Circular
31/2018
Barcelona, 5 December 2018
 
To the members of the World Council
To the Secretaries General
To the Vice-Presidents of United Cities and Local Governments
To the Chairs of UCLG Committees, Working Groups, Communities of Practice and Fora

For information: To the Presidency


Declaration on the adoption of the Global Compact for Orderly, Safe and Regular Migration
8 December 2018, Marrakech
 

Dear members,

As informed in circular 27/2018, the Mayoral Forum on Human Mobility, Migration and Development will gather on 8 December 2018, during the UN Migration Week in Marrakech, just two days before the adoption of the Global Compact for Migration on 10 and 11 December 2018.

The Mayoral Forum is an annual gathering institutionally supported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the World Bank and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Since its creation in 2014, UCLG has accompanied this Forum with the effective participation and contribution of our members.

This year, the Mayoral Forum will focus on "City leadership in the implementation of the United Nations Global Compact". In particular, the events aim to showcase local and regional authorities’ commitment and contribution to migration governance, and recall the need to have the local and regional spheres involved in the implementation and follow-up mechanisms to be defined in 2019.

In this line, please find attached the statement "Cities Working Together for Migrants and Refugees". This Declaration will be presented at the 5th Mayoral Forum in Marrakech on 8 December 2018, and delivered at the Intergovernmental Conference to Adopt the Global Compact for Migration on 10-11 December 2018.

The statement affirms the role Local and Regional Governments play in the governance of Migration and the expertise, knowledge and contributions they will provide in implementing the objectives of the Global Compact for Migration and Global Compact on Refugees.
The declaration targets in particular Local and Regional Governments’ contributions to these objectives of the Global Compact for Migration: Address and reduce vulnerabilities (Objective 7); Provide migrants with safe access to essential services (Objective 15); Empower migrants and societies to realize full inclusion and social cohesion (Objective 16); and Eliminate all forms of discrimination and promote evidence-based public discourse to shape perceptions of migration (Objective 17). It also calls to realize Objective 2 and advocate for further exploration of the potential of circular migration, as well as to support the joint City-to-City partnerships and programmes.

Beyond the cities’ commitments to support the Global Compact on Migration and Global Compact on Refugees, the declaration advocates, above all, for the constituency of Local and Regional Governments and its networks to be a part of the implementation and review mechanisms, in order to enhance multi-level dialogue and governance, share and gain expertise and knowledge, and capitalize on resources. The main targets are:

• the GCM’s capacity-building mechanism
• the UN International Migration Review Forums
• the Global Refugee Forum
• the UN Migration Network
• the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) through the Mayors Mechanism                   

In this regard, the declaration also recalls the commitments made by cities and their organized constituency throughout the preparatory process. It also commends on the full and formal recognition of the role of local and regional governments in the full Global Compact for Migration process. At the same time, it calls upon the international community and national governments to support these successful efforts and engage with new initiatives, in particular the Mayors Migration Council, to be launched on 8 December in Marrakech. 
 
UCLG welcomes the new initiatives as an opportunity for local and regional governments to benefit from tools, methodologies and resources in their efforts to implement the objectives of the Compact. However, when referring to the global representation of the constituency and its united voice, the UCLG leadership has mandated the Secretariat to closely follow the work of the Council, aiming to ensure the legitimate and balanced representation organized by the constituency. The follow-up will also include links with the UCLG Community of Practice on Migration to capitalize on expertise, knowledge and inspiring practices. 

For more information, please contact m.boussraoui@uclg.org and l.abbad@uclg.org.
 
Sincerely,

The UCLG World Secretariat