24 October 2013: The UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) Third Committee heard a report on the state of global migration governance and potential models for reform. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, François Crépeau, expressed concern about the lack of a UN-based institutional framework governing migration, and States’ current preference to govern unilaterally and through informal processes.

Crépeau’s report assesses the role of several UN entities in migration governance, including that of the International Labour Governance (ILO), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and the Global Migration Group, which consists of 15 UN agencies or entities.

The Third Committee, which addresses Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Affairs, took up the report on 24 October 2013, under its agenda item on Social Development.

Crépeau said the Global Forum on Migration and Development created after the 2006 High-Level Dialogue on migration lacks transparency and accountability. His report calls on the Global Forum on Migration and Development to: cooperate closely with the UN Global Migration Group; increase the level of civil society participation in its meetings; and adopt a formal outcome statement at each meeting. The report recommends that global migration governance be brought into the UN within a human rights framework, perhaps through reviewing the mandate and role of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) so as to enable a stronger stance on migrant protection. The Special Rapporteur welcomed calls made at the High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development in October 2013 to increase the available channels for regular migration.

Delegates raised questions about combating racism and xenophobia, integrating migrants’ rights into the post-2015 development framework, and the value of the Global Forum on Migration. The Special Rapporteur called on governments to establish policies recognizing the value of diversity and ensuring migrants have access to justice, noting that migration policy discussions should involve migrants so as to ensure the protection and promotion of their rights. He said a “human rights mainstreaming” mechanism would be useful with regard to integrating migration into the post-2015 development framework, and affirmed the trust-building role of the Global Forum.

The UN Human Rights Council appointed Crépeau as an independent Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants in June 2011. [UNRIC Press Release] [Publication: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants] [Website of Special Rapporteur] [Meeting Website] [Meeting Summary]