Migration and Development Series: Briefing on the Fourth Global Forum on Migration and Development
According to former Secretary-General Kofi Annan, “Each of us holds a piece of the migration puzzle, but none has the whole picture. It is time to start putting it together”. To initiate this process, the General Assembly convened the High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development in September 2006. During the High-level Dialogue, Member States agreed to organize an informal, voluntary and state-led Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) to discuss ways to maximize the benefits of migration on development while minimizing its difficulties and negative effects. Now in its fourth year, the GFMD will take place in Mexico in 2010, carrying the torch from Belgium, the Philippines and Greece.
The half-day briefing explores the following topics:
- Agenda of the GFMD IV;
- Role, past outcomes and discussions on the future of the GFMD process.
As an informative face-to-face event, this briefing features renowned experts from governments, the UN system, the International Organization for Migration, other international organizations and civil society. Following their presentations, participants have an opportunity to engage in in-depth discussions with the speakers.
The briefing is open to members of permanent missions to the United Nations in New York who work on migration and development issues in the context of the Global Forum on Migration and Development, the International Conference on Population and Development, etc. Representatives of governments, international organizations, the United Nations system, civil society and private sector with academic or professional interest on the topic are also encouraged to participate.