17 October 2018: In preparation for the Intergovernmental Conference on the Global Compact for Migration, the Secretariat has released a list of 70 side events, along with other documents and information on ‘Migration Week’ in Marrakech, Morocco.

The Permanent Mission of Morocco and the Office of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for International Migration briefed UN Member States and others on preparations for the conference and related events on 10 October 2018, at UN Headquarters in New York, US. According to the briefing, Migration Week will take place from 4-11 December and consist of:

• Civil society days on 4 and 6 December;
• A summit of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) from 5-7 December;
• Side events on 8-9 December; and
• The intergovernmental conference on 10-11 December (during which no side events will take place).

The list of approximately 70 side events is available on the conference website, in a spreadsheet that indicates for each event: organizers; title/theme; content; expected outcomes; level of participation; and format and envisioned programme. Organizers include UN agencies, NGOs, governments, Philip Morris International and academic institutions. Among the expected outcomes are the launch of publications, such as the ‘European Refugee and Migrant Health Report’ from the WHO Regional Office for Europe, and announcement of commitments by global and local companies from Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, the United Arab Emirates and the US.

As for the programme of the conference, the briefing highlighted that plenaries will take place for 11 hours each day (9 am-8 pm), and dialogues will run in parallel. The plenary will be opened by: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Conference President (Morocco’s minister of foreign affairs), UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, a representative from the private sector, and a representative from the migrant community. The plenary is primarily devoted to statements by Heads of State or Government, ministers and heads of delegations attending the Conference. Intergovernmental organizations and other stakeholders will be able to make statements as time permits.

Two dialogues will address: on 10 December, ‘Promoting action on the commitments of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration;’ and on 11 December, ‘Partnerships and innovative initiatives for the way forward.’ Each dialogue will include a keynote speaker and three panelists. The dialogues are structured around the 23 objectives set out in the Global Compact and its four levels of implementation. They aim to highlight “inspiring examples of actions, measures, policies and approaches to GCM implementation by Member States and other stakeholders on ways and means of implementing the GCM.” Framing papers on each dialogue session are being prepared.

Registration for the Conference is currently open, as is the process of inscribing to speak during the plenaries and dialogues. The translated documents of the Conference are also available in all six official UN languages.

The draft outcome document of the Conference (A/CONF.231/3) recalls the UNGA mandate for negotiating the Compact and transmitting it for adoption at the Conference. The document includes, in an Annex, the text agreed on 13 July 2018.

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration is the first intergovernmentally negotiated agreement prepared under the auspices of the UN aiming to address all dimensions of migration in a comprehensive manner. UN Member States reached agreement on the text on 13 July 2018, following a preparatory process that began in April 2017 and comprised a consultation phase (thematic sessions, regional consultations and stakeholder consultations), a stocktaking phase including a three-day meeting in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in December 2017, and six months of intergovernmental negotiations. The US withdrew from the process at the beginning of the intergovernmental negotiations, and Hungary announced dissociation from the Compact after the agreement was reached. [Briefing webcast] [List of side events] [Conference website] [SDG Knowledge Hub story on Compact agreement]