IOM and Follow-up to the High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development
Migration is one of the defining phenomena of our time, and in 2006 it has attracted increased political attention world-wide thanks to a large extent to the catalytic effect played by the preparation for and the holding of the High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development (HLD) that the General Assembly conducted in September 2006.
Growing awareness of the importance to properly prepare for this event has generated a host of activities, at the national, regional and global levels. IOM has been deeply engaged in supporting such activities. A link to an agenda of the regional and global events which led up to the HLD can be found at the end of this page.
The HLD has taken place with an unexpectedly high-level participation and IOM is pleased with the outcome of the HLD, much of which parallels the key messages which were strongly advocated throughout the lead-up period. IOM now looks forward to contributing to making the follow-up a success.
The HLD produced a number of proposals for future action; some in which IOM has considerable experience and can therefore play a key role (see box) in their further implementation at the request of member States and international organizations.
The HLD will also feed into the debate at IOM’s Council in November 2006, which will in turn contribute to a better definition of IOM’s strategy, including its relationship with the UN. In this regard, IOM is already engaged in a constructive dialogue on ways and means to further improve and enhance cooperation between the UN and IOM according to the respective memberships’ guidance.
Permanent Missions in New York can also contact the IOM Office of the Permanent Observer at (212) 681-7000 for further information on IOM and follow-up to the HLD.
For IOM, post-HLD focus should be paid to three particular issues:
1. Stepped up measures to make migration work for development. A number of delegations at the HLD addressed this matter with a genuine interest in and knowledge of emerging practices. Among the many different innovative ways to implement concrete measures to make migration work for development, two are most prominent: first, mainstreaming migration into development planning agendas and second, building capacities to deal more effectively with the global labour market:
· As for the former, IOM is pursuing this approach in a few pilot countries (e.g Ghana), specifically assisting Governments in reflecting migration issues into their national development strategy. In order to successfully achieve such a goal, IOM is working to mobilize other development cooperation partners to integrate migration issues in poverty reduction strategies.
· As for international labour mobility, IOM presented at the HLD a conceptual “International Migration and Development Initiative” (IMDI). It is a mechanism to facilitate capacity building for safe, legal and orderly participation in the global labour market. IOM has begun working with several partners to better define this concept and pursue it with interested organizations and member states.
2. Enhanced Inter-agency Coordination. While IOM may be the sole inter-governmental organization with an across-the-board migration mandate, partnership is needed among many agencies and entities involved in various aspects of migration, according to their areas of expertise. With this objective in mind, IOM was among the co-founders of the Geneva Migration Group in 2003, which included six agencies with an interest in migration issues. In early 2006, with the encouragement of the UN SG, the GMG was expanded and renamed the Global Migration Group. It will be helpful if UN member states continue to acknowledge the work of the GMG and encourage its further strengthening.
3. Global Inter-governmental cooperation. The debate around the HLD has underlined the need for strengthening cooperation among governments at all levels. Regional organizations and consultative processes were recognized as a most useful space in forming building blocks for a sustained dialogue on migration and development. Likewise, the International Dialogue on Migration, created in the IOM Council in 2001, was acknowledged by many as an already existing avenue, whose potential needs to be more fully exploited. The Secretary-General made an important proposal to create a consultative, non-binding global forum which may bring new impetus in the search for effective formulas for debating migration at the global level in association with the United Nations. As several member states acknowledged at the HLD, it would appear sensible to associate the GMG agencies collectively and individually to this global endeavor. For IOM’s part, should Member States so wish, the Organization is committed to contribute to this global follow up initiative. |
Link to 2006 regional and global events pre-HLD
