UN Migration and Refugee Compacts
Background: Local and regional governments and the Global Compacts
Local and regional governments (LRGs) have been actively involved in the negotiations of the Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) as well as in the process to draft the Compact on Refugees (GCR), both adopted in 2018. Through the Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees, local and regional governments have delivered over 120 pledges to implement the Global Compacts, each Action makes a tangible difference in the lives of migrants and refugees.
Both frameworks firmly recognise the key role of LRGs in their implementation and review.
That same year, LRGs endorsed the Marrakech Mayors Declaration, a political commitment to implement both Compacts in unison, as well a call for continued recognition of local governments as key partners in the implementation and review of both Compacts.
LRGs are now actively engaged throughout the different activities organised by the UN Network on Migration as well as UNHCR, which both provide guidance to Member States and other stakeholders to support on the implementation of the GCM and GCR.
The Global Refugee Forum 2023
The second Global Refugee Forum (GRF) took place from 13– 15 December 2023 in Geneva. It is the quadrennial forum to discuss progress towards the implementation of the UN Global Compact on Refugees (GCR). It is hosted by UNHCR and the Government of Switzerland.
Local and regional governments (LRGs) had unprecedented access : 15 mayors and governors participated in the official programme of the Forum and delivered over 100 pledges collected through the Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees. These pledges were formally delivered to UNHCR by a mayoral speaker in the GRF Plenary and were discussed in detail at a GRF High Level Event: Solidarity in Cities: Learning from Mayors on Refugee Inclusion in Urban Areas, marking the release of the Second Edition of the Report on Local Action for Migrants and Refugees.
For the first time ever, LRGs also had their own political space within the agenda of the GRF through a ‘Local and Regional Governments Day’. Co-organized by the Global Task Force on Regional and Local Governments and the GFMD Mayors Mechanism. This event was the first ever LRG-led space within the programme of a UN conference in Geneva and discussed the leading role of LRGs in advancing the protection and inclusion of refugees and others on the move.
Read our press release here.
Read the dedicated UNHCR – page on the role of cities in GCR implementation
The 2022 IMRF and the Launch of the Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees
From 16-20 May 2022, United Nations Member States and stakeholders joined together for the first-ever International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) to assess progress toward the GCM.
While local governments were largely excluded from the 2018 conference to adopt the GCM, at the 2022 IMRF, a delegation of 18 cities joined Member States in New York, and delivered the largest number of pledges to advance the GCM and GCR in unison through our Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees.
