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Ecuador chairs meetings of the “Global Forum on Migration and Development” in Geneva and New York
Posted On 18 Feb 2019
Ecuadornews:
Between February 18 and 28, in Geneva and New York, the initial sessions of the “Global Forum on Migration and Development” (FGMD) will be held, which during 2019 will be chaired by Ecuador. The delegation is led by the Vice Minister of Human Mobility and president of the Forum, Santiago Chávez. The first meetings will be with the other members of the Troika – Germany and Morocco – and with the FGMD Steering Group, made up of around 30 countries from different regions of the world.
These meetings will make it possible to determine the strategic objectives proposed for the exercise of the presidency of Ecuador, among others: joint action against migratory flows and the defense of rights; the role and responsibility of governments in communication or narrative about migration; the incidence of human mobility in urban and rural development strategies; migration laboratory; the articulation of the United Nations network on migration issues; “Market place”, etc.
The agenda will continue with a meeting with the Group of Friends of the Forum, which substantively supports the work that has been done, within it, with a view to specifying the achievements that will be presented at the XII Summit that will take place in Quito. , at the end of 2019.
A meeting with a group of experts that will evaluate the 10 years of operation of the FMGD is also planned. “The conclusions obtained will be important for eventual modifications of the structure of the Forum, also with a view to establishing the best operating parameters for the future,” said Chavez, who emphasized the active role that the academic sector should play in the FGMD.
In addition, the diplomat believes that one of the primary roles of the Forum is to contribute to the implementation of some objectives of the Global Migration Pact, to which Ecuador adhered last year. Another purpose is for the Forum to become a space for dialogue and convergence between the countries subscribing to the aforementioned Covenant and those that did not. At the same time, that the Forum be a bridge between the Global Compact for Migration and the Global Compact for Refugees.
In this context, it will also attend meetings in New York, convened by the General Presidency of the UN Assembly and others, to establish mechanisms to evaluate the Global Migration Pact and advance the development of the issues.
On February 28, which culminates the agenda, Ecuador will be present at the meeting in charge of the IOM, whose fundamental theme is “Youth and Migration.”
In these days, both in Geneva and in New York, the president of the Forum will take advantage of the opportunity to hold bilateral meetings. It is expected to meet with delegates from the Commission for Catholic Migration and the International Organization of Employers; with authorities of the United Nations Network for Migration and the Global Initiatives Program of the International Center for Migration and Development Policy. As well as with representatives of the governments of the United Arab Emirates, Canada and Switzerland, among others.
Ecuador received in December 2018 the “Presidency of the Global Forum on Migration and Development”, becoming the first South American country to assume these functions. Vice Minister Chávez confirmed that the designation is an important international recognition of the work carried out by the country and the Government in terms of human mobility. (I)
