Global Forum on Migration and Development
![]() Official Logo | |
Formation | 2006 |
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Type | Intergovernmental Process |
Headquarters | Geneva, Switzerland |
Membership | Member States and Observers of the United Nations |
Official language | English, French and Spanish |
Host Country | United Arab Emirates (2020) |
Chair-in-Office | Nasser bin Thani Juma Al Hamli, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, United Arab Emirates |
Website | http://www.gfmd.org |
The Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) is a state-led, informal and non-binding process, which helps shape the global debate on migration and development. It provides a flexible, multi-stakeholder space where governments can discuss the multi-dimensional aspects, opportunities and challenges related to migration, development, and the link between these two areas. The GFMD process allows governments - in partnership with civil society, the private sector, the UN system, and other relevant stakeholders – to analyze and discuss sensitive issues, create consensus, pose innovative solutions, and share policy and practices.[1]
Background[]
The idea of creating a global consultative forum on Migration and Development was proposed by Mr. Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), at the first High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development (HLD) held on 14–15 September 2006 during the UN General Assembly. During the HLD, over 140 Member States discussed the interaction between migration and development, a complex relationship of growing importance in view of the increasing migration flows. Yet there was still a crippling lack of information and data and appropriate institutional structures and resources in many countries to achieve these; and importantly, there was no single, all-encompassing global forum to bring together policy makers on the two critical issues of migration and development. Some good practices were tried in a piecemeal way by governments and international agencies around the world, but these needed to be more widely understood and adapted, and more cooperative frameworks needed to be explored.
Reflecting the progressive acknowledgement of the limits of a strictly national approach to migration questions at a global level, there was widespread recognition and support in the UN at the HLD 2006 for an open and transparent dialogue on migration and development, in an informal, non-binding and state-led framework that would promote practical, evidence-based outcomes and cooperation between governments as well as non-government stakeholders.
From this idea, the GFMD was born, hosting its first Summit meeting in 2007 under the direction of the first GFMD Chair, Belgium. The GFMD has since remained as the largest informal, non-binding, voluntary and government-led process, bringing together expertise from all regions and countries at all stages of economic, social and political development. Since its inception, the GFMD has operated on the basis of a unique participative working method, involving governments and policy makers from a varied background. Policy-makers from a wide range of government agencies participate, including from Ministries and Departments of Immigration, Development, Labor, Foreign Affairs, Gender Equality, Home Affairs, Justice, Interior, Integration and Nationals Abroad.
Consistent with its state-led but not state only nature, the GFMD has also established formal links with other processes such as the GFMD Civil Society, the GFMD Business Mechanism and the Mayors Mechanism. These institutional links have allowed the inclusion of the voices and expertise of diverse stakeholders, including academia, NGOs, trade unions, the private sector, migrants and diaspora representatives as well as local authorities, in GFMD discussions.[2]
Objectives[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Family_photo-_Global_Forum_on_Migration_and_Devolopment_in_Istanbul%2C_14_10_2015_%2822142843006%29.jpg/250px-Family_photo-_Global_Forum_on_Migration_and_Devolopment_in_Istanbul%2C_14_10_2015_%2822142843006%29.jpg)
The objectives of the GFMD are:
- To provide a venue for policy-makers and high-level policy practitioners to informally discuss relevant policies and practical challenges and opportunities of the migration-development nexus, and engage with other stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations, experts and migrant organizations to foster practical and action-oriented outcomes at national, bilateral and international level;
- To exchange good practices and experiences, which can be duplicated or adapted in other circumstances, in order to maximize the development benefits of migration and migration flows;
- To identify information, policy and institutional gaps necessary to foster synergies and greater policy coherence at national, regional and international levels between the migration and development policy areas;
- To establish partnerships and cooperation between countries, and between countries and other stakeholders, such as international organizations, diaspora, migrants, academia etc., on migration and development;
- To structure the international priorities and agenda on migration and development.
