The Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD)
In September 2006, the United Nations General Assembly convened a High-Level Dialogue involving more than 127 countries to discuss the connection between migration and development. Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General at the time, was a strong supporter of the Dialogue, which he hoped would see the start of inter-governmental discussion on these two subjects. With this is mind, he proposed the creation of a Global Forum in order to encourage an integrated approach to migration and development at both the national and international levels. This Global Forum was to be a government-led initiative open to all 192 United Nations Member States.
The Third Global Forum on Migration and Development - Athens, 2009
The third GFMD was held on 2-5 November in Athens, Greece. The Athens meeting had as its overarching theme “Integrating Migration Policies into Development Strategies for the Benefit of All”. The selection of this theme was based both on the diverse Greek experiences of migration and a growing global awareness of the need to better link migration to development and to make it a force for achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
The supporting Roundtable themes were:
- How to make the migration-development nexus work for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals
- Migrant integration, reintegration and circulation for development
- Policy and Institutional Coherence Partnerships
- Building Alliances: Business engaging with other Civil Society actors and The Future of the Forum.
Click here for more on the Novemeber 2009 GFMD.
During the 2009 civil society days of the GFMD, Don Flynn, PICUM Chair and Director of the Migrant Rights Centre (UK), chaired the workshop on “The Exploitation of Undocumented Migrant Women in the Workplace.” Eve Geddie, PICUM Programme Officer, co-organized the workshop with Carol Barton, Executive of the Women’s Division of the United Methodist Women (UMW) Immigrant/Civil Rights Initiative. (Go to Conference and Workshop reports to read the report in EN,FR or ES)
The Second Global Forum on Migration and Development - Manila, 2008
The second GFMD was held on 27-30 October 2008 in Manila, The Philippines. The Manila forum revolved around the central theme, “Protecting and Empowering Migrants for Development”. It built on issues raised in the Brussels GFMD roundtables, but with a special focus on protecting and empowering migrants for development. It focused on two further priorities identified in the initial Brussels Forum, namely human rights and the promotion of regular migration.
The supporting Roundtable themes were:
- Migration, Development and Human Rights
- Secure, legal migration can achieve stronger development impacts; and
- Policy and institutional coherence and partnerships.
Click here for more information on the October 2008 GFMD.
The First Global Forum on Migration and Development - Brussels, 2007
The first meeting of the GFMD was held on 10-11 July 2007 in Brussels, Belgium. At the end of 2006, the Belgian government sent a thematic questionnaire to all UN Member States (the ‘Friends of the Forum’) and from the responses they received the following themes were elaborated as the basis for discussion at the Forum meeting:
- Human capital development and labour mobility: maximizing opportunities and minimising risks.
- Remittances and other diaspora resources: increasing their net volume and development value.
- Enhancing policy and institutional coherence, and promoting partnerships.
Click here for the Final Recommendations and Conclusions of the Chair of the Global Forum on Migration and Development.
Click here for more information on the July 2007 GFMD.
