Global Compact for Migration: ‘Implementation needs concerted efforts’

The effective implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) requires concerted efforts at global, regional, national and local levels, including a coherent United Nations system, said speakers at a workshop.

The event titled "Sensitisation Workshop on Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration" was held at a city hotel on Tuesday.

The government in coordination with the Bangladesh United Nations Network on Migration organised the programme.

Representatives from relevant ministries and agencies, members of Bangladesh United Nations Network on Migration, development partners and academia were present at the workshop.

Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque said, "Bangladesh has always been instrumental in discussions over migration at the global level. However, we are still struggling with migration in terms of coordination, governance and GCM implementation."

Currently, there is a huge tension at the global level about migration and it continues to remain a priority in global politics, he added.

''For GCM implementation, we need a strong coordination among different stakeholders at all levels," he also said.

Giorgi Gigauri, the mission chief of IOM Bangladesh and also a coordinator of the Bangladesh UN Migration Network, said, "We need to fulfil the objectives and commitments outlined in the GCM in line with guiding principles by taking effective steps at all levels to facilitate safe, orderly and regular migration."

"We also need a cooperation and partnership among migrants, civil society, local authorities, private sector and other related institutions to implement the GCM," he added.

Mia Seppo, the UN resident coordinator in Bangladesh, said, "GCM seeks to enhance the international migration. We need both the whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches to implement the GCM."

"We must ensure human trafficking is addressed and migrants' rights are ensured through the implementation of this global compact," she added.

To sensitise different participants in the global and national efforts of the adoption, implementation, follow-up and review process of the GCM, including coordination mechanisms, a working session on priorities for GCM implementation was conducted at the workshop.

Moreover, the Technical Working Groups on Counter-Trafficking and Labour Migration under the auspices of the Bangladesh United Nations Network on Migration was launched at the event.

For the first time on September 19, 2016, heads of states and governments came together to discuss migration and refugee issues at the global level within the UN General Assembly.

In adopting the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, the 193 UN member states recognised the need for a comprehensive approach to human mobility and an enhanced cooperation at the global level.

The GCM was then grounded in 2018 in values of state sovereignty, responsibility-sharing, non-discrimination and human rights.

It recognises that a cooperative approach is needed to optimise the overall benefits of migration while addressing its risks and challenges for individuals and communities in countries of origin, transit and destination.

The GCM, with 23 objectives, is the first-ever inter-governmentally negotiated agreement on a common approach to international migration in all its dimensions.

Though non-legally binding, the compact is the outcome of a long negotiation process and provides a strong platform for cooperation on migration, drawing on best practice and international law.