Opportunities for civil society engagement

Opportunities for civil society engagement

One of the core and cross cutting principles of the Global Compact for Migration is the whole-of-society approach, where the GCM promotes broad multi-stakeholder partnerships to address migration in all its dimensions. A whole-of-society approach entails the robust participation of migrants, host community members and civil society in the implementation, follow-up and review of the GCM, and governments are encouraged to create avenues for engagement as part of meaningful multi-stakeholder engagement.

National consultations, where civil society organizations can participate and submit contributions informing regional and national voluntary reviews, are key opportunities to shed light on the challenges and success stories linked to achieving the GCM objectives.

There are multiple ways that civil society can engage with the Compact at global, national and local levels.

Thematic Working Groups
Thematic Working Groups established by the UN Network on Migration allow civil society organizations to take part in global thematic discussions, developing tools and guidance to help States in realizing the GCM objectives.Click here for more information on the UNNM thematic priorities and working groups 2021-2022.

Country and regional networks 
Country and regional networks offer useful platforms for different stakeholders to collaborate and share practices. In the UK, an informal group of stakeholders, including UN agencies, national NGOs and think tanks, and UK Government representatives, meets quarterly to discuss initiatives and updates relevant to the GCM implementation. For more information about the UK stakeholder engagement group, you can write to mpage@iom.int.

The UNNM repository of good practices
The UNNM repository of good practices hosted by the Network’s Hub  allows civil society members, as well as governments, organizations and people around the world to submit examples of projects and initiatives that demonstrate the GCM principles in practice. The repository will be fully operational in February 2022. You can submit a best practice by filling out this form and access the landing page of the Repository here.

International Migrants Day
International Migrants Day provides a global platform where a multitude of actors gather to celebrate the contribution of migrants and offers an opportunity to reiterate the values of the Global Compact on Migration. Find out more about how IOM UK celebrates IMD here. International Migrants Day 2021 builds on the #ItTakesAcommunity global campaign and it aims to celebrate diversity and migrants’ contributions in the UK society. Click here to find out more about International Migrants Day 2021.

Global campaigns
Global campaigns dedicated to migration issues represent unique opportunities for civil society and migrant voices to come forth. For example, through the It Takes a Community  campaign, people around the world can share positive stories that show how migration enriches their communities. Find out more about IOM active campaigns and how you can join them here.

Civil society can benefit from these opportunities to engage with global and national processes on the Global Compact on Migration in many ways. Engagement is useful to:

• Bolster advocacy messages by highlighting how national practices align with the global objectives states have committed to.
• Access a range of global resources available on the UN Network on Migration on countries’ initiatives, thematic projects and reports, and global updates.
• Connect with other stakeholders working on similar issues in different contexts and share ideas.