First International Agreement on Migration Lacks US Participation

Diana Orces on Immigration Impact reports on an important international agreement on migration:

“For the first time, countries across the world recognized the importance of coordinated action to address the growing challenges of managing migration. On Monday, more than 160 United Nations member states adopted the Global Compact on Migration in Marrakesh, Morocco, without the support of the United States.

The Global Compact is the first international agreement on migration under the United Nations and acknowledges the need to protect migrants and refugees’ human rights, regardless of their migration status. It outlines a plan for cooperation, including migrants’ safe return to countries of origin,data collection on human mobility, the strengthening of legal paths to migration, and the fight against human trafficking. The compact, however, is primarily a symbolic nonbinding agreement.

The decision in Marrakech is the result of negotiations that started in 2016 with the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, signed by 193 UN member states.Nations worldwide recognized the need to work together in the fight against xenophobia, to ease integration of migrants into their host societies, and to ensure rights and safety.

However, the Trump administration withdrew support in 2017 and intensified its opposition, arguing that the declaration weakens nations’ sovereignty and fails to consider effective border controls.”

KJ