International Migration Review Forum 2026 - 1st Plenary meeting, Opening Segment and General debate

Good morning, everybody. Please take your seats, especially in the corridors. The first plenary meeting of the second International Migration Review Forum is called to order. This forum has been convened under the auspices of the General Assembly and shall be chaired by the President of the General Assembly, in accordance with resolution 73/195 of December 19, 2018, and resolution 73/326 of July 19, 2019. I will now make a statement as the Chair of the Forum. Mr. Secretary General, Madam Director General of the IOM, distinguished representatives of migrant communities and civil society, Excellencies, distinguished delegates. Listening to debates in many parts of the world, migration is often treated as a new phenomenon, one that is heavily politicized, focusing on irregular movements, pressure on borders, even weaponizing of migrants, or overstretched social welfare systems. Indeed, these concerns are real, shaped by increasing conflicts, climate impacts, demographic shifts, and inequality, and we have to address them. Yet, we all know there's a much wider picture. Migration is inherently human and takes many, many different forms. For thousands of years, people have moved. to learn, to work, to reunite with family, or simply pursue opportunities beyond the horizons into which they were born. For decades, demographic change has also meant that many industrialized and high-income countries have relied on migration, especially in regard to their health care, elderly, or service sectors. So migration is An inevitable human reality. The question is not whether migration is good or bad, the question is whether we manage it well and manage it together. As every country today is either a country of origin, transit, or destination, and most times even all three at once, no state can manage migration alone. It requires cooperation, it requires international regulation. And this is precisely the purpose of the Global Compact. This is precisely the purpose of multilateralism. Despite heavy headwinds, we, you, the member states, jointly adopted it eight years ago in every state's own self-interest. The Global Compact provides a common framework grounded in international law and human rights while fully respecting national sovereignty. Since the first International Migration Review Forum in 2022, we have seen meaningful progress. Engagement has deepened. Cooperation has expanded. But much more remains to be done in order to realize its full potential and make migration a triple win: a win for migrants, a win for countries of destination, and a win for countries of origin or transit. First, we must put people at the center of mobility agreements. That means ensuring their dignity, meaning their human and social rights. And a number of migrant champion countries have led the way, shown that this is possible, for example, through bilateral mobility agreements. I've worked on some of them myself, ensuring that migrants, particularly young persons, working thousands of kilometers away from their home, We're not simply being recruited as migrant workers, but that the host countries and companies have a responsibility to train them beforehand in the language and also provide support with regard to cultural challenges which may arise. Or take the public awareness campaigns and the work of the ILO and IOM, which helped to end the decade-long practice of forcing women to leave their children behind because of the denial of visas and access to education. Yet, for too many families, separation due to restrictive immigration rules is still a bitter reality. More than 300 million people currently live outside their country of birth, many of which have faced dangerous routes, and the cost is measured in human lives. In the Mediterranean alone, at least 1,000 people have died or gone missing in the first months of this year, making this one of the deadliest starts of a year since records began. And the risks are even higher for women and children, who face heightened levels of sexual exploitation and trafficking if pathways for regular migration are reduced. Which brings me to my second point, countries of destination. Without migrants, hardly any country could thrive, especially industrialized ones, with a declining birth rate and immense need for migrant workers. Just take Australia, where more than 40% of nurses and over 50% of doctors are born overseas. In some of the Gulf countries, up to 90% of the workforce are immigrants. Over 40% of Nobel laureates from the United States have been foreign-born. At the same time, migration will only be a success story for all in the country of destination if we do not shy away from the challenges. Particularly when the number of migrants or displaced persons increases suddenly due to conflict. In those situations, as many know, communities face increasing pressure when social and education systems, as well as housing markets, are overstretched. Mainly, but not only, felt in countries neighboring crisis zones. If these concerns are not addressed, migration risks becoming a source of division and toxic polarization. So indeed, we need well-managed migration systems, supported by legal pathways, bilateral and regional mobility partnership, and international cooperation, of those to help to ensure that migration benefits both newcomers and host communities while maintaining public trust. And this is what the Global Compact is all about. Third, migration as a win for countries of origin. When migrants leave their countries of origin, the benefits of their journeys continue to flow back home. Each year, migrants send home close to 1 trillion US dollars in remittances, more than official development assistance and foreign direct investment combined. But the benefits must go further. Through well-designed policies, such as circular migration, skills partnership, and ethical recruitment, we can ensure, as the champions have shown, that migration contributes to sustainable development in receiving countries and countries of origin. The role of multilateral institutions is critical in this regard. For example, WHO has identified a list of 55 countries facing critical workforce shortages in the health care system, discouraging other governments and employers from conducting active recruitment of doctors or nurses to safeguard their public services. Excellencies, distinguished delegates. All of these examples underline how much it lies in your government's hands to ensure that the topic or the fact of life that is migration indeed becomes the true win-win-win for migrants, countries of destination, and countries of origin without sugarcoating any reality. Over the coming days, I encourage every member state and observer to engage in the discussion on the next steps actively, candidly, and constructively, to carry these discussions beyond this hall, international policies, bilateral and regional agreements, and partnerships with civil society and the private sector, always remembering that almost all of us or our families were migrants once, knowing deep inside ourselves that in managing migration together, as in so much else, we are indeed better together. I thank you. I now give the floor to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, His Excellency Antonio Guterres.

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, Migration is an integral part of the human story, an activity as old as humanity itself. It has helped build societies, grow economies, and spur innovation across the world. Yet today, migration is being distorted by fear and misinformation. Migrants are scapegoated for political gain, dehumanized in public discourse, and denied their rights and dignity. Let us be clear: migration is not the crisis. The crisis is the world’s collective failure to manage it together. And that is why we are here. to listen, to learn, and to strengthen cooperation. And I am pleased to join the President of the General Assembly for this vital forum. And I am grateful to IOM Director-General Amy Pope for coordinating the important preparatory work by the UN Network on Migration. I also warmly welcome leaders of migrant communities. Your voices and experiences are indispensable. Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration represents a milestone in multilateral cooperation. Since its adoption, Member States have taken concrete steps to expand regular pathways, strengthen labour mobility initiatives, improve search and rescue, enhance data systems, and support safer return and reintegration. Every four years, This Forum provides an opportunity to measure progress, confront challenges honestly, and sharpen priorities for the road ahead. My recent report, prepared for this purpose, delivers a stark message. Over four years, at least 200,000 victims were trafficked, most of them women and girls. In just two years, more than 15,000 people died or disappeared. along migration routes. Families and children continue to be detained, and countless workers remain exploited and excluded from labour protections. The conclusion confirms an enduring truth and the fundamental reason why we have the Global Compact: no country can manage migration alone. We need cooperation across borders, across governments, and across society. We must do better together, and the Compact shows us how. Let me highlight six ways to act with resolve and to deliver on its commitments. First, human rights must be front and centre. Every person on the move has rights, regardless of status. That means governments must step up efforts to end discriminatory practices, ensure due process, prioritise alternatives to detention, and end migration detention of children and families. It also means access to education, housing, health care and social protection, and stronger action to protect women and girls from trafficking and gender-based violence. Migration governance must be anchored in dignity, humanity and rights. Second, migration must be made safer. That requires early warning systems, better data, and stronger cooperation to identify and assist migrants in distress. It requires search and rescue, and disembarkation in line with international law. And it requires that returns, when they occur, are safe and dignified. No refoulement, no disappearances, no torture. Third, we must decisively crack down on smugglers and traffickers. They exploit desperation, monetize suffering, and profit from death. These are transnational criminal networks and need to be dealt with accordingly, with the same mechanisms for international cooperation, the same financial regulatory tools, and the same level of resources that we see in global efforts to stop the trafficking of drugs. It is not acceptable that we do so little by comparison to stop the smuggling and trafficking of human beings. States must work together to dismantle these criminal networks by cutting off their financial flows, strengthening cross-border law enforcement cooperation, and holding perpetrators to account at every level. Ending trafficking and smuggling is not only a security imperative; it is a moral one. Force We must make regular pathways real and workable for students, workers at every skill level, families, and those seeking safety and protection. Regular pathways reduce irregular movement, curb exploitation, meet labour market needs, and keep families together. To make them work, we must accelerate fair and ethical recruitment, abolish recruitment fees paid by workers, recognise qualifications, and reduce remittance costs. And we must ensure legal identity for all, and portability of social security benefits. When pathways are predictable, fair, and accessible, everyone benefits. So let's act to expand them, recognizing the tremendous contributions migrants make in countries of origin, transit, and destination. Fifth, we must expand opportunities in countries of origin. Investing at scale in education, skills acquisition, and decent work, especially for young people, can jumpstart careers and reduce the pressure to embark on perilous journeys. That means delivering on the Seville Commitment by leveraging development assistance, multilateral development banks, debt swaps, and other financial instruments more effectively, so countries of origin can expand opportunity at home. And by strengthening domestic resource mobilization and aligning national budgets with these critical needs, migration should be a genuine choice.

