Global Pact on safe, regular and orderly Migration

A national migration consultation was held in Bissau on 10 October, with a view of supporting Guinea-Bissau’s effort to contribute to the shaping of a Global Compact on Migration -GCM.

13 Oct 2017

Global Pact on safe, regular and orderly Migration

The one-day consultation organized by the Secretariat of State for Communities in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) was funded by the European Union under the initiative for the protection and reintegration of migrants in Guinea-Bissau (EUTF- IOM) to address the root causes of irregular migration in Africa. Experts from different government institutions and representatives of civil society attended.

The official opening ceremony was presided over by Minister of Tourism Fernando Vaz, Secretary of State for Communities, Dino Seidi, Secretary of State for Cooperation, Augusto Poquena, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations system, Kourtoum Nakro, the European Union ambassador, Víctor Madeira dos Santos, among other guests.

Several dozen participants were able to hear the communication on the concept of the Migration Framework (MIGOF), as well as on thematic issues to be included in the Global Compact, in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, including the protection of migrants’ human rights, facilitating labor migration and mobility, reducing the incidence and impacts of irregular migration, integrating and social inclusion of migrants, among others.

Guinean expert Paulina Mendes of the National Institute of Study and Research (INEP) said that Guinea-Bissau "does not escape the global migratory phenomenon, the citizens of West Africa, namely Guinea-Conakry, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali and Anglophone Africans who have chosen this country to fulfill their dreams."

This national consultation aimed at collecting the perspectives and recommendations of various actors from the public sector, civil society and the private sector, as a contribution to the definition of a global framework for migration governance.

In September 2016, the United Nations held a High-level Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants at the General Assembly in New York. The New York Declaration which was adopted as the outcome of this summit committed member States to “launching a process of intergovernmental negotiations leading to the adoption of a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration at an intergovernmental conference to be held in 2018”.