15th GFMD Summit in Colombia: Migrants Rights are Human Rights

Riohacha, Colombia, October 04 (OurVoice/Special Correspondent): The 15th Summit of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) held in Riohacha, Colombia on 2-4 October brought together over 200 government delegates from 42 countries, 84 representatives from the Civil Society Organizations, trade unions, human rights organisations, private sector and UN agencies. 

The summit was held at a time when migration and migrants in different parts of the world have been facing unprecedented adversaries and odds. President of Colombia Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego addressed the opening day program of GFMD on Thursday at the Hector Salah Zeleta library hall in the city of Riohacha, capital of the La Guajira department in Colombia.

One of the key messages reiterated in the discussions was that ‘Migrant Rights are Human Rights, and human rights are non-negotiable for a sustainable world.’

The overarching theme of the GFMD 2024-2025 program focused on 'Regular Migration, Labour Mobility and Human Rights: Pillars of Development and Well-Being of Societies', cross-cutting through six salient thematic priorities, reflecting the profound realities of our times: Strength in Movement: The Impact of Women on Global Migration and Development; Children and Youth on the Move: Innovators for Tomorrow’s Development; The Interplay of Media and Culture to Construct and Deconstruct the Reality of Migration; Climate Change: Safe Labour Routes as a Bridge to Prosperity; Regional Cooperation and Integration to Promote Safe and Regular Migration for Development; and New Technologies and Digitalization: Improving Migration Management and Regular Migration Pathways.  

During the summit the civil society delegates agreed to launch a global signature campaign highlighting the issues of the migrant workers across the globe.

The campaign titled, 3Rs are: 1) Resist: resist the criminalisation and cruelty towards migrants and the violation of human rights. 2) Reclaim: reclaim the concepts, language and power of human rights, diversity and representation on our own terms, away from co-optation by political actors; reclaim our lost ground, dignity, empowerment and humanity; and 3) Realise: work together as civil society to develop common understandings, goals, visions, and strategies for holding decision-makers to account- moving away from accepting endless conferences consisting of vague goals and noncommittal statements, and push for real implementation and impact on the ground and in our communities.