And sixth, we must invest in cooperation, better data, aligned with the 2030 Agenda, and efficiencies outlined in the UN80 initiative are essential for smarter, more humane policymaking. We must also strengthen synergies with the Global Compact on Refugees, as people fleeing conflict and people seeking opportunity increasingly travel together. The UN Network on Migration and the Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund are important tools for all of these efforts. Since 2019, the Trust Fund has mobilized $68 million to protect rights, strengthen accountability, and connect stakeholders across regions. I urge more partners to join this effort. Excellencies, Dear friends, The Pact for the Future recognizes safe, orderly, and regular migration as a critical priority and reaffirms the Global Compact as the way forward. This Forum is our moment to accelerate with concrete pledges, peer learning, and measurable targets. Let us show how multilateral cooperation delivers at borders and in communities, in schools and labor markets, in consulates and courtrooms, and above all, in the lives of migrants and the societies they strengthen. Thank you.

I thank the Secretary General. I now give the floor to Ms. Amy Pope. Director General of the International Organization for Migration, as the coordinator of the United Nations Network on Migration.

Madam President, dear Secretary General, Excellencies, Ministers, distinguished delegates, partners, and friends. It's such a privilege to be here with you today in my role as the coordinator of the UN Network on Migration. And a very heartfelt thank you to the President of the General Assembly and to the Secretary-General for their leadership and for setting the tone for this forum. I want to thank everyone here, everyone who's traveled from all around the world, including migrants. Your voices, your experiences are why we are here. So, let me start with a story, because migration, it's not just about statistics. It's not just about borders. It's ultimately about people. I want to share the story of someone I met in Libya, a young man in his 20s. He was a welder from Bangladesh. His family had saved for years for his journey. He left behind a wife and small children. traveling through multiple countries, ultimately ending up in Libya, seeking decent work so he could build a brighter future for all of them. And while in Libya, smugglers promised him a place on a boat to Europe. He knew the risks, yet desperation, maybe hope, drove him to cram on a flimsy boat with far too many other people. You won't be surprised to hear that that boat capsized in the Mediterranean. Now, that young man survived, but many, dozens he was traveling with, they didn't. He spent nearly 30 hours in the water before the Libyan Coast Guard found him, dehydrated, traumatized, broken. When I spoke to him, he held out his hand. A bite had been taken into the soft flesh between his thumb and his first finger while he was in the water. Now, that young man was preparing to return to Bangladesh through an IOM-supported voluntary return program, and he couldn't wait to see his family, but he was haunted by their lost investment and by what it would mean for their children. A young welder, someone with skills that the world needs. should not have to risk his life at sea to find decent work. His family should not have to gamble everything they own in order to pay for that journey. And smugglers should not get rich on his desperation. We know when migration is managed well, it creates opportunities, it fills labor shortages, it responds to demographic demands, it boosts growth, and it strengthens development through remittances and skills transfers. But none of that, none of it happens by accident. It takes cooperation. across borders, across sectors, across institutions, to build systems that are orderly, that are fair, that people can trust. And that's why this IMRF matters. Distinguished delegates, excellencies, we are meeting at a moment when multilateral cooperation is under real strain. And at the heart of this challenge is trust. Trust between states, Trust that migration can be managed in ways that are orderly, humane, and beneficial. And when that trust breaks down, cooperation fragments. And it's people, people who pay the price. So this week cannot be a stock-taking exercise. It must rebuild confidence that cooperation can still deliver. The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration, it offers us that framework. It's voluntary, it's non-binding, but it is grounded in a basic truth. No country can manage migration alone, and nobody benefits when migration is managed poorly. So as we look ahead to the next four years, what does success look like? First, Fewer lives lost. More than 80,000 people have died or gone missing on migration routes over the last decade, and those are just the ones we know about. And so many of these deaths are preventable. Success means safer, more regular pathways for people to move, stronger protection, stronger screening, better coordination at borders and at sea, and data that helps us to act earlier. well before a family would get that terrible phone call. Second, smugglers and traffickers are deprived of their profits. Criminal networks are making billions of dollars exploiting desperation on unseaworthy boats and through fake job offers. Across parts of Southeast Asia, people have been trafficked into scam compounds. They've been forced to carry out online fraud under threats and violence. Success means that we expand lawful options, we crack down on abusive recruitment, we deepen cross-border cooperation so we dismantle these networks while treating the workers, the people, as victims, not as criminals. Third, migration becomes part of the solution to changing labor markets. Across so many economies, employers simply cannot find the workers they need. Populations are aging, entire sectors are facing shortages, and at the same time, millions of people, like that young welder I met, they have skills, and they have ambition. Success means building regular labor pathways that match talent with real demand, that recognize skills, that protect workers, so that communities can see the gains and social cohesion is strengthened. Fourth, migration drives development more consistently and more fairly. We know remittances are already transforming lives. They're strengthening resilience in communities all around the world. Success means we reduce the transfer costs, we widen financial inclusion, we build skills and mobility partnerships, especially as climate and economic pressures grow. That's what effective cooperation looks like. Practical, measurable, human-centered. The UN Network on Migration stands ready to support Member States through our country and regional networks, our shared expertise, financing tools like the Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund, to turn your commitments into action. But ultimately, success depends on you. It depends on the choices that are made by you as governments, as communities, as employers. And let's be honest about where we're falling short. And let's be clear about what we will do next. Migration is deeply human. It's people, it's talent, it's resilience, it's aspiration. The next young welder I meet should be on a safe and regular pathway to decent work, not clinging to survival in the open sea. That is the opportunity before us, here and now. So let's seize it, together. Thank you.

I thank the Director General of the International Organization for Migration for your strong words, but also for the work of IOM in the last year since the last review. I now give the floor to the representative of the migrant community, Ms. Nativi dot Obiso of the Civil Association for Human Rights, United Women, Migrants, and Refugees in Argentina.

Very.

Good morning, Your Excellency Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations; Ms. Anna-Lena Behrbach, President of the General Assembly; Ms. Amy Pope, Director-General of the IOM; Eremey Af, Civil Society Director; distinguished governments, UN agencies, colleagues from civil society; And ladies and gentlemen, my name is Natividad Obeso. I am a migrant woman. I was a worker, a domestic worker, a mother of four children, one of whom has unfortunately passed. And I've also represented, worked for the Civil Association for Human Rights, United Women, Migrants, and Refugees in Argentina. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. When we talk about the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, very often we talk thinking about documents, commitments, international frameworks. But today I want to talk about something else. I want to talk about reality, about what happens all around the world every day in homes, in workplaces, in the street. Because migration isn't a concept, it is an act, it is a right that involves people. We are women, men, children, families, stories that underpin entire communities, very often in inhumane conditions of exclusion and with constant and increasing fear due to risks to their safety, their life plans, and the life plans of their families. My story isn't unique, it is collective. Here I'm going to share with you what we think about when we migrate, and based on that reality, we have to think about strategies to continue to live and preserve our dignity. Firstly, we have to talk about access to rights. We can't continue to talk about essential services as if that were enough. Migrants Indigenous persons, persons of African descent, peasant farmers, LGBTQ+ don't just need to live, they need to live with dignity. This means ensuring true access to health, to education, to decent work, to homes, and to social protection. And in practice, we know that this doesn't always happen. We know that there are barriers, that there is discrimination, that there is structural racism, that there is fear. For this reason, we need to not only guarantee these services, but also eliminate the obstacles that block our access to them. Secondly, regularisation. Migrant documentation shouldn't be a privilege, it should be an accessible right, because when there are no papers, what there is, is detention, fear, and criminalisation. Fear to go out into the streets, suffer violence, fear to face unfair situations. This causes suffering because we are excluded and stigmatised. where we are placed in a situation where we are not even recognized as human beings. This causes further stigmatization and criminalization. It opens the door to exploitation, to trafficking, to abuse, and to the invisibilization of our stories, of our lives. Therefore, we need regular migration pathways that are both accessible and inclusive. simpler, more humane regularization processes. Thirdly, work. Many migrant women carry out care work. We work at home, we look after children and older persons, sustaining the lives of other families. Nonetheless, very often we do this in informal labor conditions, without rights, without protection, and in the end, When we have handed over our entire lives to care work, we have the right to a dignified retirement. What happened in the pandemic? Very many of these workers were left out. What we need to focus on is dignified work, formal work, because there is no true inclusion without dignified work. protection. Migrant women face multiple forms of violence because we are women, because we are migrants, due to our skin colour, due to our economic situation, and due to the migrant documentation that we have. We need to have systems that really protect us, support us, listen to us, and we also need to combat discrimination, racism, and xenophobia, because xenophobia isn't just a form of speech, it has real consequences on people's lives. Five, participation. We cannot continue designing policies without migrants and their relatives. We are protagonists, we are beneficiaries, and we should forge solutions lifting up the economies of countries of origin, transit, and destination. We have our own experience, our own proposals, our own suggestions, and it is essential that we be heard in places where decisions are made. Six, community. In territories, what we see is that community networks sustain an awful lot of what the state does not provide. We are organizations, collectives, networks of women. Those who support us, who provide us with information, strengthening this is key. And today, there is something than this that is even more fundamental than this. We are not only talking about making progress, we are talking also about resisting, because we are seeing setbacks, we are seeing how rights are being restricted, how exclusive and hate speech is being used, how the police is used to prosecute people, to separate families, to criminalize us as people just on the basis of our migratory status. And in the face of this, there is also a clear strategy that has not slide backwards. Let us stand up for what has been achieved and the progression of rights, because rights aren't concessions, they are obligations binding on states. They can't depend on a document or a circumstance or political situation. When we talk about a global compact, we have to ask, what is it there for? It's, it is there. Does it serve to just say that we have something on paper or just to inform people of something? For us, it has to work and it has to be there to ensure transformations, to ensure transformations in people's real lives, to guarantee dignity, to guarantee rights, because when rights are guaranteed, migrants don't only live better lives, they also contribute, they build, they strengthen societies, but when their rights are restricted, we see increasing inequality. exclusion and discrimination. Therefore, the challenge isn't just technical, it is profoundly human and political. We need to decide what type of societies we want to build, societies that leave people out or that include them, societies that oppress people or who guarantee them rights. We are clear about that. We want societies in which dignity is not negotiated, where Rights don't slide backwards. When they are not bargained, they are defended. Thank you.

