The 6th summit of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) closed yesterday after intensive debates stretched on two days. The chairmanship of the GFMD was handed over to Sweden.
Swedish Ambassador Eva Akerman-Börje thanked the GFMD members and congratulated Mauritius for the excellent organisation of such a large-scale international conference. Each year, the GFMD, which emerged as an outcome of the UN General Assembly’s High Level Dialogue on Migration and Development in 2006, is organised by a different host government.
The United Nations’ Secretary-General Special Representative for Migration and Development, Sir Peter Sutherland, also expressed his satisfaction at the quality and intensity of debates and ideas that have unfolded during all the seminars. In his closing remarks, the Financial Secretary (FS) and GFMD Chair-in-Office for 2012, Mr. Ali Mansoor, expressed the wish to see practical outcomes that make a difference to the lives of people, and a focus on African concerns and African engagement. He also spoke about the African mobility project to explore ways and means to better match labour demands with labour supplies across the continent.
The themes of the day were “Supporting Migrants and Diaspora as Agents of Socioeconomic Change”, “Addressing South-South Migration and Development Policies”, “Migrant Protection as Integral to Migration Management”, and “Protecting Migrant Domestic Workers-Enhancing their Development Potential”. Most speakers and debaters recalled that Africa has become a critical player in international migration, while highlighting the struggle of migrants. They also outlined that migration is a global phenomenon which warrants a global response.
In the margins of the Summit the Civil Society Days (CSD) of the GFMD were held on 19 and 20 November. The GFMD is State-led but directly engages civil society partners, which are invited to provide thorough input for recommendations and concrete proposals. To this end the CSD are organised prior to the annual meeting of governments.
The themes during the CSD focused, amongst others, on human development in international migration, migration and development goals, monitoring and regulating labour practices, engaging diasporas as entrepreneurs and policy advocates, and the protection of vulnerable migrant workers.
GFMD is a State-led voluntary process dedicated to informal, non-binding and outcome-oriented dialogue. Policymakers and stakeholders from many countries all over the world participate in various meetings to discuss the relation between migration and development, share experiences and forge practical cooperation links.
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