Addis Abeba (Ethiopia) Speech for GCM
Regional Implementation Review (Oct 9, 2024).
52
Your
Excellency Mr. Mohamed Rahman Swaray (መሀመድ ራህማን ስዋሬይ), Sierra Leone Minister of Employment, Labour and Social Security and
CoChair of the Meeting
Your
Excellency Amb. Minata Samate Cessouma (ሚናታ ሳማቴ ሴሱማ), AU Commission, Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and
Social Development.
Ms. Amy Pope, Director General, International
Organization for Migration and Coordinator of the UN Network on Migration
Mr.
Clever Gatete, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary, United Nations
Economic Commission for Africa Distinguished Ministers and delegates from
Member States, Distinguished Participants from UN Agencies, Development
Partners and stakeholders Ladies and Gentlemen, all protocol observed,
I am very
glad to welcome you all to the land of Origins - Ethiopia, and to Addis Ababa –
The Seat of the AU and your home away from home, especially for those from the
continent! It is an honor for me to address in this Continental Review of the
Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) meeting. As most
of you are well aware, the GCM was adopted by the UN in 2018, among other
things, to promote global standards and practices for global migration
governance. The compact underscores the rights and well-being of migrants and
their
communities in the country of origin, their transit, and host territory. Most
importantly, it highlights the role of all stakeholders involved in
implementing the compact. With the adoption of this first global document on
migration, member states commit to promoting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development. Since Africa is a hub for dynamic and complex human mobility
characterised by mixed and irregular migration, the GCM offers an important
opportunity for member states to address all aspects of their migration
governance in a comprehensive manner. Ethiopia, as a source, transit and
destination country for migrants, played a key role in the GCM process from its
inception throughout its development and adoption. Ethiopia formally launched
the implementation of GCM in 2019. In the same year, the GoE identified
priorities from the 23 objectives of the GCM and selected 10 priority
objectives in line with its national priorities to accelerate progress in the
implementation of the Compact. This was followed up with actual implementation
through mainstreaming the priorities in to national policies and programs in
conjunction with the SDGs.
In 2020
Ethiopia became the first Champion Country of the GMC in the Horn of African
region. Ethiopia has also participated in various Regional and Global Review
Platforms of the GCM. These platforms have enabled Ethiopia to exchange
insights, lessons learned and best practices with other countries that are part
of this framework. The platforms also promoting effective implementation,
follow up & review mechanisms. To this end, Ethiopia produced its first
National Voluntary Report in 2020. With the mainstreaming of the identified
priorities of the GCM, Ethiopia has taken significant steps in its
implementation and achieved notable progresses in all
aspects of
migration governance. The government is taking key measures in terms of
strengthening policy, legal and institutional frameworks for the implementation
of the compact. In particular, the GoE has shown its strong commitment, among
other things, through the statutory establishment of a whole of government and
society approach platform led by HE the DPM. Building up on what has been done
so far, the GoE intends to revisit and redefine its priority objectives taking
into account contemporary challenges and migration realities. Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen, I believe this second regional review meeting will
provide participant nations and stakeholders an opportunity to assess the implementation
of the compact and share experiences with respect to approaches, priorities,
good practices and common challenges. Notably, member states could take this
exercise as a good opportunity as they prepare for the upcoming global review
platform, which is the International Migration Review Forum (IMRF). Excellences, Ladies and Gentlemen
Let me take this opportunity to express my thanks to all our partners particularly IOM for their unwavering support for Ethiopia in the implementation of the GCM. Finally, I would also like to thank IOM and UNECA for organizing this important continental review meeting and for choosing Addis to host this event! Once again, well come you all and I wish you a joyful and productive stay here in Addis. Thank you!