Muchas gracias. I thank Ms. Obeso. I give the floor to the representative of civil society, Ms. Ariam Aaf, the Policy Advisor at the International Trade Union Confederation, to present a summary of the informal, interactive, multi-stakeholder hearing held on May 4, 2026.

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, and fellow participants. I have the honour today to speak on behalf of trade unions and the civil society, including migrant-led, youth and diaspora organisations, and rights-focused academics, and many others, reflecting key messages that emerged during the multi-stakeholder hearing on Monday and consultations leading to this forum. A summary report will be made available for you, and I invite all distinguished delegates to please read and make use of that report, which contains a wealth of information and actionable recommendations. Now to our key messages. First, stakeholders are unequivocal. There must be no regression from existing human rights obligations and international labor standards. These rights are universal and non-negotiable, and they already provide a strong foundation for protecting migrants and migrant workers. The priority now is implementation, not dilution, aligned with GCM guiding principles, including gender responsiveness, so that rights are real, accessible, and enforceable. Second, Stakeholders reject any form of differential treatment among migrants, regardless of status or occupation, regular or irregular. All migrants are rights holders. The Universal Declaration on Human Rights and human rights conventions, as well as ILO's fundamental principles and rights at work, apply to all migrants equally. Protection that is selective is not protection, it is exclusion. Irregular migration is not a matter of individual choice. It is the predictable result of restrictive and exclusionary policies. States are increasingly resorting to criminalization of migrants, externalizing migration management, to pushbacks, to forced and violent returns, and arbitrary detention. If we are serious about reducing precariousness, preventing deaths and disappearances, and creating orderly migration systems, states must take responsibility for designing inclusive rights-based frameworks. We also must end the detention of children once and for all. Third. Labor migration without adherence to international labor standards, including freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, equal treatment and non-discrimination, living wages, and safe and healthy working conditions, is exploitation. We need enforcement through effective labor inspection systems and an end to recruitment fees charged to workers. It is unacceptable that even before starting a job, migrants are crippled under debt. Fourth, regular pathways alone are not sufficient. They must be rights-based. Pathways must ensure decent work, full labor rights, and access to justice. Temporary migration schemes that tie workers to employers are structurally exploitative. We must instead move towards pathways that enable family unity and provide long-term stability. Pathways should also not solely focus on narrow labor market needs, but also on humanitarian needs in order to provide sustainable solutions for people displaced by the urgent issues of our time, including climate change and violence. Critically, regularization must be recognized as a key solution for millions of migrants already living and working in irregular situations. Regularization is essential to reduce vulnerability, prevent exploitation, and enable full participation in society. Fifth. Meaningful inclusion is not optional, it is essential. Migrants, their families, trade unions, and local communities must be actively involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of policies that affect them. Their participation is not an add-on or symbolic gesture. It is a precondition for effective, fair, and just sustainable solutions. Visa barriers and limited speaking opportunities have restricted meaningful civil society and trade union participation even in this forum. If we are committed to inclusive governance, these barriers must be addressed, participation must be facilitated, resourced, and protected. The drivers of migration are complex and require holistic, coherent responses. Inequality, lack of decent work, gaps in social protection, climate change, conflict, and discrimination are some of the interconnected factors that shape migration. We need to address these drivers so that families can stay together and young workers have real choices in terms of their economic opportunities and democratic engagement through investment in decent job creation, in universal and inclusive social protection, and accessible and quality public services. Effective responses to climate change and sustained efforts to ensure peace, human rights, equality, and socioeconomic inclusion across all countries are urgently needed. We must also recognize the specific impacts of conflicts on migrants. In crisis situations, migrant workers lose their jobs, face wage theft, and are excluded from protection and humanitarian responses. Unable to evacuate safely, many are trapped in situations of exploitation or irregularity. These realities demand targeted solutions: inclusion of migrants in humanitarian planning, access to consular and emergency support, portability of rights and entitlements, and accountability for abuses. Without such measures, existing vulnerabilities are deepened. Finally, the GCM itself reflects a fundamental truth: no single state can achieve these objectives alone. In a time of politicization and criminalization of migration, fueling xenophobia, collaboration at all levels and partnerships between governments, civil society, trade unions, employers, and migrants are critical to progressing towards the vision of the GCM. Multilateral cooperation, Grounded in human rights and international labor standards is essential to ensure that migration is safe, orderly, and regular, and above all, just. To summarize in closing, civil society and trade unions are calling for no regression on human and labor rights. equal protections and rights for all migrants without distinction, rights-based pathways with full labor protections, including meaningful regularization, meaningful participation and tripartite social dialogue, holistic, coherent approaches to addressing the drivers of migration, policy coherence across the board within the UN that recognizes interlinkages between climate, migration, SDG and social development agendas, and multilateralism and strengthened cooperation at all levels to deliver on the promises of the Global Compact. The path forward is clear. The cost of inaction is measured not only in failed policies, but in human suffering. The responsibility now is to act. I thank you.

I thank Ms. Arff. We have heard the last speaker in the opening segment. I would like to thank the Secretary General for taking the time to join us this morning. I now invite the attention of the forum to item 2 of the provisional agenda, entitled Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters. The documentation under this item is listed in the Journal of the United Nations. May I take it that the Forum wishes to adopt the agenda as contained in document A/AC293/2026/1? I hear no objection. It is so decided. As delegations recall, the Assembly in resolution 73/326 decided that the Forum shall operate under the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly, as applicable, unless otherwise provided in the same resolution. If I hear no objection, the Forum shall operate under the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly, in particular the rules relating to the procedures of committees of the Assembly, in accordance with rule 106. I see no objection. It is so decided. I invite the attention of the Forum to the organizational arrangements, including time limits for statements in the general debate, as outlined in the information note circulated through my letter dated April 1, 2026. May I take it that the Forum approves the organizational arrangements contained in the information note? I hear no objection. It is so decided. I would like to propose that the list of speakers for the general debate of this forum to be closed in view of the large number of delegations inscribed. Unless I hear any objection, I will take it that the forum agrees to close the list of speakers. It is so decided. The Forum has thus concluded this stage of its agenda item 2. The Forum will now consider agenda item 3, entitled “Election of officers other than the Chair.” May I take it that the Forum decides to elect, with due regard to equitable geographical distribution, the 21 Vice Presidents of the General Assembly at its 8th session as vice chairs of 2026 edition of the forum. I hear no objection. It is so decided. This concludes the consideration of agenda item three. The forum shall now commence its general debate under agenda item four. In accordance with the organizational arrangements approved by the Forum, the time limit for statements will be three minutes for individual delegations and five minutes for statements made on behalf of a group of States. To assist delegations in managing their time, a timer will be projected on the screens. When a representative exceeds her or his allotted time, the presiding officer shall call the representative to order without delay by way of automatic microphone cut-offs. As we have, luckily, many representatives from capitals, I would like to repeat this with automatic microphone cut-offs. Longer versions of statements can be made available under e-statements of the journal. I thank you dearly for your cooperation and solidarity to hear as many speakers as we can. I now give the floor to the first speaker, the distinguished Excellency Bart van der Brink, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Asylum and Migration of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Please, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President, Excellencies, distinguished guests. Good to be here today. Our countries have the aim to manage migration in a safe, orderly, and regular fashion. And our societies expect us to combat human trafficking and migrant smuggling. For the same reason, our societies expect proper border management and a fair migration system. And our societies expect that those who can stay will integrate, prosper, and become successful in our societies, and that those who do not have the right to stay will return to their country of origin. That's why we have the Global Compact on Migration, and that's why the Kingdom of the Netherlands is part of the discussions today. We continue to believe that the international cooperation is the only way to achieve these goals. Also, we believe that safeguarding the rights of the migrants is the only way to achieve these goals in a sustainable way. And in this context, the efforts made by the UN organizations and the member states are crucial. As an example, the Netherlands works to achieve these goals through our contributions to the Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund. And I am pleased to announce that the Netherlands will contribute an additional 2 million euros to the trust fund this year, and I invite others to add to the fund as well. Our combined efforts should provide momentum for the full 360-degree implementation of the Global Compact. Root-based cooperation is the key, because migration cooperation does not stop at our borders. Our societies expect us to have credible migration management systems, so that we have more control over who can stay. This needs to be complemented by effective partnerships. One of our priorities is returns, also to tackle migrant smuggling and trafficking. And the Netherlands places strong emphasis on safe, dignified, and sustainable return and reintegration. Voluntary return is always our preference. Through our COMPAS program, we assist not only returning migrants, but also voluntary returns from partner countries to third countries. And the Global Compact on Migration has developed positively over the past four years, and we see the need for new ways of cooperation. This new arrangement that may include return hubs or safe third country concepts should ensure the safeguarding of the rights of migrants. And as a committed multilateral partner, the Kingdom of the Netherlands looks forward to the next four years of cooperation on the Global Compact and make its I think.

