UN finalizes first-ever global compact for migration
United Nations for the first time has finalized Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration to better manage the international flow of migrants and protect human rights and contribute to sustainable development. The agreement is due to be formally adopted at a meeting in Marrakesh in December 2018.
The course of developing the compact started in early 2017 as the implementation of a decision by the UN member states as the adopted the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants in 2016.
All United Nations members — except the United States — have committed to a compact for safe migration and negotiated as global tensions on the issue continue to cause political turmoil and harsh anti-immigrant sentiment.T he Global Compact was accepted by 192 members of the United Nations. The United States pulled out of the deliberations last year, saying the compact was not compatible with US sovereignty.
The document was drawn up following Europe’s migration crisis in the year 2015, which saw the maximum number of refugees and migrants in Europe since World War II. The 34-page document will be the UN’s first intergovernmental negotiated agreement on governing regular migration. The agreement, however, will be non-binding It does not encourage migration, nor does it seek to stop it. It does not dictate. It fully respects the sovereignty of states.
It sets out 23 objectives to deal with issues ranging from factors that force people to migrate, how to protect and integrate them, and how to return them to their homes. The aim is to promote safe and orderly migration and reduce human trafficking. This broad framework comprises a range of objectives and actions, implementations, follow-up, and review.
Over 250 million migrants worldwide account for 3% of the world’s total population but contribute 10% of the global GDP. Migrants’ transfer of funds is a huge contributor to their home countries’ progress and development.
The Global Compact for Migration offers the international community the chance to improve workplace efficiency and bring decent work outcomes for migrant and national workers, as well as to change current misperceptions of migration, by readjusting migration policies to effectively include all labour market aspects. It reflected the understanding by Governments that cross-border migration is an international phenomenon and that effective management of this global reality requires international cooperation to increase its positive impact for all. It also recognizes that every individual has the right to safety, dignity, and protection.