9 May 2022, Virtual – The International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) organized a side event during the International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) addressing cross-regional collaboration between the African and Arab regions on migration issues.  

Participants deliberated on the common migration priorities between the two regions and discussed opportunities for supporting Member States and stakeholders to accelerate the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Regular and Orderly Migration (GCM). 

The event was held virtually in coordination with the Governments of Kenya, Malawi and Morocco which were represented by high-level speakers during the event. Speakers also included representatives of UN Agencies and other stakeholders. 

“IOM plays a key role in supporting partnerships and the means to collaborate at national, regional, and global levels for better and more effective migration management,” said Ms. Wen Li, Director of the Department of International Cooperation and Partnerships at IOM. “IOM promotes dialogues between Member States and cooperation among UN agencies, and with various stakeholders, including cities, civil society, private sector and migrants themselves” she added.  

Discussions focused on GCM objective 16, on empowering migrants to realize full inclusion and social cohesion as one of the key common priority-GCM objectives across the two regions. Stakeholders mentioned some of the good practices witnessed in achieving this objective and identified gaps for further improvement. 

Each participating agency also provided inputs on how to strengthen cross-regional collaboration in their respective areas of work and insights on what support can be offered to Member States and stakeholders to accelerate GCM implementation ahead of the next regional reviews.   

“There are enormous gains to be reaped from empowering migrants to realize full inclusion and social cohesion. These will benefit host societies as well as enabling migrants to live with dignity and ensure they are not left behind,” said Ms. Sara Salman, population Affairs officer at ESCWA. She added that ESCWA supports Member States to build knowledge and develop relevant policies and conduct the GCM reviews.  

The IMRF is a four-day event currently taking place at the UN Headquarters in New York and bringing together governments and stakeholders alongside UN organizations and agencies to discuss progress made in the implementation of the GCM.  

The Forum will be held every four years and will serve as the primary global intergovernmental platform for Member States and other relevant stakeholders to discuss and share progress on the implementation of the GCM.  

For inquiries, please contact Mr. Tamim Elyan at telyan@iom.int   

The agenda of the events and more details about the IMRF are available here: https://www.un.org/en/migration2022  

The procedures of the forum will be broadcast on UN Web TV: https://media.un.org/en/search/?q=international+migration+review+forum