I thank the Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Asylum and Migration of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Next speaker is His Excellency Bernard Mohammed Joro, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction of Nigeria. On behalf of the African Group, and therefore for five minutes, just as a little support, there's also a timer on the podium next to the microphone. Please, Your Excellency Joro, you have the floor.

Madam President, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the African Group. The group appreciates Kenya and Luxembourg's stewardship, the IOM and Migration Network's support. We take note with appreciation of the convening of the ministerial meeting of African champion countries in the implementation of the Global Compact for Migration in Cairo on April 1, 2026, which reflects Africa's continued leadership and collective commitment to migration governance. We stress the need to uphold cooperation and protection of human rights and dignity, while respecting the principle of sovereignty. The balance struck in Marrakesh must be preserved. All migrants are right holders, regardless of their status, and need to be protected. The Global Compact is essential. Its effective implementation requires enhanced cooperation among countries of origin, transit, and destination. On regular pathways, we call for extension, we call for expansion of skills mobility partnerships, mutual recognition of qualifications, social security portability, labor mobility schemes, and accessible migration channels. On remittances, We call for commitments on lowering transfer costs, promoting digital financial solutions, linking remittance flows to diaspora investment, and boosting diaspora engagement. On remittances, we call for commitments on lowering transfer costs, promoting digital financial solutions. On the climate impacts, proactive adaptation, resilience building in countries of origin. Madam President, what Africa asks of this forum is genuine commitment, matched by adequate financial and technical support. The story of migration is largely the story of Africa. This forum must honor that reality. I thank you. Madam President, I wish to now deliver Nigeria's national statement. Nigeria aligns with statement delivered on behalf of the GCM Champion Countries and African Group, and would like to deliver the following remarks in her national capacity. Nigeria is honored to participate in this year's International Migration Forum at a critical moment in our collective efforts to strengthen global migration governance. It is worthy of note that eight years after the adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, Nigeria has continued to demonstrate strong political will and sustain institutional commitment as a champion country. We have adopted a whole of government, a whole of society approach to ensure our migration policies are not siloed. A defining milestone is the recent review and validation of Nigeria's national migration policy. This document, along with its integrated implementation plan, serve as our roadmap, ensuring global GCM objectives are translated directly into national reality. In February of this year, Nigeria concluded its second voluntary national review. This inclusive evidence-based assessment of all 23 GCM objectives revealed significant strides in strengthening migration governance systems, improving inter-agency collaboration, institutionalizing protection and reintegration mechanisms, Distinguished delegates, while we celebrate progress, we remain aware that there are hurdles ahead. We must still address gaps in migration data systems, bridge the uneven implementation across different levels of government, and secure more sustainable financing for long-term interventions. Moving forward, Nigeria has identified four critical pillars. Expanding labor mobility skills, recognition, and ethical recruitment, deepening our evidence-based policy making through better data systems, shifting from reactive responses to preventive systems, including robust diaspora engagement, prioritizing dignified return through nationally led systems. In conclusion, Madam President, Nigeria remains a committed partner to all members.

I thank His Excellency, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction of Nigeria. On behalf of the African Group, I now give the floor to His Excellency, Usal Huseynov, Chairperson of the State Migration Service of Azerbaijan, also on behalf of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration champion countries. Please, Your Excellency, you have the floor.

Excellencies, distinguished delegates. I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the 44 champion countries of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. From an initial group of 20 countries in 2022, the membership of the initiative has more than doubled in four years. This is not a symbolic development, but a testament of the growing confidence among member states in advancing the Global Compact. The International Migration Review Forum takes place at a critical moment. Since the first IMRF, the global context has been marked by profound geopolitical, demography, climatic, technological, and economic shifts. Excellencies, as the GCM champion countries, we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to all 23 objectives and 10 guiding principles of the Global Compact. Since the adoption of the Global Compact, we have sought to strengthen political commitment and translate it into concrete action, including through national implementation plans, voluntary pledges, peer exchange, and sustained engagement across regions. We have worked to strengthen evidence-based policymaking, support whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, and counter harmful narratives around migration with facts and solutions. At the same time, we regret that progress remains uneven. Migrants, especially those in an irregular status, continue to face serious risks and vulnerabilities, including loss of life along migration routes, exploitation and abuse, xenophobia, discrimination, and persistent barriers to accessing basic services. In this context, we stress that protecting human life, Dignity and rights, including the best interests of a child at all times, must remain at the center of migration governance in full accordance with the state's obligations on the international law and on the international humanitarian law. We further underscore that the protections extended by human rights apply to all migrants, regardless of their migration status. At the same time, we highlight the importance of expanding and diversifying regular migration pathways. particularly for labor mobility. In this context, we also underscore that effective and credible migration governance requires strengthened international cooperation and fair burden-sharing, carried out in full respect of human rights and dignity. Enhanced cooperation between countries of origin, transit, and destination at all stages is essential to uphold the integrity of migration systems and to maintain public trust in their fairness and effectiveness. Excellences, We welcome the IMRF Programme Declaration as a key opportunity to take stock of progress, acknowledge persistent and emerging challenges, and to provide a forward-looking roadmap for accelerated implementation of the Global Compact. We commend the co-facilitators of the IMRF Progress Declaration, His Excellency Ms. Lokail of Kenya and His Excellency Ms. Meiers of Luxembourg, for steering an inclusive dialogue and reaffirm our commitment to its effective follow-up. Finally, we underscore the critical role of the UN Network on migration under IOM's coordination in supporting the implementation of the GCM across regions and call for strengthened political and financial support for the Global Compact's capacity building mechanisms. Full version of the joint statement will be available on the UN journal. Now, I have the honor to address this forum in my capacity representing the Republic of Azerbaijan. Since the GCM adoption, Azerbaijan has integrated this document into its national migration policy. We have advanced national and regional efforts, contributed to global initiatives to strengthen migration governance in alignment with the Compact. Since the previous IMRF, by using its champion country role, Azerbaijan promoted the Compact as the chair of Almaty process for two years and strengthened the regional capacity building instruments. We have also worked to mainstream migration into global agendas. In 2024, Azerbaijan presided over COP29. We ensured that Migration remained central in discussions, and that GCM objectives and principles were consistently reflected. As you know, Azerbaijan will also host the upcoming World Urban Forum in two weeks. Following our approach at COP29, we will continue also to highlight migrants' rights as a priority on the WUF13 agenda. At the national level, Azerbaijan has also made significant progress across the principles and objectives of the Compact. Our recently submitted National Voluntary Report documents concrete progress and priorities that reflect our commitment. Excellencies, Azerbaijan once again reaffirms its determination to make the Global Compact and forthcoming Progress Declaration a success. Due to time limit, full version of this statement will be available on UN

I thank you, Your Excellency, very much also for this practical advice that you chairperson of the State Migration Service of Azerbaijan, also on behalf of the group of Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration champion countries. I would like to draw your attention that this is not only a wonderful room, but also a room that carries sounds very strongly. So we hear everything which has been said at the balcony and also in your delegations, Rose. So if you could please keep this in mind, and if you need to discuss things, please do that outside of the room, also in respect to the speakers. I now give the floor to the next speaker, Her Excellency Rosa Yolanda Gera Vincencio Mapi. Minister for Foreign Affairs of Colombia, also on behalf of a group of Member States.

