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The Global Commission on International Migration's recent report: Migration
in an interconnected world: New directions for action - Download
Three recent UN initiatives focusing on international migration issues, include the following:
1) The establishment of the independent Global Commission on International Migration to study how to improve cooperation among UN and other international agencies;
2) The adoption of a final draft resolution by the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly deciding that in 2006 the high-level dialogue of the General Assembly will be devoted to international migration and development; and
3) The establishment
of the Geneva Migration Group by the International Organisation
on Migration, bringing together the heads of four UN agencies.
1) The Global Commission
on International Migration
The independent Global Commission on International Migration has been
established to study how to improve cooperation among UN and other international
agencies, and aims to provide a comprehensive response to migration issues,
backed by about a dozen governments and jointly headed by Sweden and Switzerland.
The Commission is co-chaired by Sweden's former Minister for Development Cooperation, Migration and Asylum Policy Jan O. Karlsson, and World Bank Managing Director Mamphela Ramphele, a South African. Other members are Australia, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Italy, Mexico the Philippines and Switzerland.
The Commission's tasks include analyzing shortcomings in current approaches to migration and examining inter-linkages with other issues -- and presenting recommendations to stakeholders. The Commission will begin its work in January 2004, and will issue a final report to the UN Secretary-General in mid-2005. Ms. Ramphele stated that "the Commission hopes to reinforce the importance of migration on the international agenda and advance the interests of migrants and countries of origin, transit, and destination."
The UN Secretary-General supports the initiative, and endorsed it in a speech at Columbia University on 21 November, in which he stated, "It has my full backing, and I hope it will receive support from states in all parts of the world. Most of all, I hope it will help us approach this issue creatively and cooperatively." He added that "we still lack a comprehensive institutional focus at the international level that could protect the rights of migrants and promote the shared interest of emigration, immigration and transit."
According to a senior
UN official, the idea for the Commission came from a core of 11 countries
from the North and South, led by Sweden and Switzerland. The panel will
be launched this month in Geneva, and is expected to begin work in January
2004 and complete its final report by the middle of 2005. The official
said the Commission would have a three-part mandate: to bring the issues
surrounding international migration to the top of the global agenda, to
analyze shortcomings and gaps in approaches by governments or other bodies
to migration, and to make practical recommendations for how to manage
migration better.
2)
The high-level dialogue of the
General Assembly devoted to international migration and development in
2006.
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) of the General Assembly
has agreed on a resolution (A/C.2/58/L.77) to be formally adopted by the
General Assembly on 23 December, which decides that in 2006 the high-level
dialogue of the General Assembly will be devoted to international migration
and development. The purpose of the dialogue is to discuss the miltidimensional
aspects of international migration and development in order to identify
appropriate ways and means to maximize its development benefits and minimize
its negative impacts. The resolution also calls for the Secretary-General
to submit a report to the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session
(2004) on, among other things, best practices on managed migration, a
review of major initiatives of Member States; and possible action-oriented
options for the consideration of the General Assembly. The full resolution
can be found by clicking HERE.
3) The Geneva Migration Group
The International Organisation for Migration, an intergovernmental body
with more than 100 member states, has created an informal group, the Geneva
Migration Group, which brings together the heads of several major UN agencies
(ILO, UNCTAD, UNHCR, UNHCHR, UNODC), to discuss ways of managing migration
and share information about population movements, and facilitate policy
discussion on issues which impact upon a broad spectrum of organizations,
whose work affects or is affected by international population flows and
which require intensified collaboration.
