The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the United Nations held their annual Parliamentary Hearing at the UN Headquarters in New York from 22 to 23 February 2018 amid a wide diversity of panels and parliamentarians.
The key issues of the event were all related to creating a “global compact migration (GCM)” and how legislative efforts might further this objective.
Time and again the legislators from various national governments reiterated their commitment to ensure the dignity and protection of migrants and refugees in their country.
The opening session kicked off with addresses from the President of the 72nd General Assembly, Mr Miroslav Laj？ák and the IPU President, Senator Gabriela Cuevas Barron.
The first real segment of the event consisted of a video presentation followed by a detailed recap of all the facts and information about international migration.
The presentation highlighted the main principles and practical arrangements underlying the issues which, when put together, make up the backbone of the contemporary migration problem.
Parliamentary Hearing at the United Nations in New York (Photo: Facebook)
By outlining some of the challenges within the current migration climate, the parliamentarians strived to identify some of the key gaps the GCM could fill in order to facilitate a more “safe, orderly and regular migration.”
The second session on national policies and local responses focused on the practical applications of migration policies with participants offering repeated hints at the importance of mutual understanding and cooperation in an era of massive transnational movements.
There was overall consensus among the parliamentarians that when conversations regarding migration policies were more inclusive to the actual migrants, the integration was faster and social cohesion stronger.
The final session of the parliamentary hearing was “The GCM and follow-up” during which the role of parliaments in future integration efforts was discussed in more details.
The session co-chaired by MPs from the United Kingdom and Bangladesh as well as a facilitator from the UN Development Programme emphasized the need for parliamentarians to better support the integration of GCM into national migration policies and legislation.
The MPs agreed to examine more closely the ways and means of parliamentary oversight in the national implementation of GCM commitments in their respective national and international capacities.
By MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr) |
