The first regional review of the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration (GCM) took place on 12 and 13 November 2020. The consultation addressed the implementation of the GCM within the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) region, that covers over 50 countries, located in Europe, North America, the Caucasus, Central Asia and Western Asia.
Prior to the review, on 9 November 2020, an Informal Multi-stakeholder Consultation was held, structured around two roundtables on “Progress and challenges in the implementation of the GCM in the UNECE region” and “Best practices for stakeholder engagement in the GCM implementation”. The pre-consultation brought together representatives of civil society organisations, migrant communities, diasporas, local authorities, faith-based organizations, academia, the private sector, trade unions, youth organisations, and National Human Rights Institutions.
Michele LeVoy, Director of the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) was the rapporteur for the Informal Multi-stakeholder Consultation. In her summary report, Michele focused on the implementation of specific GCM objectives, expressing the concern on various topics including border violence, migration detention, access to services, children on the move, regular pathways and making several recommendations around multilateral cooperation and multi-stakeholder partnerships.
Regional Reviews are a key opportunity for States to focus on the progress made in the implementation of the GCM and to assess whether regional and national policies are aligned with the Compact. Following the UNECE Review, the remaining regional reviews will be held in the months to come.
At the end of the virtual two-day intergovernmental event, Stéphane Jaquemet, Director of Policy of the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC), focused in his closing remarks on “three priorities, given all the destructions (lives, livelihoods, jobs, hopes) and human tragedies brought by the COVID-19 crisis.” According to him, the main “takeaways, based on the reality on the ground and that can realistically be achieved within the coming year”, are: “access to services for all migrants, regardless of their status; creating and expanding regular pathways for migration; and alternatives to migration detention.”