Structure[]
Under the Operating Modalities of the GFMD adopted in 2007, the Forum meets every year for an inter-active and practice-oriented dialogue. It is attended by high-level and senior government policy-makers, and its deliberations are held under Chatham House Rules. A Report of Proceedings is prepared at the end of each Forum.
The supporting framework of the GFMD includes the following:
- The Chair-in-Office: The host government assumes responsibility for the preparatory process and the implementation of each Forum. The Chair also supervises the GFMD Support Unit. The current GFMD Chair is the Government of Ecuador.
- The Troika: composed of the outgoing Chair, the current Chair, and the forthcoming Chair.
- The Steering Group: composed of a smaller number of governments that are firmly committed to offer sustained political and conceptual support to the Forum process and to the Chair-in-Office, and to ensure continuity of the process. The Steering Group meets at regular intervals in Geneva to consider and advise on all relevant policy issues pertaining to the smooth running of the Forum process. It may also create thematic follow-up working groups.
Steering Group Members:[3]
- The Friends of the Forum: open to all UN Member States and Observers. It acts as a sounding board by ensuring that all Members States and Observers of the UN are kept abreast of Forum-related developments; and advises on the agenda, structure and format of the GFMD meeting. Friends of the Forum Meetings are held, in principle, at least twice in between each Forum meeting at a venue to be determined by the Chair-in-Office.
GFMD Governments:[4]
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Andorra
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cabo Verde
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Comoros
Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Holy See
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
South Korea
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia (Federated States of)
Republic of Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
North Macedonia
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Palestine
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Sweden
Switzerland
Tajikistan
United Republic of Tanzania
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
Viet Nam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe
GFMD Observers:[5]
- ACP Observatory on Migration
- African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States
- African Development Bank
- African Union
- Association of Southeast Asian Nations
- Asian Development Bank
- Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
- Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families
- Commonwealth Secretariat (Commonwealth)
- European Union
- Inter-American Conference on Social Security
- Inter-American Development Bank
- Intergovernmental Consultations on Migration, Asylum and Refugees
- International Catholic Migration Commission
- International Center for Migration Policy Development
- International Committee of the Red Cross
- International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
- International Fund for Agricultural Development
- International Labour Organization
- International Organization for Migration
- International Organization of the Francophonie
- Joint Migration and Development Initiative
- League of Arab States
- John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
- Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
- Organization of Islamic Conference
- Partners in Population and Development (PPD)
- Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD)
- Regional Conference on Migration (Puebla Process)
- Secretaría General Iberoamericana
- South American Conference on Migration
- Sovereign Military Order of Malta
- United Nations Alliance of Civilizations
- United Nations Children's Fund
- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
- United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
- United Nations Development Programme
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
- United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- United Nations Human Security Unit
- United Nations Institute for Training and Research
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
- United Nations Office at Geneva
- United Nations Population Fund
- United Nations Regional Commissions
- United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants
- UN Women
- Universal Postal Union
- World Bank
- World Health Organization
- The Chair's Taskforce: gives political, conceptual and operational advice to the Chair, composed of: national government staff from different ministries and departments and a limited number of international advisers sponsored by other governments or international organizations.
- The GFMD Support Unit: created in 2008 to perform administrative, financial and logistical functions; manage GFMD-related data and information; manage internationally contributed funds; and operate the GFMD website and the GFMD Platform for Partnerships (the latter since 2010).
- The Global Network of GFMD Focal Points: created in 2007 to facilitate further dialogue at the national level, as well as networking at the global level between GFMD governments.
- The GFMD government-led Working Groups, established by the Steering Group, which prioritize and follow up on outcomes of previous GFMD meetings and link these to current and future thematic priorities.
- The UN Migration Network, brings together 38 UN entities (as of December 2018) to ensure effective, timely and coordinated system-wide support to Member States. Building on GFMD's close working relationship with UN entities dealing with migration and development, particularly IOM, the GFMD is poised to coordinate closely with the UN Network on Migration (and its member UN entities) to promote thematic synergy and coherent work planning. While in the past, the primary connection between the GFMD and the UN was through the UN Secretary General's Special Representative for International Migration (SRSG), it will now be through the UN Network.
