Global civil society representatives gather in New York and online to look back on four years of implementing the Global Compact for Migration (GCM), ahead of the IMRF taking place on 17-20 May.
In the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration* (GCM), U.N. Member States decided that the International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) would serve as the primary intergovernmental global platform to discuss and share progress on the implementation of all aspects of the GCM. The IMRF takes place every four years, and each edition will produce a Progress Declaration. The first IMRF takes place in New York on 17-20 May 2022.
Ahead of the IMRF, on Sunday, 15 May, civil society representatives from around the world gathered in New York and online to take part in the IMRF Civil Society Preparatory Day (CSPD). The CSPD aims to enable civil society IMRF participants to be fully and adequately prepared to engage in IMRF discussions in a cohesive and organized manner. It represents the culmination of a year-long process of civil society preparatory sessions, advocacy dialogues, and consultations begun in mid-2021.
The morning session of the CPSD looked back over the four years of GCM implementation since it was adopted in 2018. Regional reports from civil society representatives drew on the discussions and conclusions of GCM regional review processes to identify gaps and challenges and react to the draft Progress Declaration.
“Civil society spoke up and acted with a collective strength during the difficult, painful and disappointing regional review process,” said ICMC Director of Policy Stéphane Jaquemet. “Some governments are using the Progress Declaration to renege on their GCM commitments, and as civil society, we must act to ensure a return to the core commitments by the next IMRF in 2026”.
Many participants pointed to the deteriorating situation for migrants around the world as evidence of the GCM´s failure. “Huge violence persists at Europe’s borders, and solidarity is being increasingly criminalized,” said Michele Levoy of Europe’s Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM). Her comments echoed representatives from Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region pointing to continuing migrant deaths at borders and at sea.
Farah Al Abdallah of the Cross-Regional Center for Refugees and Migrants (CCRM) criticized action on labor migration by Member States in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. “Many of these measures are cosmetic and have been implemented solely for the benefit of the international community and media,” she stated. “There is very little evidence they have produced any positive change for labor migrants in the region.”
Participants criticized the idea that the COVID-19 pandemic had prevented the fulfillment of GCM objectives. “It is rather the failure to fulfill GCM objectives that exacerbated the impact of the pandemic,” said Sara al-Khatib of the Solidarity Center. “Undocumented people often cannot access healthcare, for example, and states absolutely failed to address the impact this had on pandemic control.”
“Many pandemic policies were ill-thought-out in relation to migrants, such as vaccine passports that undocumented people could not access,” said William Gois of the Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA). “Countries in the global South have also taken on huge amounts of debt to finance their pandemic responses, which will impact their ability for action on migration and governance in the coming period.”
Civil society representatives from Europe and North Africa specifically urged that the draft Progress Declaration better recognize the developmental contributions of migrants and diasporas. “Remittances are three times larger than foreign direct investment,” said Mirana Rajoharison of the Africa-Europe Diaspora Development Platform (ADEPT). “The positive practical impacts in terms of schools built and families supported is not adequately taken into account.” Echoing her contribution, Onyekachi Wambu of the African Foundation for Development (AFFORD) urged that the global total of 281 million migrants referenced in the Progress Declaration be increased to include the diaspora and better acknowledge its role in development.
Participants found consensus on the importance of strong anti-racism action in the framework of the GCM, but were critical of the lack of concrete action to date despite favorable language.
*The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration is an international agreement adopted by 152 States in December 2018. As the first-ever global framework for migration governance, it aims to increase international collaboration on all aspects related to migration, including human rights, humanitarian needs, and development.
