PH, Other Labor Countries Score Major Victory At UN After Member-States Approve Final Text of Global Compact on Migration

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola delivers the Philippine statement during the final intergovernmental meeting at the United Nations in New York where member-states approved the final text of the Global Compact on Migration. (DFA photo)

14 July 2018 – Labor-sending countries scored amajor victory at the United Nations on Friday when member states approved the final text of the Global Compact on Migration—an international agreement that the Philippines helped put together to ensure better treatment for millions of migrants around the world.

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said the final text of the Global Compact, which carries strong migrant protection mechanisms that the Philippines strongly pushed for, was approved in the final intergovernmental meeting in New York for adoption in Morocco in December.

“For the Philippines, a Global Compact on Migration was long overdue,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola said in her statement during the closing of the final round of negotiations in New York.

“Through our four decades of managing migration, we had fought for this: for migration to come to the UN and be recognized as a global issue worthy of mankind’s attention,” said Undersecretary Arriola, who was the lead Philippine negotiator.

In her statement, Undersecretary Arriola recalled the challenges the Philippines and other like-minded states such as Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Costa Rica had to hurdle before the final text of the Global Compact was approved.

These, she said, included the opposition of several western member states and a climate hostile to migrants and migration in certain parts of the world.

“In the course of our negotiations, we must not forget that we are setting a moral standard for the world—not just in the purposes we achieve but in the sincerity and civility with which we attain them. We realize our humanity when we uphold the rights and dignity of every migrant,” she said.

According to Undersecretary Arriola, the final text of the Global Compact is firmly anchored on human rights, with the protection of the rights and promotion of welfare of migrants regardless of migration status, and particularly domestic workers, at its core.

Undersecretary Arriola also said the final draft builds on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and integrates a development perspective that recognizes that human rights and sustainable development are not mutually exclusive. They progress together and help each other progress to the great benefit of mankind.

According to her, the final draft moves the 2016 New York Declaration on Refugees and Migrants forward, providing actionable commitments and an implementation, follow-up and review framework.

Undersecretary Arriola said the final text affirms that migration governance is a shared responsibility and that migration cannot be addressed by one state or by governments alone.

According to her, the Global Compact creates a UN network that directs all its agencies and programs to have a coherent approach to migration, with the International Organization for Migration acting as coordinator.

“Our work on the Global Compact does not cease with its finalization today. We will continue to engage in its implementation and follow-up and review, to ensure that it continues to reflect changing needs, challenges and interests,” she said. END

(DFA photos)