23 November 2016: Co-facilitators Jürg Lauber, Permanent Representative of Switzerland, and Juan José Gómez Camacho, Permanent Representative of Mexico, have circulated elements of a draft resolution on modalities for the process to adopt the Global Compact for safe, regular and orderly migration. The elements paper, which the co-facilitators note is based on conversations with UN Member States, is expected to be considered during an informal consultation on 5 December 2016.

The elements paper contains sections on: scope of the Global Compact; preparatory process including timeline, organization, support structure and participation; possible parameters for the intergovernmental conference in 2018; and voluntary trust fund. It also includes an annex listing 2017-2018 events relevant to the Global Compact.

The outcome could contain a political declaration, actionable commitments, means of implementation, and a follow-up and review framework.

Per the elements paper, the negotiating process could result in an action-oriented outcome document that is “framed within existing norms and processes,” and the outcome could contain a political declaration, actionable commitments grounded in practical application, means of implementation, and a framework for follow-up and review of implementation.

The paper also proposes key phases that would lead to the adoption of the Global Compact at an intergovernmental conference on international migration in 2018, as follows: i) broad, open, transparent and inclusive thematic consultations; ii) stocktaking meeting in early 2018 to draw on the outcomes of the consultations; iii) several intergovernmental negotiation sessions during the “first semester” of 2018, preferably in New York, to finalize the Global Compact; iv) and adoption of the Global Compact during the conference in the “second semester” of 2018. The UN Secretariat and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) would jointly service the negotiations, the paper states, and the Secretary-General of the Conference would be appointed by the UN Secretary General.

It adds that: the duration of the Conference could be from one to four days; it should take place in a location that attracts “the highest possible attendance level” so as to ensure full political commitment; and it should be as inclusive as possible with the full engagement of all relevant stakeholders in accordance with the rules of procedure of the UN General Assembly (UNGA). The paper also notes the importance of a multi- stakeholder approach where civil society, private sector, diaspora communities and migrant organizations would be invited to contribute to the process for the preparation of the Global Compact “in accordance with relevant procedures and practices.” It suggests the establishment of a voluntary trust fund to ensure an inclusive preparatory process, and where UN Member States and all potential donors would be able to contribute.

UN Member States committed to launch a process of intergovernmental negotiations leading to the adoption of a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration when they adopted the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants (A/RES/71/1) in September 2016. [Co-Facilitators’ Letter and Elements Paper on Draft Resolution] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on Preparations Leading to Global Compact Negotiations]