The GFMD 2017-2018 Germany-Morocco Co-Chairmanship
The first GFMD Co-chairmanship since the inception of the Global Forum in 2007 took place in the wake of the New York Declaration, which advocated the development of a Global Compact on Migration, and less than two years since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with clear migration-specific and migration-related goals.
The joint Chairmanship aimed, inter alia, to link two regions, Africa and Europe, at a time when migration issues were on top of the political agenda in large parts of the world. Germany and Morocco, by means of their exemplary cooperation, took the lead in highlighting the positive aspects of migration as well as sounding the call to address and balance the interests of migrants and their countries of origin, transit states and destinations within the framework of promoting safe, regular and orderly migration. The symbolic bridging of the Mediterranean sent a strong signal for the further development of global migration objectives.
During the two-year Germany-Morocco Co-Chairmanship period, the focus was on the Forum's contribution to the first ever United Nations’ Global Compact on Migration (GCM). The Global Compact signalled the international community’s call for an enhanced global migration policy framework to be adopted by the community of states in December 2018.
In 2017, the main theme of the GFMD was "Towards a Global Social Contract on Migration and Development," culminating in the Tenth GFMD Summit in Berlin in June 2017. The second year, 2018, revolved around the overarching theme, "Honouring International Commitments to Unlock the Potential of All Migrants for Development," as the global community anticipated the adoption of the GCM.
The German and Moroccan GFMD Co-Chairs were represented by Dr. Götz Schmidt-Bremme, Ambassador for the 2017-2018 GFMD Co-Chairmanship, and Mr. El Habib Nadir, Secretary General, Ministry Delegate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in charge of Moroccans Living Abroad and Migration Affairs, respectively.
5-7 December 2018, Marrakesh, Morocco
The Eleventh Meeting of the GFMD held in Marrakesh discussed issues concerning the theme of "Honouring International Commitments to Unlock the Potential of all Migrants for Development". The Summit was attended by over 1000 international participants from roughly 130 governments and 40 observer organisations.
The GFMD Summit was the centre point for a number of crucial multi-stakeholder interactions, including the Civil Society Days (4-6 Dec), the GFMD Business Thematic Meeting (6 Dec); 13 side-events (6-7 Dec), and the Mayoral Forum (8 Dec).
These activities, as well as the GFMD Summit itself, all formed part of the Marrakesh 'Migration Week', which culminated in the adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) at a meeting held on 10-11 December. The GFMD thus provided an important forum for stakeholders to discuss how the GCM might or should be implemented, as well as the way forward in the new global migration architecture.
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28-30 June 2017, Berlin, Germany
The Tenth GFMD Summit focused on the theme, "Towards a Global Social Contract on Migration and Development", heralding the GFMD 2017-2018 Co-Chairmanship’s ambition to contribute to the 2030 Agenda and GCM processes, while promoting evidence-based discussions on how to promote safe, orderly and regular migration through international cooperation, involvement of different governance levels and partnership with all concerned stakeholders.
Within the Summit’s overarching theme, the discussions of the meeting focused on three broad Roundtable themes:
- Enhancing the Effectiveness of Domestic Policies though National Strategies;
- Creating Perspectives for Inclusive Development through Multilateral and Bilateral Partnerships; and
- Finding Strategies beyond the State.
The Summit gathered around 650 participants, comprised of policymakers and practitioners from 140 states, some 33 observer international organisations, and representatives of the civil society and the private sector. A Common Space and a Business Mechanism during the Summit meeting ensured dialogue among civil society, business actors and government representatives.
With a view to preparing for the adoption of the GCM in 2018 as well as addressing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, the Summit advocated for the sharing of global responsibility to create opportunities for safe, regular and orderly migration, and underlined the need for consensus-based models to advance a global regulatory framework on migration issues. Participants in the Summit particularly recognised the added value of the GFMD process and saw a greater need for its inclusive and informal space in view of the upcoming inter-governmental negotiations for the GCM.