights. Delegates supported calls for climate funding at the national level to be flexible and non-project-based, so as to build sustainability and prevent division of civil society actors created by the need to compete for funds, and for a move away from climate resilient development models based primarily on diaspora remittances.
Delegates strongly supported prioritising the rights and status of those affected by climate change, including building the capacity of national and international authorities and stakeholders to provide protection and ensure secure legal status. This priority includes developing rights frameworks for those who remain in affected local communities, related to adaptation measures, and maintaining the right to return for those forced to move to seek livelihoods.
- RT2: Rights
The general principle of equality of rights and non-discrimination in all areas underpinned all delegate discussions. In terms of specific priorities, there was strong support for action to regularise status, and to ensure holistic access to justice, healthcare, and social welfare and services to migrants, irrespective of their migration status.
Delegates strongly emphasised the right for migrants and refugees to participate in all areas of society, most specifically in designing, implementing, and evaluating the policies and programs affecting them. They called for meaningful and sustainable participation irrespective of legal status, a move to active rather than passive participation of migrants and refugees, and the need for sustainable and long-term funding and capacity-building.
More broadly, delegates highlighted the need for civil society to improve accountability for upholding rights by developing and communicating clear expectations for action by the international community. These calls included making clear links to the impact of national deterrent-based migration policies on the rights of migrants and refugees, in particular those who are undocumented or otherwise without a secure legal status.
- RT3: Diaspora
Delegates highlighted successful initiatives to engage diaspora communities and organisations and urged that associated data be collated and utilised to scale up and replicate these practices. They highlighted the difficulties of doing this in the wider context of shrinking space for the participation of civil society and diaspora in international discussions and policymaking on migration, and called for an enlargement of this space in countries of origin and destination.
Diaspora contributions to combating the impacts of climate change, mainly via skills and knowledge transfer, were felt to be under-publicised. A similar lack of visibility for second, third, and fourth generation diaspora communities and organisations were the basis for calls for more sustainable and comprehensive support for diaspora leadership.
- RT4: Labour
Delegates called for state ratifications and implementation of international labour standards, emphasising the need for state recognition of the right of migrant workers to organise collectively. They also highlighted the importance of including migrant worker organisations in actions for standards monitoring and accountability.
There were strong calls for the establishment of rights-based labour migration pathways based on fair recruitment principles and upholding family unity. Delegates also recommended that states develop permanent labour migration pathways rather than temporary schemes, particularly in sectors where market needs dictate an ongoing, long-term need for migrant labour.
Delegates pointed to decent work as the key interface between rights and labour in the context of migration and emphasised migrant workers’ access to justice in relation to issues such as wage theft and trafficking. They also highlighted the importance of ensuring access to social welfare, healthcare, and other basic services which, alongside other rights, are in many instances inaccessible in practice for migrant workers even where they ‘exist on paper.’
Delegates highlighted the issue of ‘brain drain,’ or the loss of skills and expertise in the country of origin due to emigration, and the need for countries of origin to develop mechanisms to retain new graduates.
- RT5: Culture and Narratives
Delegates were particularly concerned with the need for all stakeholders to reframe narratives on climate and migration together, and especially to challenge inaccurate predictions of mass migration caused by climate change that have become prevalent in many contexts. This priority sat within a broader call for accountability for state misinformation on migration, and the encouragement of closer collaboration between civil society and the media to counter inaccurate state-generated narratives.
Delegates emphasised the benefits of highlighting diaspora cultural heritage and societal contributions, including those of second, third, and fourth generations, as a tool to counter negative and alarmist narratives on migration.
- RT6: Multi-level Governance
The need for fuller and more implementation of a Whole-of-Society approach across and within all levels of governance was of overarching importance in delegate discussions. Delegates strongly highlighted their experiences of civil society stakeholders not being considered as ‘real partners’ in many multi-stakeholder processes, highlighting the limited space for civil society participation at the upcoming GFMD Summit as one example of this phenomenon at international level. Relatedly, delegates also raised their perceptions of a current ‘disconnect’ between local and national government regarding policy coherence and practical implementation. They urged for improved inclusion for both local authorities and other local stakeholders, such as tribal and religious leaders, with financial support to ensure this is meaningful and sustainable.
Also strongly emphasised as civil society priorities were ensuring a rights-based approach to migration governance, within which the participation of migrants and migrant organisations was considered crucial to ensuring accountability, and gender inclusive policymaking that promotes migrant agency and empowerment.
**** The Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) is a government-led initiative that brings together member states, local government, business representatives, and civil society organizations concerned with migration and development issues. Its goal is to discuss a range of topics on migration, propose innovative solutions, share policy ideas, and create partnerships and cooperation in an informal dialogue setting. ICMC has coordinated civil society engagement in the GFMD since 2011.