Since our last update in March, there have been two rounds of intergovernmental negotiations towards a Global Compact on Migration.

Within the second round, the Co-Facilitators of the process, Ambassadors of Mexico and Switzerland, took a step back from proceeding through negotiations objective by objective to ensure that some main areas of contention between Member States were discussed. Speaking openly in this round of negotiations, key points debated considered Member States’ opinions on the differentiation of regular and irregular migrants, differentiation between migrants and refugees, implementation and capacity building, and follow up and review. In depth discussion arose regarding the human rights of migrants, which should be upheld regardless of status. Click here to read the Zero Draft Plus which was negotiated during this round.

The Draft Revision of the Global Compact on Migration which was released on March 26 and discussed within the third round of negotiations (April 3-6) included the differentiations as discussed within the second round; however, no changes were made to a capacity building mechanism. Negotiations proceeded objective by objective and encompassed both technical and content changes. Consensus on the changes made to the Compact was varied as some Member States do not want the Compact to be too prescriptive and others that urge to make the Global Compact as strong as it can be.

Continue following the negotiations and read statements submitted by Member States here where you can view the programme of work for each round, statements, side-events, and more!

The next round of negotiations will be from May 14-18th. As we head into a stretch with no Global Compact Negotiations to attend, MIA: Mercy Global Action at the UN, along with the NGO Committee on Migration, will be visiting with delegates of UN Member States to assist in optimizing the Global Compact on Migration.

Messages to: Angela Reed rsm - MIA Coordinator at the UN - Mercy Global Action