New York, March 7th, 2022 – SIMN participated in the informal consultations hosted by the two cofacilitators of the Progress Declaration on the implementation of the United Nations Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, excellencies Rabab Fatima and Olivier Maes, Permanent Representatives of Bangladesh and Luxembourg. The Progress Declaration will be adopted as a result of the first International Migration Review Forum (IMRF), to be held on 16-20 next May, and, depending on the content of the commitments States adopt, will determine if the Global Compact is still a living and relevant agreement to address the needs and rights of both migrants and host communities.

SIMN participated in the consultations with a constructive approach, providing language that can enrich the declaration States are going to adopt, based on the input document produced by the Civil Society Action Committee and the recently published Report of the Secretary General on the implementation of the Global Compact. In this connection, SIMN highlighted the following issues that it considers indispensable to be reflected in the declaration:

1. Adoption of measurable goals in implementing the GCM is indispensable, as well as advancements in monitoring State actions and State accountability.
2. As acknowledged by the Secretary-General, migrants were essential to societies and governments in tackling the pandemic as well as in the recovery efforts. States and societies owe to them; thus, States should grant migrants access to all basic services, especially health and vaccination ones, as well as other social protections, regardless of migration status.
3. As the Secretary-General’s Report calls for, in light of the dramatic increase of migrant deaths and other victims of smuggling and trafficking, States are urged to abandon restrictive, deterrence-based migration-related laws, policies, and practices. It is urgent to provide expedite alternatives for regular pathways. Also, in order to reduce vulnerability, migrants should be able to benefit from regularization processes.
4. The human rights of migrants at all stages of the migratory process should be respected, including at borders. States are urged to demilitarize border enforcement, halt and reverse border externalization, and decriminalize migration.
5. As acknowledged in the Secretary-General’s Report, as first responders to migrants´ needs, civil society organizations and migrant organizations should be treated as allies and key partners, and as such, meaningful engagement with them is indispensable in the design, implementation and monitoring of all migration policies, measures and programs at the multilateral, regional and national levels. This also has to be done also in the follow-up process to this IMRF.

The cofacilitators informed that they plan to release a Zero draft Progress Declaration in the coming days and reiterated their commitment to conduct an inclusive and transparent consultation process. Another meeting with non-state actors will be organized after the release of the Zero draft.