High-level meetings of the 68th Session of the General Assembly
3-4 October 2013 – High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development: “Making Migration Work”
The High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development is an important milestone in the follow-up to the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development and in discussions on the post-2015 development agenda. The report of the UN System Task Team, Realizing the Future We Want for All, affirmed that “the central challenge of the post-2015 UN development agenda is to ensure that globalization becomes a positive force for all the worlds’ peoples of present and future generations.” International migration – ensuring freer and safe movement of people across borders – could bring substantial benefits as part of an inclusive globalization process.
The first High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development, held in September 2006, provided an opportunity for countries to address the multi-dimensional aspects of international migration in order to identify appropriate ways and means to maximize its development benefits and minimize its negative impacts. The Dialogue resulted in the creation of the voluntary, State-led and non-binding Global Forum on Migration and Development(GFMD), a platform for informal dialogue and cooperation.
In 2006, the Secretary-General established the Global Migration Group (GMG) to promote the wider application of international and regional instruments and norms relating to migration and to encourage the adoption of more coherent, comprehensive and better coordinated inter-agency approaches. Currently, this interagency coordination mechanism includes 15 entities of the United Nations system as well as the International Organization for Migration(IOM).
In 2008, the General Assembly, in its resolution 63/225, decided to hold a second High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development during its 68th Session in 2013 and a one-day informal thematic debate at its 65th Session, in 2011. In 2012, the General Assembly decided to convene the two-day High-level Dialogue of the General Assembly on International Migration and Development (HLD) at the highest possible level on 3 and 4 October 2013 (A/67/219). It further decided to hold one day of informal interactive hearings in 2013 with representatives of non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and the private sector and to organize a panel discussion on the overall theme.
The theme of the 2013 High-level Dialogue is to identify “… concrete measures to strengthen coherence and cooperation at all levels, with a view to enhancing the benefits of international migration for migrants and countries alike and its important links to development, while reducing its negative implications”.
The High-level Dialogue will consist of a plenary meeting and four consecutive interactive round tables. Participation in each round table will include Member States, observers and representatives of entities of the UN system, as well as representatives of NGOs, civil society organizations and the private sector.
For more detailed information on the High-level Dialogue, please visit: www.unmigration.org.