22 December 2017: The co-facilitators for the global compact on migration have announced the intergovernmental negotiations schedule. They intend to share a zero draft of the global compact by the beginning of February 2018, ahead of the first negotiating round.
Juan Jose Gomez Camacho, Permanent Representative of Mexico, and Jurg Lauber, Permanent Representative of Switzerland, serve as the co-facilitators for negotiations on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and the intergovernmental conference in December 2018. The co-facilitators’ letter informs UN Member States that six negotiating rounds will take place at UN Headquarters in New York, US, as follows:
- 20, 20 and 23 February (with a half-day informal, interactive multi-stakeholder hearing, organized and chaired by the UNGA President, on 21 February);
- 12-15 March 2018;
- 3-6 April 2018;
- 14-18 May 2018;
- 4-8 June 2018; and
- 9-13 July 2018.
The months and duration of each meeting were outlined in the UNGA resolution setting modalities for the preparatory process (71/280). The resolution also notes “the need for flexibility” in convening the meetings, and the possibility of convening additional consultations.
The negotiations comprise the third and final phase of the preparatory process for the compact, as outlined in the modalities resolution. The negotiations phase is preceded by the stocktaking phase (phase II), which includes the stocktaking meeting held in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, in December 2017, as well as the issuing of a UN Secretary-General’s report to serve as an input to the zero draft and the negotiations. Phase I focused on thematic and regional consultations. Alongside all three phases of the preparatory process are four multi-stakeholder hearings convened periodically by the UNGA President. A summary of the hearings will be issued as an input to the negotiations.
Terms for the preparation of the zero draft are outlined in the modalities resolution. The draft is to be prepared by the co-facilitators by the beginning of February 2018, based on views, summaries and recommendations provided by Member States, and accounting for inputs and discussions in phases I and II. The co-facilitators indicate in their letter to Member States that they will announce a meeting to formally present the draft ahead of the first negotiating session.
Writing as the co-chairs of the stocktaking meeting, which convened in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, from 4-6 December 2017, Gomez Camacho and Lauber also issued a summary of that meeting.
The Secretary-General will brief Member States on his forthcoming report on migration on 11 January. The report is titled, ‘Making Migration Work for All.’ [Co-facilitators’ Letter to Member States] [UNGA Resolution on Modalities for Preparatory Process] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on Co-Chairs’ Summary of Stocktaking Meeting] [All SDG Knowledge Hub Coverage of Migration Process]