Safe Migration: Negotiations on, long way to go

Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque yesterday said the member states of the Global Forum on Migration and Development were still a long way from reaching consensus on devising a mechanism to ensure    safe, orderly and regular migration.

“It is too early to make comments. There are different views from different countries. There will be long negotiations. But I am optimistic,” he told reporters after the second day's sessions of the Ninth GFMD Summit in Dhaka.

The GFMD is a recent initiative of the UN member states to address migration and development interconnections in practical and action-oriented ways, according to the GFMD website.

The foreign secretary said they were in initial discussions on what type of mechanism or global compact they would have and whether it would be binding or non-binding.

He said Bangladesh had already proposed three ways for devising a global compact. It may be binding or non-binding but all member states would implement it. Even it can be an instrument having both binding and non-binding provisions.

“Discussion is on … ,” Shahidul said, adding that many countries were unwilling to talk about it.

On September 19, Bangladesh placed the proposal at the UN summit on migration.

There was consensus at the UN General Assembly that an intergovernmental conference -- the first of its kind -- will be held in 2018 with an exclusive focus on adopting a “Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration” by the member states.

The New York declaration adopted at the UN summit on September 19 includes an explicit commitment to strengthening global governance of migration.

The foreign secretary said six roundtables and three side events were held on the second day of the GFMD summit.

The member states discussed three issues -- migration and connectivity, migration governance, and how migration costs can be reduced.

Shahidul said there would be discussions on three issues today, the concluding day of the event. “Recommendations will come from the discussions.”

Replying to a query, he said the Rohingya issue didn't come up for discussions, but the issue of forced displacement would be discussed today in the context of climate change.