Civil Society Days 2017

Civil Society Days GFMD 2017

UPDATE: All plenary videos are now online on our YouTube Channel!

"Safe, Orderly, Regular Migration Now: Mechanics of a Compact Worth Agreeing to" was the theme of the GFMD Civil Society Days 2017. As implied in this motto, the CSD programme, focused entirely on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. The Working Sessions, directly tied to the Global Compact on Migration process and inspired, as in previous GFMDs, by civil society’s 5-year 8-point plan, were these (links to the respective reports):

• Safe, orderly and regular mechanisms for Children on the Move and other Migrants in Vulnerable Situations
• Safe, orderly and regular mechanisms to create welcoming societies for Migrants in the face of growing Xenophobia
• Safe, orderly and regular mechanisms in return and reintegration
• Safe, orderly and regular mechanisms of migration in the context of work, including Ethical Recruitment of Migrant Workers, Labour migration and Regularization

Additionally, there have been 2 sets of Special Sessions on the following themes (links to reports):

• Special Session 1: Green room on civil society baselines, redlines and common messages towards the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration
• Special Session 2: Mechanisms for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration where work is not the principal driver – focus on resettlement, private sponsorships and family reunification
• Special Session 3: Climate and environmental change and migration

A Rapporteur on Women (speech, report) and a Rapporteur on Children (speech, report) tracked progress on their respective topics.

Programme Highlights and Special Features

• Breaking Down Walls: Prelude at the Brandenburg Gate: pre-CSD event attended by close to 100 members of civil society, and featured testimonies, short poems and songs.
• Opening Plenary: Updates, testimonies and strategizing on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, by migrants and families of disappeared migrants, members of the diaspora, IOM, UN Special Representative on International Migration, UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants and Open Society Foundation
• Direct interaction with governments during 10 small, 90 min issue- and region-specific ‘Tea Tables’
• 8 side events and film screenings, as well as 8 pre-CSD tables for preparatory discussions

Webinars

The structure and first details on the 2017 Civil Society Days and Government Days have been discussed during two webinars hosted by the GFMD Civil Society coordinating Office in early 2017. These were co-organized with the active participation of HE Götz Schmidt-Bremme, German Ambassador for the 2017-2018 GFMD Co-Chairmanship. On 26 January, the Ambassador and John Bingham presented a first outline of structure and content of the GFMD Government Days and Civil Society Days, respectively. The 2nd webinar on 9 February, which was also joined by Stéphanie Winet, representing the GFMD Business mechanism, considered opportunities for interaction between governments, civil society and the private sector. Over 80 civil society participants participated in the webinars, with many contributing to the discussions. The moderator for both webinars was Colin Rajah, Chair of the GFMD Civil Society Days 2016. 

Importants documents

• GFMD Civil Society Days 2017 Recommendations and Outcomes English | French | Spanish
• Civil Society Concept Note English | French | Spanish
• Programme of the Civil Society Days 2017 - English | French | Spanish
• Women's Bridging Paper - English | French | Spanish
• Child Rights in the Global Compacts: Summary of Recommendations- English
• Child Rights in the Global Compacts: Working Document- English
• Convergence Matrices - English | French | Spanish
• General Practical Information
• List of all registered participants 2017 (updated 24 June)

In the News

  (English)

• What we want for children in the global compacts on refugees and migrants, Open Democracy, 27 February 2017
• Protection of migrant and refugee children must be at core of new global compacts – UN agency, UN News Centre, 13 June 2017
• Africa Panel, Children’s Conference Consider Migration Solutions, IISD SDG Knowledge Hub, 20 June 2017
• WIMN launches Issue Briefs for Civil Society Days/Global Forum on Migration & Development, Berlin 2017, Women in Migration Network, 28 June 2017
• Bridges, not walls!, Visions Solidaires, 28 June 2017
• Q&A: Human rights-based approaches to global migration, DEVEX, 29 June 2017
• Bridges, not walls: our Demands from the 2017 GFMDs, Terre des Hommes, 30 June 2017
• Women Rapporteur at GFMD Civil Society Days, Carolina Gottardo, Assesses Discussion on Gender, Makes Recommendations, Women in Migration Network, 2 July 2017
• Walking the talk: States must take concrete steps to protect children on the move after GFMDs, Terre des Hommes, 4 July 2017
• Implementation, implementation, implementation: the 2017 GFMD Civil Society Days ended in Berlin with a call for achievable solutions, International Catholic Migration Commission, 6 July 2017
• Setting Norms for Migration, The Pioneer, 31 July 2017

 (French)

• Des  ponts, non des murs !, Visions Solidaires, 28 June 2017
• Rétrospective de la Mission du FORIM au Forum Mondial Migration et Développement (FMMD), FORIM

 (Spanish)

• Derribando Muros, CTA de los Trabajadores, 10 July 2017
• “¡Queremos impacto en las vidas de la población migrante, no en un documento!”, AWO, 2 August 2017

 (German)

• GFMD 2017, War wirklich nicht mehr drin?, VENRO, 7 June 2017
• Menschenrechte und Schutz Der Migrant*Innen müssen im fokus stehen!, AWO, 1 August 2017