What role for the EU in the UN negotiations on a Global Compact on Migration? CEPS Research Report No 2017/05, March 2017

Guild, Elspeth and Grant, Stephanie (2017) What role for the EU in the UN negotiations on a Global Compact on Migration? CEPS Research Report No 2017/05, March 2017. UNSPECIFIED.

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Abstract

In January 2017, the UN began international negotiations for a Global Compact on Migration, as called for in a General Assembly Resolution of 19 September 2016, called the New York Declaration. The document calls for substantial consultation with regional bodies and organisations and the participation of civil society in a transparent and open procedure. Notwithstanding the promise of transparency, there is no information concerning which bodies in the EU will participate in the process and how best to engage civil society. This paper sets out the background to the resolution, which calls for two compacts: one on migration and one on refugees (the second, led by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, is outside the scope of this paper). It examines the political developments that have preceded the New York Declaration and the role of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which became an UN-related organisation in July 2016. Two key issues are closely examined: i) existing UN migration norms, previously adopted mainly in the framework of human rights (conventions, General Comments of Treaty Bodies, Resolutions and Guidelines), that need to be at the heart of the Compact and ii) the central role allocated to the IOM in aiding the negotiation of the Global Compact. The agreement setting out the terms of the relationship between the IOM and the UN acknowledges and reiterates the former’s status as a ‘nonnormative’ body. This paper argues, however, that it is important that this status of the IOM does not become an obstacle to building the Global Compact based on the existing UN normative human rights framework.

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