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This two-day forum was organized by the Government of Belgium as a follow-up to the High-Level Dialogue on Migration coordinated by the United Nations during the 2006 General Assembly.
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The GFMD was attended by representatives from 155 counties and numerous civil society organizations, for a total of close to one thousand delegates. The World Bank participating team supported and contibuted to the series of activities and meetings during the Conference.The Forum, not aimed at leading to specific recommendations or agreements, saw several debates among country representatives on the role of sound development policies as the condition to maximize the potential benefits for migration. Country representatives, especially those from the European Union, seem to understand the need to bring together migration and development in the policy dialogue. The final recommendations from the Chair discussed (i) the need for a more fluid dialogue across stakeholders (countries, international organizations, diasporas, etc); (ii) capacity building- for data, analyses and policy design; (iii) the role of co-development where migrants and their families play a role as actors of development of their own countries of origin; (iv) the need of increased policy coherence through an appropriate institutional setting. The GFMD process will have a second meeting in the Philippines next year and the World Bank has been asked to support it as well.
The World Bank also supported the organization of the Civil Society Day (CSD) that took place on July 9th, where helped to identify discussion themes and representatives of the remittances industry. The GFMD organizers recognized the importance of non-state actors in the global migration dialogue and invited stakeholders from diaspora groups, trade unions, private sector, money transfer agencies, microfinance institutions etc. to provide their inputs to the inter-governmental forum. Amongst the recommendations was the request to Governments to ratify and effectively implement as well as monitor compliance of the UN and ILO standards of protection for migrant workers and their families; and to legislate national laws and policies to promote and fulfill the rights of migrant workers and members of their families, particularly the women and children.
For direct information on the GFMD visit the website www.gfmd-fmmd.org.
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