Switzerland – IOM has co-organized three preparatory events in the past week ahead of the 2013 UN General Assembly High Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development (HLD), which will take place in October in New York.

The 11 countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) met at the Russian Federal Migration Service (FMS) facility in Troitsk, near Moscow. Co-organized by the FMS and IOM, the meeting reviewed the main trends and opportunities in the CIS region for cooperation on international migration and development. In particular it looked at making labour mobility work for development and mainstreaming migration into development policies.

Speaking following the adoption of a set of points to be forwarded to the UN General Assembly as input to the HLD, IOM Director General William Lacy Swing said that the meeting provided a valuable and unique perspective on the issues.

"The complexity and dynamism of the CIS region, which contains the second most important migration corridor in the world,  means that this group of countries has special insights and a strong contribution to make as States prepare for the High Level Dialogue," he said.

The Head of the FMS, Konstantin Romodanovskiy, thanked IOM for its partnership. "The Russian Federation and all the CIS countries are paying attention to the High Level Dialogue. This meeting is an important gathering to document the common ground and positions of the region," he noted.

The meeting highlighted the importance of pre-departure preparation for migrants; the need to strengthen mechanisms for organized recruitment of migrant workers to ensure stable social and economic development; the importance of harmonized data collection as a basis for effective policy making and legislation; and the need to strengthen international cooperation to combat irregular migration and trafficking.

In parallel, representatives from 15 Arab countries gathered at the Arab League Headquarters in Cairo this week for a regional consultative meeting on international migration and development in the Arab region, convened by IOM’s Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA) and the League of Arab States.

In their joint statement, which will be delivered to the 2013 HLD, the States noted the contribution of foreign workers to regional development, and the role of Arab diaspora communities abroad, which support development through financial and social remittances, skill transfers and academic partnerships. Delegates also discussed the hardships and injustices suffered by many migrants, including sub-standard working conditions, illegal recruitment fees, exploitation and human trafficking.

Participants called for continued dialogue and information exchange among countries of the region. They also proposed the creation of a non-binding, regional consultative process on migration and development issues, within the framework of the League of Arab States and supported by IOM and UNESCWA.

The Troitsk and Cairo meetings followed an earlier gathering in Bangkok from May 29-31, when IOM joined 22 governments from across the Asia-Pacific region, and representatives of UN agencies and civil society, to discuss a wide range of migration-related issues in the run up to the HLD.

Participants called for greater developmental impact from international migration, protection of migrants’ rights and more research on international migration. The outcomes of the meeting will also be communicated to the HLD in New York.

As a co-chair of the UN Thematic Working Group on Migration, which organized the meeting, IOM also led a roundtable discussion on priorities in sustainable development and international migration. It also organized two high-profile side events on environmental degradation in emergencies and migrant health.

For more information, please contact

Jill Helke
IOM Headquarters (Geneva)
Email: jhelke@iom.int

Michael Newson
IOM Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa (Cairo)
Email: mnewson@iom.int

Mathieu Luciano
IOM Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa (Cairo)
Email mluciano@iom.int

Rabab Fatima
IOM Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (Bangkok)
Email: rfatima@iom.int