Mercy Prepares for the First International Migration Review Forum

Mercy Global Action will participate in the first international review of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration next week. 

Adopted in 2018, the Global Compact for Migration is the first inter-governmental agreement negotiated at the United Nations which covers all dimensions of international migration in a holistic and comprehensive manner. It contains commitments and actions related to issues that are important to the Mercy World, including the protection of migrants in vulnerable situations, migrants’ access to services and social inclusion, the treatment of migrants at borders and in detention, actions to address trafficking in persons, and climate-related migration, among many others. The Global Compact presents a significant opportunity to improve the governance of migration, address the challenges associated with today’s migration, and strengthen the contribution of migrants and migration to sustainable development.

Mercy Global Action will participate in the International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) beginning with a self-organized, open Civil Society Preparatory Day that will take place on Sunday, 15 May, which aims to share and consolidate the key civil society joint inputs and points of engagement for the week ahead. MGA will also participate in the Multi-Stakeholder Hearing on Monday 16 May, and the rest of the IMRF on 17-20 May, which will include four roundtable discussions, a policy debate, a plenary, and the adoption of a Progress Declaration. The Progress Declaration will contain a review of progress, challenges, and gaps in the implementation of the Global Compact over the past four years. This includes the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as recommended actions to accelerate the implementation of the Global Compact and strengthen international cooperation on migration in the future. You can follow along with the IMRF live on UN WebTV.

Mercy International Association is also co-sponsoring a side event at the IMRF with Caritas Internationalis, ACT Alliance, and the NGO Committee on Migration, titled “The Cross-Cutting Call to Protect People and Planet: Experiences and Timely Recommendations for Accelerating the Implementation of GCM Objectives 2 and 5 to Address the Impacts of Climate Change on Human Mobility.” The event will take place on Tuesday, 17 May from 13:15-14:45 New York time. Check your time zone here, and register to attend the event on Zoom here.

Don’t forget to follow Mercy Global Action on Twitter to see our posts for the IMRF, including excerpts from our upcoming publication on Mercy and migration which will contain the findings of the Mercy Migration Mapping we conducted a few months ago.