Madam President of the General Assembly, Director-General of the IOM, Excellencies, Colombia is grateful for this space, and we wish the President success as she leads these discussions. For my country, migration is a great challenge and at the same time one of the greatest opportunities of our time. We are facing a global context of profound transformations on the climate, economic, and geopolitical levels. For this reason, we must recognize that migration is a structural reality that requires comprehensive, coordinated, and evidence-based responses. Colombia firmly believes in shared responsibility between states in which all of our actions have serious repercussions on thousands of people. Therefore, we must continue to pool our efforts for the good of the migrants around the world. In this context, the Colombian state has responded through specific actions, through the Vice Ministry of Migration Affairs, Consular Affairs, and International Protection within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This step reflects our commitment to effective migration governance, which requires inter-institutional coordination, political leadership, and a long-term vision. One of the major tasks for this Vice Ministry is the implementation and follow-up of the commitments established in the Global Compact. Therefore, the facilitation of good practices, mobilization of resources, and strengthening of institutional capacities are included within those. Excellencies, at the same time, Colombia has advanced in consolidating migration pathways that are safe, orderly, and regular through the strengthening of consular services and the facilitation of migration procedures. All of these actions not only benefit migrants, but they also build trust among states, which is key to effective international cooperation. for meeting the demand for migrant workers towards safe, orderly migration with safe pathways towards decent work for the good of societies. Madam President, we have strengthened our consular network to facilitate access to documentation, to guarantee rights and improve assistance to our nationals abroad, as well as to migrant populations. on our national territory. This contributes to building trust and reducing risks related to irregular migration. Because the protection of the life, dignity, and human rights of migrants is at the heart of our migration policy, Colombia, as a country of origin, transit, destination, and return, we are working to strengthen our cooperation with other states and the UN to ensure real protection. This calls for coordinated efforts beyond the national scenario. Participation-based policy with the diaspora is key to our policies on return, social engagement, and which seeks to ensure the contribution of migrants both in Colombia and in host countries. Excellencies, Colombia reiterates that migration governance is a shared responsibility that requires effective international cooperation. We will continue to participate actively in multilateral, regional fora, promoting joint solutions and strengthening partnerships to advance the implementation of this compact with institutional actions based on giving rise to tangible results for people and societies. Thank you very much.

Muchas gracias. Minister of Foreign Affairs for Colombia. Sorry, sorry. Their microphone cuts off. So speaking time is over. Yeah, thank you. Muchas gracias. I thank the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia. The next speaker, His Excellency Mosa Atar, Minister of Means Abroad and African Integration of Mali.

Madame President, Secretary General, ladies and gentlemen, it's an honor for me to take the floor on behalf of the government of the Republic of Mali at this second International Migration Review Forum. The delegation of Mali aligns itself with the statement delivered by the African Group, and we welcome the facilitating work of Kenya and Luxembourg. The participation of Mali falls in a national context that is marked by persistent security challenges. This was illustrated in particular by the terrorist attacks committed against my country on 25 April 2026. Given these challenges, Under the leadership of His Excellency, the General of the Army, Assimi Goita, President of the Transition and the Head of State, Mali remains resolved to protect its populations, to bolster social cohesion, and to preserve national unity. Mali recalls that terrorism and violent extremism constitute genuine threats to international peace and security, and fighting against them requires increased collective mobilization. We're a country of origin, of transit, and of destination. Somalia thus reaffirms its commitment to migration governance that respects human dignity, basic rights, and the principle of shared responsibility. Since 2018, my country has been working to implement the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration. The revision of our national migration policy seeks to better integrate national priorities, in particular climate, gender, human security, and sustainable development. Major strides have been made in managing migration data and the protection of vulnerable migrants in ensuring a return and sustainable migration of migrants, as well as harnessing the diaspora. Nonetheless, challenges remain, in particular, the sustainable financing of migration policies, building institutional capacity, and fighting the root causes of irregular migration, which are poverty, discrimination, climate change, and the lack of opportunities for young people. Going forward, Mali intends to build on its achievements to strengthen its mechanisms for follow-up and accountability and to deepen regional and international cooperation, in particular in the context of the Confederation of Sahel States. Through this work, Mali reaffirms its commitment to make migration a lever for sustainable development to serve stability, peace, and prosperity. I thank you.

I thank the Minister of Malians Abroad and African Integration of Mali. Next speaker, Her Excellency Lena Medley Diab, Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship of Canada.

Excellency's distinguished delegates, it's an honor for me to be part of this International Migration Review Forum. and to underscore Canada's commitment to the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration. We know that migration strengthens our countries, but its success rests on one essential element: that's the trust of the public. When migration is safe, orderly, and regular, the public has trust in the system. And when this trust is well established, migrants are able to fully contribute to strengthening their communities and providing labor and ensuring the resilience of our societies.

Migration is, above all, about people. And when it is managed responsibly, it creates opportunity for individuals, for families, and for the communities that welcome them. At home, we are improving migration pathways while ensuring our rules are followed. Globally, we're working with partners to support more coordinated and effective migration systems, because no country can manage migration alone. Through this work, Canada reaffirms its commitment to the Global Compact's core principles. respect for human rights, international cooperation, and the ability of countries to determine how best to implement its objectives in accordance with international law. Canada is advancing a focused set of pledges, adopting the responsible use of intelligence in migration, continuing to engage whole of government and whole of society, exploring innovations in global labor mobility, addressing misinformation, and deepening international partnerships. These efforts reflect the shared goal: migration systems that are credible, fair, and built to last. As the daughter of immigrants, I've seen firsthand the contributions newcomers make to our economies, our communities, and our shared future. That is why this work matters, because getting migration right is not only a policy imperative, it is a responsibility we share. And in a world where migration is often debated, let us be clear: when it's well managed, migration is not a challenge to overcome, it's a strength to build on. That's how we restore trust, how we sustain confidence, and how we move forward together. Je vous remercie.

Thank you.

Merci. I thank the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada. I now give the floor to Her Excellency Suliha Komamov-Zoda, Minister of Labour, Migration and Employment of Population of Tajikistan.

Thank you, Madam President. Distinguished delegates, at the outset, allow me, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, to express our gratitude to the United Nations for fruitful cooperation and the ability to speak at this platform at such a high level. I further wish to underscore our deep partnership with the International Organization for Migration. which for many years has been a true, reliable partner in advancing effective, safe, orderly, and regular migration. Today, migration issues are becoming ever more global. The economic dimension, the climate factors, and social challenges have strengthened the mobility of populations. At this time, what's particularly important is effectively implementing the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration. The Republic of Tajikistan has been consistent in its support for the principles of the Global Compact, and we view it as the bedrock for crafting modern, sustainable migration policies. From 2024 to 2025, our country has strengthened its legal and regulatory framework. We adopted strategic documents. They sought to regulate migration processes, improve employment, and combat human trafficking, and to harness the diaspora to develop our country. We're focusing in particular on international cooperation. We've signed a number of agreements with our partners abroad. We're deepening our participation in mechanisms for organized labor, and this has ensured legal employment of citizens. We highly appreciate the contribution of international organizations, including the IOM, UN agencies, civil society, and the private sector in achieving the goals of the Global Compact. We have a conviction, namely, that the results of this forum will serve as additional momentum, namely, for strengthening international cooperation and for advancing the sustainable development agenda. Allow me to close by stressing the fact that only through joint efforts, through partnership, and through mutual responsibility can we transform migration into a powerful factor for sustainable development and for universal prosperity. I thank you.

I thank the Minister. of labour migration and employment of population of Tajikistan, I now give the floor to His Excellency Johan Forsell, Minister for Migration of Sweden.

