March 29, 2024 16:08 (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
PM Modi to kickstart BJP's Lok Sabha poll campaign from Meerut | Kangana Ranaut in Mandi: 'Don't think I am a heroine, consider me as your sister and daughter' | Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav demand high-level probe into Mukhtar Ansari's death | PM Modi has mastered art of manipulating democracy, hurting Constitution: Mallikarjun Kharge | Mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari dies of cardiac arrest at 63
Migration deal U-turns ‘reflect poorly’ on countries concerned: UN Special Representative
UN Photo/Mark Garten

Migration deal U-turns ‘reflect poorly’ on countries concerned: UN Special Representative

India Blooms News Service | @indiablooms | 28 Nov 2018, 03:42 am

Dubai, Nov 28 (IBNS): In an exclusive interview with UN News, Louise Arbour, the UN Special Representative for International Migration, said on Tuesday that the stated intention of several countries (including Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria) to pull out of the Global Compact for migration reflects poorly on them, and has seriously affected the spirit of multilateralism.

Arbour pointed out that the text was agreed following extensive negotiations – involving all Member States apart from the United States – that lasted for months, in which each country advanced their own interests and extracted concessions from others, and added that it was disappointing to see countries reverse their decision to sign up to the compact so soon after the text had been agreed by all participating parties.

On Sunday, Slovakia’s Prime Minister became the latest national leader to announce their withdrawal of support for the Compact, according to news reports.

However, she said that the vast majority of States are still signed up to the initiative: a cooperative non-binding document which is designed to set clear objectives to make migration safe, orderly and regular.  It sets out to address the concerns of signatory governments while reinforcing national sovereignty; and recognizes the vulnerabilities faced by migrants.

Arbour says that, once implemented, it would allow migrants and Member States to prosper: “There is no question that we would see an increase in harvesting the benefits of migration and, very importantly, reducing some of its negative aspects such as irregular migration, with people moving in chaotic, dangerous ways,” she said.

“We would see a great improvement on the development aspects, the humanitarian aspect, and all the economic benefits that migration is capable of producing, if it's well managed, in a cooperative way,” added the former High Commissioner for Human Rights, and senior Canadian judge.

Addressing the often-negative discourse surrounding migration, Ms. Arbour said that governmental policies need to be data-driven, and connect with reality: “There are many, many countries in the world today that will need to import a part of their workforce. The demographics are suggesting that if they want to maintain their current economic standards or even grow their economy, they're going to have to receive well-trained foreigners to meet the labour market demands in their countries,” she said, adding that “to foster a culture of exclusion in such a case, is entirely counterproductive.”

The compact is due to be formally adopted at a conference in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh in December, where Ms. Arbour said that she expects to hear Member States express their intentions to implement the parts that are particularly significant to them, share their commitments, innovative ideas, and forge more partnerships.

The conference will also see the launch of the Migration Network, by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres. This body, coordinated by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), will oversee the implementation of the Global Compact for migration, and will involve all UN agencies that include a migration aspect as part of their mandate.

 

 

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.