Civil Society and the International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) 2022
The International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) is the “primary intergovernmental global platform” to discuss and share progress on the implementation of all aspects of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM).
The first IMRF took place in New York on 17-20 May 2022 and thereafter every four years, and resulted in a progress declaration.
In order to collectively prepare for its self-organising towards the IMRF, the Civil Society Action Committee (AC) members and partners held a series of preparatory sessions, consultations, and advocacy dialogues, primarily within civil society but also with Member States, as well as with other strategic stakeholders. The purpose of these discussions was firstly to assess and advocate for civil society’s role and related modalities in IMRF engagement, and then to advocate for the civil society main thematic priorities.
1st Phase (May-August 2021)
In the first phase of this process the AC consolidated civil society outcomes from the Regional Review Forums along with other assessments of GCM implementation, as well as collected civil society’s initial intentions towards self-organizing priorities. We then convened the first open global civil society consultation on the IMRF, to collectively review initial expectations and ideas, as well as begin to strategise on priorities for our engagement in the IMRF. These initial points of discussion were then coalesced and presented to a few UN Member States in an open dialogue in July 2021, to gauge their initial reception.
2nd Phase (September-December 2021)
In Phase 2, a focus was placed on developing a set of broad advocacy points for civil society to rally around. As a result of this collective effort, a joint position paper on the IMRF was developed: the 12 Key Ways.
The paper offers a collective set of advocacy points on key issues that the Action Committee’s membership collectively prioritises. It is centred around 12 key priorities we identify as critical and urgent themes to make progress on the GCM, and a section dedicated to proposals for inclusive civil society participation in the IMRF and in the GCM process overall.
These key advocacy points and priorities were presented by the Action Committee as an official submission towards the UN Secretary General’s Report, in view of its release in February 2022. Furthermore, the paper was used to engage in dialogue with Member States, relevant UN bodies, and other stakeholder partners to further advocate on our priorities and on civil society modalities for IMRF engagement.
3rd Phase (January-May 2022)
For the final phase of civil society engagement towards the IMRF, the AC used the 12 Key Ways Paper as overarching blueprint for civil society’s advocacy directly with Member States. Endorsed by more than 150 organisations worldwide, the 12 Key Ways paper has been widely used as inputs towards the zero draft of the IMRF Progress Declaration, as well as in direct dialogues and advocacies with Member States and other stakeholders.
The AC also coordinated the drafting and submission of an Open-Letter to the President of the General Assembly (PGA) regarding the limited modalities for civil society and stakeholder participation. This letter, combined with other civil society advocacy, had a wide effect, including the doubling of stakeholder townhall meetings with the Progress Declaration co-facilitators, and the possibility for stakeholders to attend the Progress Declaration negotiations in person as observers.
Finally, the AC submitted joint civil society inputs and recommendations to the drafts of the Progress Declaration, ahead of each round of negotiations.