Madam President, Excellencies and Delegates, Sweden supports the Global Compact for Migration and its comprehensive 360-degree approach. I'm also pleased to announce that Sweden will rejoin the Migration Multi-Party Trust Fund with a financial contribution, because international cooperation is a central priority. Effective migration governance depends on cooperation between countries of origin, transit, and destination, and such cooperation must be grounded in mutual respect for shared and different priorities in accordance with international humanitarian and human rights laws. It is especially important to cooperate to combat human trafficking and smuggling networks, to protect migrants' lives and end the impunity of criminal activity. Return policy is another core element of effective and credible migration governance. Every state has an obligation to accept the return of its citizens, and Sweden stands ready to work with every state for effective return and reintegration cooperation, respecting human rights and human dignity. Madam President, Sweden is a country built on entrepreneurship and innovation. Some of the world's best and leading companies and universities are Swedish, and we warmly welcome international talents and researchers to our nation. In this regard, Sweden supports the continued focus on regular migration pathways, particularly labor and talent migration, when clearly linked to economic growth, competitiveness, and skills needs. Madam President, Last year in Sweden, a 16-year-old girl was on her way home from work when she was raped. However, the criminal, a recognized refugee, was not expelled because the crime was not considered serious enough to meet the high threshold set by the Refugee Convention and interpreted by existing guidelines. Her case has touched many deeply, and the fact that criminals are not deported is a betrayal of all victims of crime. As Sweden's Minister for Migration, as a father of two daughters, I cannot defend the systems that puts the rights of criminals before the rights of victims and law-abiding migrants. Sweden wants these guidelines to be reviewed to better reflect an obvious position: rape in all circumstances is a particularly serious crime, and such crimes must be subject to expulsion, even if the persecutor is a recognized refugee. We must do it for the sake of the victims, but also to preserve the public trust in the migration system. And I hope that all of you will support us in this effort, because no legislation is given from above, not even these guidelines, and they need to reflect the world today. Madam President, Sweden stands ready to work with you to improve international migration governance, a system that reflects the needs of today and that works for everyone concerned. Thank you very much.

I thank the Minister of Migration of Sweden. I now give the floor to Her Excellency Daniela Misal Nicițean, Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Moldova.

Madam President, distinguished delegates, it's an honor to address assembly and wish to thank you, United Nations and International Organization for Migration in convening this important forum. Since the adoption of a global compact for safe, orderly, and regular migration, Moldova has demonstrated its unwavering support for this cooperative framework. As part of our EU accession process, Moldovan government has approved the national program on migration and asylum. This central policy document ensures that our legislative framework remain effective in a rapidly evolving regional security environment. At the same time, the national program on phased integration of foreigners has been launched, ensuring displaced persons access to essential services. Reforms regulating entry, stay, and labor market access for foreign nationals are ongoing. As well as initiatives promoting ethical recruitment and sound labor migration governments in cooperation with international partners to support the reintegration of returning migrants. Migration governance has also been integrated across key national planning instruments, ensuring our policy framework keeps pace with evolving regional dynamics. The ongoing work on disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation is increasingly mainstreaming human mobility consideration. Moldova remain a country significantly shaped by migration dynamics, while remittances continue to represent an important contribution to national economy. We have strengthened the evidence-based migration governance by enhancing data collection and analysis. Diaspora engagement remain our policy, and we are strengthening cooperation with Moldovan communities abroad, facilitating their active contribution to national and local development. Return support unit was established to assist with reintegration of Moldovan citizens. Our effort will be directed towards expanding safe and regular migration pathways, strengthening national institutional capacities, and further advancing the alignment of our policy with international standards in close cooperation with IOM and international partners to whom we are grateful for constant support. To conclude, Moldova reaffirms its strong commitment to the effective implementation of Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration. Thank you. for your attention.

I thank the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Moldova. I now give the floor to Her Excellency Alexandra Hil Tinoco, Minister for Foreign Affairs of El Salvador.

Madam President, Excellencies, today I come as the voice of a nation that, just like others, has lived through its own flesh and blood the full destruction of its social fabric. I come here on behalf of all of those who have never been listened to or heard in this room, all of those who hoped that this institution was established to protect them and would one day say their name. While we discuss this in our room, more than 3 billion people continue to live in situations of vulnerability. 120 million people have been forced out of their homeland. Now, We all feel something different through a change in the global order, something that previously was only felt by the vulnerable. Now we all feel fear. Fear that paralyzes a mother in the middle of the night, the same fear that terrorizes, that terrorizes and that paralyzes a child when they cross a desert alone, when, Fear, when it is systematically ignored, it doesn't disappear, it builds up, it becomes transformed, and it ends up destroying, wrenching asunder entire societies, because no country is immune to the consequences of a broken global order. When the world is in crisis, borders become fictional. Borders disappear. 25 centuries ago, Lao Tzu wrote something that the great leaders have taken generations to discover. The best leader, he said, is that whose work allows the people to say, "We did it ourselves." This is a noble vision of power. However, there's something that he didn't anticipate. He didn't anticipate the time when a nation would need a visible, present leader. That is the case of our leader Nayib Bukele. Nayib Bukele made a promise, and for the first time in his life and in the life of our nation, he promised to bring an end to irregular migration. He was there against all the prognosis and having inherited a collapsed state that had fallen prey to organized crime, he took a brave step, unprecedented, brave step. He took a decision that had never been taken before in 1920 I think

Thank you. Muchas gracias. I thank the Minister for Foreign Affairs of El Salvador. Thank you. I now give the floor to His Excellency Ariful Haque Kudduri, Minister of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment of Bangladesh.

Madam President, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Bangladesh, as a major country of origin for migrant workers, chose to be a GCM Champion Country to exemplify our deep commitment to ensuring safe, orderly, and regular migration. As a part of our presence at the first IMRF, we set up a dedicated Migration Compact Task Force to promote whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach. We have developed a National Action Plan 2026-2030 to support GCM implementation. As of now, out of the 10 pledges, we have fulfilled seven; the rest are ongoing. This year, we have submitted six new pledges and have become party to new Asia-Pacific regional pledges. For the first time, we have submitted our first VNR on the implementation progress of the GCM objective. Madam President, The new government of Bangladesh, led by Honorable Prime Minister Tarek Rahman, has invested its best efforts to building a society based on good governance, rule of law, human rights, human dignity, and equal opportunity; advising a rights-based approach to global migration governance, therefore fully aligns with our national vision. Our Priorities include reducing recruitment costs, ensuring decent work and fair wages, expanding access to justice, strengthening employer accountability, and protecting the rights of migrants. We underscore the importance of rights-based border management and hence opportunity for safe, and regular migration. We call for concerted efforts to combat irregular migration practice, including misleading pull factors in the destination countries. The return.

I thank you. I thank the Minister. of Expatriates, Welfare, and Overseas Employment of Bangladesh. I now give the floor to His Excellency Denis Oliutyn, Minister of Social Policy, Family, and Unity of Ukraine. And just to support the speakers again, on the left side of the microphone, you will see the timer. Thank you.

Madam, thank you. Madam President, Excellencies, distinguished colleagues. We all must adapt to a new reality. Migration today is not shaped only by economic. Security has become one of the major drivers of human mobility. War, attack of Civilian infrastructure and repeated shock increasingly shape where people leave work and raise their children. Ukraine knows this reality firsthand because of the Russian armed aggression. Millions of Ukrainians have experienced different form of mobility, internal displacement, temporary protection abroad, return to Ukraine, and sometimes repeated movement depending on the security situation. These are different legal realities, and we should not confuse them, but for people and for government, they are connected in daily life. Our response has been to build migration governance around connection, protection, and recovery. Inside Ukraine, we are strengthening support for internally displaced persons through targeted assistance, employment pathways, housing support, and integration into host communities. We are expanding community-based services, including resilience centers that provide psychosocial support, social services, and practical assistance close to where people live. For Ukrainians abroad, our objective is to maintain connection with the state and with Ukrainian society. Through Unity House, we are creating accessible points of contact for information services and engagement. Through the Ukrainian Diaspora Alliance, we are strengthening community ties, skills exchange, and investment links. We are also investing in digital solutions. Modern platforms can help people access services remotely, understand return options, and navigate reintegration opportunities in employment, housing, and education. This experience leads us to several broader conclusions. First, portability of social protection is now essential for human resilience. People should not lose connection to their earned rights, pensions, contribution records, disability support, or family benefits. This requires stronger social protection coordination and trusted information exchange between countries, including on identity verification, insurance records, and eligibility data. Second, countries need sustained investment in social infrastructure. Mobility is managed not only at borders, but in schools, child care, health system, employment service, and digital public administration. Social infrastructure must be recognized as critical infrastructure. The Global Compact for Migration give us a useful framework to discuss these challenges. At the same time, Ukraine's experience reminds us that mobility in today's world often cuts across all policy categories. Ukraine is committed to build a modern system that supports citizens, families, and communities, create real conditions for return when circumstances allow. If mobility is becoming more dynamic and unpredictable, governments must become more practical.

I thank the Minister of Social Policy, Family and Unity of Ukraine. I now give the floor to His Excellency Danilo Zaranovic, Minister of the Interior of Montenegro.

