UPDATE Your Registration to Attend Our Monthly Meetings!

The NGO Committee on Migration expresses our sincere apology for the difficulties some members experienced in attempting to join our October monthly meeting. Due to the cumulative nature of our Zoom registration process, we exceeded the maximum number of registrants. As a result, a number of individuals received an automated message stating that registration was closed and thereby could not participate in the NGO CoM meeting. 

To remedy this issue going forward, we wiped the slate clean and are beginning Zoom registrations anew. In order to join the NGO CoM November monthly meeting (10 November, 11:00am-1:30pm ET) we kindly ask that you update your registration.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER! 
 

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Call for Expressions of Interest: UNNM Working Group on Return, Readmission & Reintegration


IOM, UNICEF, and UNHCR, as co-leads of the UN Network on Migration Working Group on Return, Readmission, and Reintegration (see the draft Network Workplan 2022-2024 here), are writing to you with a call for expressions of interest in membership in the Working Group. 
 
The overall objective of this Working Group is to contribute to strengthening efforts of Member States to ensure safe, dignified and rights-based return and readmission and sustainable reintegration. Priority activities include:

• Operationalization of return and reintegration tools developed by the UN Network on Migration: Particularly rollout and piloting of the UNNM Checklist for Safe and Dignified Return and Sustainable Reintegration together with the key GCM Champion Countries in 2023
• Capacity-building of key staff on child protection in the context of returns and reintegration
• Supporting national and transnational responses for the implementation of the GCM of those countries which made pledges on return and reintegration, particularly those focusing on promoting a rights-based approach to return and reintegration and needs of migrants in vulnerable situations
• Developing and rolling out guidance to States on best practices for ensuring access to legal identity, birth certificates, civil registration documents and travel documents, as part of due process, to all returning migrants. 

Please see the Concept Note for further detail on priorities and planned work. 
 
If your organization is interested in participating in this Working Group, please write to rborland@iom.int and gteff@unicef.org by Monday 14 November, and please indicate in your message how your organization would contribute to supporting the priorities and activities of the Working Group outlined above and in the Concept Note. 
 

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UN Network on Migration COP27 Statement


Act Now: Migrant Inclusion in Climate Action is an Obligation, Not an Option

The adverse effects of climate change and environmental degradation are increasingly driving human mobility the world over, particularly in countries with high exposure and low adaptive capacity. While most climate-related mobility currently occurs within countries, desperation and deteriorating environments can also compel people to seek a livelihood elsewhere through irregular migration.

While climate change negatively impacts everyone, everywhere, those already in vulnerable situations due to geography, poverty, gender, age, disability, origin or other status, including migrant women who depend on climate-sensitive livelihoods, and children who are less able to survive extreme weather events, are at the greatest risk of suffering harm. It is imperative to recognize this reality and take meaningful action to protect the human rights of those most affected by climate change, including migrants.
 

On the occasion of the 27th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP27), the United Nations Network on Migration calls on Member States to recognize the opportunities to work towards sustainable, rights-based mitigation and adaptation to climate change in order to address human mobility(1) in this context in line with the recommendations of the UNFCCC Taskforce on Displacement. The Network urges States, working in cooperation with relevant UN entities and all partners, to address and seek inclusive solutions for the most affected people, including those staying in place, moving internally, and migrating internationally, while fully recognizing the adaptation role that migration plays in this context. While progress has already been achieved in mainstreaming migration into adaptation strategies and policies for climate action, much more needs to be done. As acknowledged at COP26, inadequacies in anticipating and planning for situations that could induce climate-related mobility remain and efforts to mitigate and adapt to the adverse effects of climate change, including through resource mobilization, are insufficient. The Network encourages States to include pathways for regular migration in their climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, which enable labour mobility and decent work, human rights and humanitarian admission and stay, family reunification, education, private sponsorships, and visa waivers, to support communities in building resilience to climate change and adapting through mobility. In this regard, improvements have been made in the conclusion of bilateral and regional labour migration agreements or the creation of special visa categories to enable people affected by climate change to move regularly or to remain in countries of destination. Pursuant to the commitments made in the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) and renewed in the Progress Declaration of the first International Migration Review Forum in New York in May 2022, the Network reiterates its call for States to develop inclusive climate change and migration policies and action plans that ensure migrants’ full and effective participation as rights holders. The Network also reminds States that any policy measure or legislation that governs or directly impacts human mobility in the context of climate change should uphold human rights obligations. States can ensure that this objective is effectively achieved through recognizing that the Paris Agreement, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Global Compacts for Migration and Refugees are interlinked and should be implemented simultaneously and in a mutually reinforcing manner. To uphold human rights, strengthen the adaptive capacities of migrants and harness the potential of climate mobility the Network calls on governments, in collaboration with one another and all relevant stakeholders, to:

Strengthen support to countries and people affected by effectively mobilizing adequate finance to support climate action, including through investing in early warning systems and preparedness, and addressing the impacts of both economic and non-economic loss and damage, including for migrants; Facilitate a just transition to environmentally sustainable, green economies and societies, including by building climate-resilient health systems, promoting resilience and equitable development and advancing social justice and decent work creation, tapping into the skills and experiences of migrants, with the support of business, employers, trade unions and workers organizations, and harnessing their contributions towards sustainable development; Enhance and diversify the availability of climate-sensitive pathways for regular migration, including by creating regular pathways for labour mobility, ensuring they are accessible to all, including women and children as an adaptation option and a way to prevent and address situations of vulnerability;   Enhance regional and international action and cooperation to effectively address climate-related migration at local, national, regional and global levels through dedicated and coordinated climate change and migration policies and action plans, including by working coherently across all relevant multilateral fora; and, Foster evidence-based decisions and disaggregated data which inform cooperation and scaled up climate action.

Our shared future depends on realizing the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment for all. The interlinkages between climate change, human rights and migration are clear and the international community can no longer delay taking action to protect the environment, for present and future generations. Every step taken towards safe, orderly and regular migration would make a step forwards in the context of our changing climate. Click here to access a PDF version of the UNNM statement.

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Calling Attention to Growing Displacement in Haiti


According to a new IOM report, the number of people displaced by gang-related violence in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, has tripled in the past five months. The assessment, conducted between June and August 2022, identified over 113,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Haiti. Of these, 96,000 individuals fled insecurity in the capital, due to inter-gang violence and social unrest. An additional 17,000 individuals remain displaced as a result of the worst earthquake in a decade, which devastated the country’s southern regions in August 2021. 

The assessments resulted in the publication of three reports, accessible at the following links:

• Information sheet on internal forced displacement in Haiti
• Report on internally displaced persons in displacement sites
• Report on internally displaced persons in host communities

For additional information, please see the recent Miami Herald article, "Nearly 100,000 displaced by gangs in Haiti, cholera now in most regions, says U.N."
 

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Let's Share Our Resources & Amplify Migration Advocacy

The NGO Committee on Migration (NGO CoM) is a coalition comprised of more than 45 organizations, with the shared mission of encouraging the promotion and protection of migrants and their human rights. In efforts to amplify our migration knowledge and advocacy messaging, we would like to prioritize sharing the work and resources of our members in our weekly updates. 

Accordingly, we are inviting you to send us your migration resources to share them with a wider audience. Has your organization recently produced a report, video, policy brief, toolkit, or other resource we can share? Please send them to the NGO Committee on Migration at ngomigrationcommittee@gmail.com.

Each week, be sure to check the "Resources" section in the NGO CoM updates for featured resources from our members, partners, and organizations with work focused on upholding the rights of people on the move.

In light of the rapidly approaching COP27 (UN Conference on Climate Change), we would like to call your attention to a new resource from the Advisory Group on Climate Change and Human Mobility. They recently released joint messages to prepare and engage at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27). Under the title “COP27 Must Act on Human Mobility,” the joint messages were drafted with contributions from additional civil society organizations.

Click here to access this timely resource (or scroll down to view it in our dedicated "Resources" section). For further information, please contact nrcgeneva.policy@nrc.no.
 

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Renew your CoM Membership & Join a Subcommittee!

• Climate-Induced Displacement
• Children in Migration
• Migrants in Vulnerable Situations / Mixed Migration
• Xenophobia, Racism & Social Inclusion

By formally joining a subcommittee, you will be able to receive a link to access the online subcommittee gatherings, which precede the general portion of each Member Meeting.

Click here to join one of the four subcommittees listed above!