Americas Conclude Regional Discussions on Skilling, Protection and Irregular Migration – and Narratives on Migration

3 July 2020

Geneva: Participants from the Regional Conference on Migration – otherwise known as the Puebla Process – today concluded a series of discussions as part of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD). The RCM is a pan-American forum, bringing together eleven Member States from North and Central America. Numerous representatives of members of the South American Conference on Migration also participated, as well as stakeholders from civil society, business and local government.

Today’s discussion brought to a close a series of online meetings focusing on a range of issues, including the skilling of migrants, filling gaps in migrant protection, and addressing the challenges of irregular migration. Breakout sessions on these issues were led by Michele Klein-Solomon, Director of IOM’s Policy Hub; John Bingham, an independent consultant and former coordinator of the GFMD Civil Society Mechanism; and Kathleen Newland, Senior Fellow and Co-Founder of the Migration Policy Institute.

The RCM also hosted a special breakout session, chaired by Canada and the GFMD Mayor’s Mechanism, on Public Narratives on Migration, intended to explore best practices in communication about migration.

Commenting on the RCM consultations on behalf of the GFMD Chair, Abdulla AlNuaimi, Assistant Undersecretary for Communications and International Relations, UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, said, “We are grateful to the Costa Rican Chair of the RCM for their collaboration with us, and for ensuring that view points from the Americas are well represented in the 2020 round of GFMD meetings. The breakout session on Public Narratives on Migration was a notable instance of Member States using the GFMD as a platform to develop deeper thinking about critical migration governance-related issues.”

The Global Forum on Migration and Development, founded in 2007, is the main inter-state process on migration and development, bringing together governments with other stakeholders to maximise the development outcomes of international migration. Under the current 2020 Chairmanship of the United Arab Emirates, the GFMD is convening meetings for six key regions: Africa, the Americas, the Middle East and South Asia, Asia Pacific, and Europe. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all meetings are being held online.