Madam President, In all circumstances in the world, even the most difficult circumstances, we have to push for dialogue. Those are the words of Secretary-General Guterres, which is why it is a great honor to speak before you today and present Montenegro’s report and pledges. In the previous period, we were focused on multi-agency approach to migration management policy creating, while simultaneously following the principles of joining forces, processes, and resources of both state authorities and civil sector. In that light, I especially emphasize strategy of migration and reintegration of returnees. Strategy for Integrated Border Management, Schengen Action Plan, Strategy for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, and National Sustainable Development Strategy. Montenegro, with voluntary pledges, joined other countries that create their policies aimed at active contribution to the full respect of human rights and freedoms, strengthening rule of law and international cooperation. By the end of 2028, we will align national legislation with the key in the field of migration and increase accommodation capacities for foreigners seeking international protection, all while applying reception standards in compliance with EU standards. We will direct our efforts towards further harmonizing procedures, right rights of foreigners and facilitating administrative practices. While complementary to our pledges from 2019 Global Compact on Refugees, we will contribute to a more efficient and humane reception system, reducing pressure on existing capacities and strengthening institutional capacities to manage migration challenges. I would like to express gratitude to all our partners on supporting progress declaration and especially to the UN mechanisms. I wish that by the next meeting, we do not forget that the success of the implementation of the Global Compact depends solely on our commitment to dialogue, our partnership, and mutual trust. I assure that Montenegro, soon as a member of the EU, will remain a reliable partner on that path. I thank you.

I thank the Minister of the Interior of Montenegro. I now give the floor to her Excellency Elmar Saiz Delgado, Minister of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration of Spain.

Excellencies, friends, in a complex international context and also within regional discussions where it has not always been possible to reach ambitious common positions, today we wish to reaffirm a clear conviction: migration is a global phenomenon requiring global responses. Spain has consistently advocated a humanist, multilateral rights-based approach, an approach that places the dignity of migrants and the full respect for their rights at its core, and that understands migration not only as a challenge, but also as a shared opportunity. This position translates into a firm commitment to strengthening regular, orderly, and safe pathways. In practice, this is reflected in concrete initiatives that we are carrying out together with countries in Latin America, the Maghreb, and Sub-Saharan Africa, tailored to the specific realities of each context and aimed at generating mutual benefits. Effective migration governance cannot be built from a single perspective. It must address both the needs of countries of origin and destination, recognizing the diversity of migration profiles and the specific characteristics of each route. In contrast, reductionist approaches that are exclusively reactive or focused on punitive measures have proven insufficient. Likewise, it is not possible to address this phenomenon through isolated or fragmented action. By its very nature, migration transcends borders and requires cooperation, shared responsibility, and a common vision. For this reason, Spain reiterates the importance of strengthening multilateralism as an essential framework for effective, fair, and sustainable migration management. In this regard, the role of international organizations, in particular, the UN system, is irreplaceable as a political and normative reference. Now more than ever, it is essential to preserve and reinforce a narrative grounded in cooperation, evidence, and the values that united us as an international community. Spain will continue to work constructively to advance in that direction. Thank you.

Muchas gracias. I thank the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration of Spain. I now give the floor to His Excellency Vladislav Kontratovich, Minister of the Interior of Lithuania.

Madam President, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it's an honour to address this forum on behalf of the Republic of Lithuania. Migration is one of the defining realities in our time, not only a challenge to manage, but a test of our humanity, our solidarity, and our ability to act together. Since the first forum in 2022, Lithuania has taken concentrated system-wide steps in this regard. Our policies are guided not only by data and institutions, but by a simple belief: Migration must be managed both responsibly and with full respect for international human rights law. Our migration services are being modernized to improve access, quality, and protection for migrants. In the field of international, we have strengthened reception conditions and supported inclusion of local level. Education remains a core priority, supporting access to education for migrants across all age groups. We have strengthened protection for persons in vulnerable situation. We have fought and continue to fight human trafficking and exploitation. And we stand firm that human dignity is not negotiable. Drawing lessons from recent crisis, Slovenia has strengthened border management and return mechanism. We have also reinforced cross-border law enforcement cooperation through joint investigation securities with our partners. Madam President, these efforts have taken place against the backdrop of growing geopolitical tensions, which increasingly shape migration dynamics beyond national control.

Since.

Russia's provocative and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine, Lithuania has welcomed more than 100,000 Ukrainians forced to leave their homes. Behind every number, there is a family separated, a child displaced, a future threatened by war. The human suffering caused by this voice unacceptable, and we continue to call for urgent global action. At the same time, our region continue to face the instrumentalization of migration. The Belarusian regime must be held accountable for weaponization migrants. When people is vulnerable situation are deliberately used as instruments of political pressure, migration cases to be humanitarian issues alone. It become an attack of rules based international order itself. The challenges before us are too large.

I thank you. I thank The Minister of the Interior of Lithuania, I now give the floor to Her Royal Highness Princess Lindiwe Dlamini, Minister of Home Affairs of Eswatini.

Madam President, Excellencies, and distinguished delegates. Under the visionary leadership of His Majesty King Mswati III, the Kingdom of Eswatini reaffirms its commitment to champion and human-centered immigration governance system that leaves no one behind and further transforms immigration into a powerful driver for national and regional prosperity. It is common cause that global migration is driven by restricted possibilities, especially for young people who experience economic inequality and climate-induced pressures. However, despite these challenges, migration continues to play a significant role in development through the transfer of talents and remittances. Madam President, the Kingdom of Eswatini has included migration into development planning while guaranteeing protection and social inclusion. The Kingdom has also carried out legislative reforms, including development of the Immigration Bill of 2025. We are also improving cooperation between the government, civil society, and foreign partners through coordination of the Migration Management Task Force. Simultaneously, the country is improving protection for migrants in vulnerable circumstances and giving priority to safe and regular migration channels. Madam President, and distinguished delegates, Climate-induced mobility continues to undermine rural livelihoods, and our response is undermined by resource constraints. This fact demonstrates the urgent need for greater international collaboration, funding, and partnerships. Eswatini pledges to take specific action in the future, which includes implementing the national migration policy, operationalizing the National Migration Data Hub, increasing contact with the diaspora, and dealing with displacement brought on by climate change. Madam President, governance of migration is a shared duty. Therefore, in order to address its underlying causes and realize its full potential for sustainable development, let us work together with urgency and unity. I thank you.

I thank the Minister of Home Affairs of Eswatini. I now give the floor to Her Excellency Mary Navi Chaw, Minister of Gender, Children, Disability, and Social Welfare of Malawi.

Madam President, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, My delegation aligns itself with the statement delivered by Nigeria on behalf of the African Group and Azerbaijan on behalf of GCM Champion Countries, and would like to make the following remarks in our national capacity: As a GCM Champion Country, Malawi is honored to contribute at IMRF2. Since participating at the first International Migration Review Forum in 2022, Malawi has implemented various initiatives to ensure a human and dignified treatment of migrants. We developed and submitted our first voluntary progress report in 2021. During this IMRF, We have submitted our second voluntary progress report, highlighting the progress we have realized thus far. Let me single out a few of these achievements. We introduced a decentralized e-passport system in July 2025 to enhance the administration of travel documents with decentralized passport services. We have raised the inter-country border committees with neighboring countries to deal with various migration issues. We established one-stop border posts in two border districts to facilitate quicker movement across the borders and reduce transaction costs. We updated the Disaster Risk Management Act and policy in 2023 to include specific rules to manage climate-related migration and prevent displacement. Madam President, as a country, we have pledged to maintain and implement our commitments for the period of 2026 to 2030. Our priorities include promotion of regular migration pathways, enhancing alternatives to detention, ending child migration detention, capacity building for migration management, combating human trafficking and migration smuggling, implementing legal reforms, leveraging migration data systems, and providing language access and access to justice. These commitments are captured in our GCM National Implementation Plan for 2025-2029 and its coordination mechanisms. Launched in August 2025, the plan addresses all the 23 objectives of the GCM. In this regard, we welcome support from the UN and other partners to strengthen data systems and capacity development of my migration governance. Madam President, my delegation applauds to co-facilitators of the progress declaration.

Thank you. I thank the Minister of Gender, Children, Disability, and Social Welfare of Malawi. I now give the floor to His Excellency Sirimodou Njie, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, and Gambians Abroad of Gambia.

Thank you. Madam President, Madam Director-General, IOM, Excellencies. At the outset, The Gambia aligns with the statement delivered by the distinguished representative of Nigeria on behalf of the African group, as well as the statement delivered by the distinguished representative of Azerbaijan on behalf of the G20 champion countries, and we wish to make the following statement in our national capacity. It is an honor to address the distinguished plenary of the International Migration Review Forum. The Gambia joins the international community in reaffirming that the Global Compact for Migration represents a landmark framework for addressing migration in a comprehensive, cooperative, and coherent manner. It recognizes that migration is deeply interconnected with sustainable development, human rights, climate resilience, labor mobility, and social cohesion. As a champion country, The Gambia remains firmly committed to translating these visions into concrete actions. Our experience demonstrates that leadership is not defined by size, but by political will, clarity of purpose, and strong partnership. We continue to engage actively at the regional and global levels, contributing as a constructive voice in advancing migration governance. Excellencies, a defining feature for the Gambia's implementation of the Global Compact is its historic approach. Migration is increasingly integrated into our national development planning, diaspora engagement and strategies, return and reintegration framework, and migration data system. This is supported by the strong hold of a government and whole of a society approach. Excellencies. While progress has been made, challenges remain. Data gaps and limited analytical capacity continue to constrain evidence-based policymaking. Protection systems for vulnerable migrants require further strengthening, and structural drivers such as unemployment, limited opportunities, and climate vulnerability continue to shape migration dynamics. In response, The Gambia is prioritizing a more coherent and sustainable approach, including integrated migration into national planning, and strengthening institutional coordination. We also recognize that no country can address migration alone. Our progress has been made possible through strong partnerships with the United Nations system, the African Union, and the European Union, and other development partners. As we look ahead, the IMRF provides an opportunity not only to assess progress, but to renew our commitment under the global compact, this evolving process that requires sustainable political will. In closing, The Gambia reaffirms its unwavering commitment to advancing safe, orderly, and regular migration while upholding the rights, dignity, and well-being of all migrants. I thank you.

