THE GLOBAL COMPACT FOR SAFE, ORDERLY AND REGULAR MIGRATION

• The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, is the first intergovernmental agreement, prepared under the auspices of the United Nations, to cover all dimensions of international migration in a holistic and comprehensive manner. 
• It was adopted at an intergovernmental conference on migration in Marrakesh, Morocco on 10 December 2018. 
• The first International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) took place at the United Nations headquarters in New York on 17-20 May 2022 to review the progress made at the local, national, regional and global levels in implementing the Global Compact. 
• The Global Compact is grounded in international human rights law and reaffirms States’ commitment to respecting, protecting, and fulfilling all human rights for all migrants. 
• The Global Compact rests on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and each of the nine core international human rights law instruments, and contains a Guiding Principle on human rights:

1. “The Global Compact is based on international human rights law and upholds the principles of non-regression and non-discrimination. 
2. By implementing the Global Compact, we ensure effective respect for and protection and fulfilment of the human rights of all migrants, regardless of their migration status, across all stages of the migration cycle. 
3. We also reaffirm the commitment to eliminate all forms of discrimination, including racism, xenophobia and intolerance, against migrants and their families;”

The Global Compact enumerates 23 objectives for State action, bolstered by specific commitments, that seek to address challenges related to today’s migration. Key commitments include:

i. Strengthening evidence-based and human rights-based policy-making and public discourse on migration;

ii. Minimizing the adverse drivers of migration, including combatting poverty and discrimination and addressing climate and disaster-related displacement;

iii. Ensuring migrants’ rights to information and to a legal identity;

iv. Expanding and diversifying availability of pathways for safe, orderly and regular migration, taking into account the particular needs of migrants in situations of vulnerability;

v. Protecting the right to decent work and other labour rights for migrants;

vi. Addressing and reducing vulnerabilities and human rights violations in the context of migration;

vii. Protecting the right to life in the context of migration;

viii. Combatting smuggling and trafficking while protecting the human rights of those who have been smuggled or trafficked;

ix. Respecting human rights at borders and conducting human rights-based and individualized screening, assessment and referral of migrants;

x. Protecting the right to liberty and freedom from arbitrary detention, including by prioritizing alternatives to immigration detention;

xi. Ensuring migrants’ rights to access basic services, including health, education, and social support, without discrimination;

xii. Eliminating discrimination and combatting hate speech and xenophobia;

xiii. Upholding the prohibitions of collective expulsion and refoulement for all migrants, ensuring that returns are safe and dignified and reintegration is sustainable.