Forum InfoBackground
In September 2006, the High Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development took place in the framework of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Over 140 Member States discussed the global implications of international migration and the mutually beneficial interaction between migration and development. The High Level Dialogue made explicit the close relationship of development policies with migration policies, and reaffirmed how good migration governance can contribute to development and how development policies can impact on migration. This complex relationship is of growing importance as migration increases every year.
As a result of these discussions a large number of UN Member States expressed their interest in continuing the dialogue on migration and development by means of an informal, voluntary and state-led global forum. Belgium took the initiative to organize the first meeting of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), to be held in Brussels on 9-11 July 2007.
The Forum meeting in Brussels will comprise two interrelated parts: a meeting of civil society actors on the first day, organized by the King Baudouin Foundation; and a discussion by government representatives on the second and third day. Working languages are English, French and Dutch.
Themes addressed at the Forum in Brussels
At the end of 2006, the Belgian governments sent a thematic questionnaire to all UN Member States. Based on the the responses to the questionnaire, and in consultation with UN Members States (the ‘Friends of the Forum'), the following themes were elaborated as the basis for discussion at the Forum meeting in July:
- Human capital development and labor mobility: maximizing opportunities and minimizing risks.
- Remittances and other diaspora resources: increasing their net volume and development value.
- Enhancing policy and institutional coherence, and promoting partnerships.
Cross-cutting issues such the human rights of migrants, gender and capacity building will also be addressed.
The Global Forum on Migration and Development is not a decision-making process but rather
provides a platform for policymakers to share information on ideas, good practices and policies regarding migration and development, and to explore new initiatives for international cooperation and multi-stakeholder partnerships.
A key added value of the Forum for Member States and other actors is to produce concrete and action-oriented outcomes, including new policy recommendations, innovative pilot programmes, the development of partnerships, the removal of obstacles to seek mutually beneficial effects, and the possibility to learn from each others experience.
