PH, Bahrain Advocate for GCM National-Level Implementation in Geneva

GENEVA 05 April 2019 – The Philippines joined over 150 delegates from 80 countries in the First Thematic Workshop of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) on 21-22 March 2019 in Geneva, where the delegation delivered interventions on its implementation of fair recruitment and decent work, creating regular pathways and the role of international cooperation and global partnerships. 

The delegation was led by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola and Permanent Representative of the Philippine Mission to the United Nations in Geneva  Ambassador Evan P. Garcia, with the support of Labor and Employment Assistant Secretary Joji Aragon. 

Undersecretary Arriola served as panellist for the discussion on “Ensuring Successful GCM Implementation - A Collective Aspiration and a Shared Responsibility.” Ambassador Garcia intervened on the topic of “Ensuring Successful GCM Implementation–National Perspectives on Lessons Learned”, stating that the Philippines “as a labor sending country, and also as a host country for a large population of foreigners living and working in the Philippines, we have found the platform of the New York Declaration and the GCM negotiations instructive in how we formulate national policy for migrant nationals of course, but also in how we treat migrants in the Philippines.  There is no need to re-invent the wheel.  Many of our policies for implementing the GCM will entail the reframing of existing procedures through this new lens.”

In his closing, Ambassador Garcia reiterated the importance of the GFMD and the work of the Support Unit in facilitating this platform to incubate ideas within a multisectoral setting.  He went on to say that while discussions in the GFMD are informal, the takeaways can be brought forward by governments in negotiating bilateral agreements and in creating functional cooperation arrangements between countries of origin to share best practices.

“The Philippines has a mature migration governance structure, after decades of work on this subject.  We are open to working with, and learning from, interested governments who wish to understand more about how we can together bring the agenda of global migration governance forward,” Ambassador Garcia said

A workshop co-convened by the Philippines and Bahrain, in support of the Chairmanship of Ecuador, on the subject: “Implementation of the Global Compact for Migration at the National Level” was designed to support the central theme of Ecuador this year: “Sustainable approaches to human mobility: Upholding rights, strengthening state agency, and advancing development through partnerships and collective action.” 

Majority of United Nations member states support the Global Compact on Safe Orderly and Regular Migration. The Philippine view is that the best way to assuage those who have doubts is for those countries who remain convinced to implement the 23 objectives in their national and regional contexts and demonstrate that this is indeed the way forward. END

For more information, visit www.genevapm.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinGenevaUN/.