11 December 2018: The global compact on migration was adopted at an intergovernmental conference in Marrakech, Morocco by 164 UN Member States. The UN also launched the Migration Network to support the compact’s implementation at country level.

The compact was negotiated through an intergovernmental consultation process led by the delegations of Mexico and Switzerland, and culminated in an informal agreement among Member States in July 2018. In a letter on 30 November 2018, UNGA President Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces recalled that the compact represents “the first ever global framework on international migration” and calls for a comprehensive approach to “optimize the overall benefits of migration while addressing risks and challenges for individuals and communities in countries of origin, transit and destination.”

The compact includes 23 objectives and a set of possible actions for each one, from which governments can draw in responding to the issue. As agreed at its adoption, the document will be known as the Marrakech Compact on Migration (A/CONF.231/L.1).

After a series of announcements from UN Member States that they would not participate in the compact, a total of 164 joined the agreement in Marrakech. The US withdrew from the intergovernmental consultation process on the compact in 2017, and in recent months several other governments said they would not sign the agreed text, including Hungary, Australia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Israel, Poland and Bulgaria.

The Marrakech conference included two dialogue sessions aimed at highlighting ways to support implementation of the compact, focused on: ‘Promoting action on the commitments of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration,’ led by Madeleine Albright, former US Secretary of State; and ‘Partnerships and innovative initiatives for the way forward,’ led by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former President of Liberia and chair of the High-Level Panel on International Migration in Africa.

The UN Migration Network launched in Marrakech was developed during the negotiations on the compact (see terms of reference). [UN press release, 10 December] [UN press release on compact background] [UN press release on conference and launch of Migration Network] [Compact website]