Past GFMD Chairs in Office[]
The host country (Chair-in-Office) assumes responsibility for the preparatory process and the implementation of each Forum. The host government chairs all sessions related to Forum preparations and chairs the Forum. The Chair-in-Office is assisted by the country that organized the previous Forum and the country that will host the following meeting of the Forum.
- Belgium 2007 : , former Ambassador for Migration and Asylum Policy of Belgium, who also acted as the Belgian Executive Director of the Global Forum on Migration and Development.
- Philippines 2008: Esteban B. Conejos Jr., Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs. He was the Philippine GFMD focal point and Secretary General of the GFMD National Organizing Committee.
- Greece 2009: Mrs. Theodora Tzakri, Deputy Minister of Interior, Decentralization and E-Governance, chaired the Athens GFMD meeting.
- Mexico 2010: Ambassador Juan Manuel Gómez Robledo, Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs initially acted as chair. Mrs. Cecilia Romero Castillo, then Commissioner of INM, acted as executive director. On 7 October, she was succeeded by Mr. Salvador Beltrán del Rio Madrid. In late October 2010, Amb Julián Ventura Valero, Undersecretary for North America at the SRE, took over the role of the GFMD Chair after Amb Gómez Robledo.
- Switzerland 2011: Ambassador Eduard Gnesa, Swiss Special Ambassador for International Cooperation in Migration.
- Mauritius 2012: Mr. Ali Mansoor, Financial Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MOFED) of the Republic of Mauritius.
- Sweden 2013-2014: Mrs. Eva Åkerman Börje, Ambassador, Government Offices of Sweden.
- Turkey 2014-2015: H.E. Feridun Hadi Sinirlioğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey. The preparatory meetings were chaired alternately by Mr. Mehmet Samsar, Director General for Consular Affairs of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ms. Esen Altug, Deputy Director General for Migration, Asylum and Visa of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Bangladesh 2016: H.E. Amb. Md. Shahidul Haque, Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh
- Germany-Morocco 2017-2018: Co-Chaired by Mr. Götz Schmidt-Bremme, Ambassador for the 2017-2018 GFMD at the German Federal Foreign Office and Mr. El Habib Nadir, Secretary General at the Ministry in charge of Moroccans living abroad and migration affairs.
- Ecuador 2019: Mr. Santiago Javier Chavez Pareja, Vice Minister for Human Mobility of Ecuador
Other GFMD Mechanisms[]
The Platform for Partnerships (PfP)[]
Since the creation of the GFMD in 2007, there have been continued calls during the annual GFMD meetings for online sharing of good practices using the . At the initiative of the Mexican Chair and with the support of the current Swiss Chair the PfP has been created towards the end of 2010 to address this need and to foster new partnerships.
The GFMD Platform for Partnerships[6] (PfP - www.gfmd.org/pfp) is a tool to facilitate exchange and showcase projects, programs and policies that are undertaken by governments in the field of Migration and Development (M&D), and which are related to GFMD themes, debates and outcomes. The PfP is a four-pronged tool:
- for showcasing existing (or past) practices (M&D Policy and Practice Database)
- for fostering new projects and partnerships (M&D Calls for Action)
- for facilitating communication and exchange (M&D Networking)
- for showcasing products and policy tools (M&D Policy Tools)
See also[]
- GFMD Civil Society Process
- Global Migration Group
- KNOMAD
External links[]
- Official Website
- Website of ICMC, Coordinating Office for Civil Society
- Website of IOE, Coordinating Office of the GFMD Business Mechanism
References and notes[]
- ^ "Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD)". gfmd.org. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
- ^ "Background and Objectives | Global Forum on Migration and Development". gfmd.org. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
- ^ "GFMD Steering Group".
- ^ "GFMD Focal Points Directory". Archived from the original on 2014-08-12. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
- ^ "GFMD List of Observers".
- ^ "Platform For Partnerships (PFP) | Global Forum on Migration and Development". www.gfmd.org. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
- Human migration
- International development organizations
- United Nations organizations based in Geneva