UN Migration and Refugee Compacts
Background
Local and regional governments (LRGs) have been actively involved in the negotiations of the Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) as well as in the process to draft the Compact on Refugees (GCR), both adopted in 2018. Through the Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees, local and regional governments have delivered over 120 pledges to implement the Global Compacts, each Action makes a tangible difference in the lives of migrants and refugees. Both frameworks firmly recognise the key role of LRGs in their implementation and review.
That same year, LRGs endorsed the Marrakech Mayors Declaration, a political commitment to implement both Compacts in unison and a call for continued recognition of local governments as key partners in their implementation and review.
LRGs are now actively engaged in the different activities organised by the UN Network on Migration and UNHCR, which both provide guidance to Member States and other stakeholders to support the implementation of the GCM and GCR.
The 2023 Global Refugee Forum
The second Global Refugee Forum (GRF) took place from 13– 15 December 2023 in Geneva. It is the quadrennial forum to discuss progress towards the implementation of the UN Global Compact on Refugees (GCR). It was hosted by UNHCR and the Government of Switzerland.
Local and regional governments (LRGs) had unprecedented access and delivered over 100 refugee-specific pledges collected through the Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees.
For the first time ever, LRGs also had their own political space within the agenda of the GRF through a ‘Local and Regional Governments Day’.
Read our press release here.
The 2022 IMRF and Launch of the Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees
From 16-20 May 2022, United Nations Member States and stakeholders joined together for the first-ever International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) to assess progress toward the GCM.
While local governments were largely excluded from the 2018 conference to adopt the GCM, at the 2022 IMRF, a delegation of 18 cities joined Member States in New York, and delivered the largest number of pledges to advance the GCM and GCR in unison through our Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees.
Read our IMRF report here.
Further Information
UN Migration and Refugee Compact Documents