I thank the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, and Gambians Abroad of Gambia. I now give the floor to His Excellency Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, Minister for the Interior of Ghana.

On behalf of the Government of Ghana and the President of the Republic of Ghana, I extend cordial greetings to this esteemed Assembly. It is an honor to address the International Migration Review Forum and to present Ghana's progress in advancing the objective of Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration. Since the adoption of the resolution in 2018, Ghana has demonstrated unwavering commitment to the principles underpinning international migration governance. As a champion country, Ghana has instituted robust mechanisms, notably the National Migration Policy and the National Coordination Mechanism on Migration, which embodies a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach. The subsequent development of the three-year National Implementation Plan has enabled us to prioritize the protection of migrants’ human rights and structured management of return and reintegration, and the exercise of national sovereignty. These efforts are comprehensively documented in Ghana's 2026 IMRF Voluntary Review Report. Ghana progress is reflected in our steadfast inter-institutional coordination. We safeguard the lives and the rights of all migrants. We have advanced refugee inclusion and self-reliance through innovative agriculture and agribusiness innovation. The Ghana Refugee Agribusiness and Sustainable Program, launched in partnership with UNHCR, integrates refugees into productive agricultural activities, strengthening host communities and ensuring long-term sustainability. Furthermore, Ghana has expanded regular migration pathways through bilateral labor agreements and memoranda of understanding. Over 400 Ghanaian nurses have migrated to the Caribbean, precisely Grenada and Barbados, and additional professionals have also secured opportunities in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, thereby addressing labor shortages and enhancing safe migration channels. Remittances remain a cornerstone of our national economy, with about 7.1 billion received in 2024, representing 8.6% of GDP. We advocate for an international cooperation to reduce remittances transfer costs in a line with sustainable development goal and imperative of financial inclusion. In closing, the Government of Ghana reaffirms its commitment to strengthening migration governance, promoting migrant inclusion, and safeguarding peace and security. However, the challenges and opportunities of migration transcend national borders. I therefore call upon all Member States and international partners to intensify collaboration, share best practices, mobilize resources to advance objectives of Global Compact, only through sustained global cooperation. I thank you so much.

I thank the Minister for the Interior of Ghana. I now give the floor to His Excellency Amanmohamed Zazakow, Minister of State, Migration Service, of Turkmenistan.

President, Director-General, ladies and gentlemen, I thank the organizers for convening this International Migration Review Forum, and I wish everyone fruitful work. Distinguished participants, Turkmenistan is dedicated to the UN initiative to develop an approach to implement the GCM at the national level, and we're committed to sustainable development. Our work favors an inclusive approach through national coordination mechanisms. All of the migration authorities in our country are taking a set of measures, and we're improving our legislation, our migration laws, our border management, We're harnessing our human capital, and we're working to mitigate negative climate factors. This has created a flexible system to manage migration at all stages. In accordance with our Declaration of Progress, we're spotlighting, in particular, safe and orderly channels for migration. We're considering the rights of migrants and bolstering international cooperation. As a result of our work, we've presented regional and national reviews. The assessments of experts have shown that our national strategy is being effectively carried out. We're working to eliminate statelessness, to ensure legal identity for everyone in the necessary documents. It's also important to note that migrants in our country can access basic services on equal footing with citizens, and their integration is contributing to sustainable development. The distinguished President of Turkmenistan presented at the UNGA in 2025 a integration platform based on the principles of equality and trust. We're also working on digital management of migration, including using AI to enhance the quality of migration data. We urge states to actively engage in sharing information and experience, and also to engage in international cooperation agreements in the area of migration. Distinguished participants, Turkmenistan believes that we can effectively manage migration only through constructive international dialogue and partnership. In that regard, the GCM remains an important instrument.

Thank you. I thank the Minister of the State Migration Service of Turkmenistan I now give the floor to His Excellency Magnus Brunner, European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration.

Chair, Director General, Excellencies, the European Union comes to this forum as a committed partner, and also, I would say, with concrete results to report. Citizens expect a migration policy that is fair, that is firm. One that manages migration effectively, while, of course, also remaining true to our values. And that is what we are doing in the European Union. We have significantly stepped up our engagement with partner countries of origin and transit across all aspects of migration and mobility. And these partnerships are built on a whole of route approach. It's about migration management, but they invest also in reducing vulnerabilities, in preventing illegal migration, and also in promoting safe and regular pathways through talent partnerships, through skills development, and legal migration challenges. We have supported this goal with about 8 billion euros from the EU's Development and International Cooperation budget. in the last years, and we want to have comprehensive and also mutually beneficial partnerships, because sustainable migration management can only be built on broader foundations of stability, of development, and of course, of human rights. What we see is that illegal border crossings have fallen significantly over the past two years as the result of effective migration diplomacy, of cooperation along all routes, and strengthened partnerships with key countries of origin and transit. But of course, too many still lose their lives on dangerous journeys. The vast majority of those entering the European Union illegally do so through criminal smuggling networks that exploit people for profit and also, of course, endanger lives. So every smuggling trip avoided is actually potentially a life saved. And that is why the EU's Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling matters and why at our ministerial conference last December, we established a structural global cooperation framework, and we call on this forum to build on that momentum. And underpinning all of this is a robust internal framework. This June, the European Union pact on migration and asylum enters into full application, bringing a 360-degree approach to migration. It's the most comprehensive migration framework this union has built. And our migration strategy complements it with a five-year roadmap, stronger migration diplomacy, secure.

Thank you. I thank the European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration. I now give the floor to His Excellency Karim Musa, Minister of Immigration, Governance, and Labor of Belize.

Chairman, Excellencies, migration is a human reality that must be managed with dignity, fairness, and responsibility. For Belize, migration is deeply connected to our history, our economy, and our people. This is why Belize remains firmly committed to the Global Compact for Safe, orderly, and regular migration, and to building migration systems that are humane, secure, and people-centered. Belize has made significant progress in modernizing migration governance. We have strengthened legislation, expanded regularization pathways, and improved access to legal identity documentation to reduce vulnerability and promote inclusion. A matter of national pride is our amnesty program, which granted permanent residence to more than 12,000 migrants, opening pathways to citizenship, lawful employment, and greater national participation. When people are brought out of the shadows, societies become stronger, safer, and more cohesive. Belize is also taking a whole of government approach to support migrant integration and protection. Through initiatives such as the Seasonal Migrant Workers Program and mobile outreach services, we are ensuring that vulnerable communities, including Belizeans living abroad, can access migration and legal identity services more easily. At the regional level, Belize continues to facilitate the orderly movement of skilled Caribbean nationals, advancing regional integration and shared development within the Caribbean community. We are also embracing digital transformation to improve migration management and service delivery. Systems such as MIDAS, strengthened national data collection, and investments in professional training are helping us to build governance that is more efficient, transparent, and evidence-based. But Excellencies, technology and policy alone are not enough. Migration governance must always remain grounded in human dignity, inclusion, protection, and the rule of law. Belize therefore continues to strengthen judicial oversight, child protection safeguards, anti-trafficking measures, and consular support to ensure that migration is managed in a humane and rights-based manner. For Belize, international cooperation is essential. The support of partners has been critical in strengthening our institutions, modernizing systems, and building national capacity. Belize remains committed to expanding regularization pathways.

Thank you. I thank the Minister of Immigration, Governance, and Labour of Belize. I now give the floor to His Excellency, Celiso Mokosi, Minister of Labour and Employment of Lesotho.

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, Lesotho is honored to participate in this second International Migration Review Forum as we collectively assess progress in implementing the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration. Migration has long shaped Lesotho’s development trajectory. But so to have caused brothers in search of employment, education, and opportunities. While labor migration has supported household livelihood and national development, it has also exposed many to vulnerabilities. Today, migration remains deeply intertwined with youth unemployment, gender inequality, skills, mobility, and labor market dynamics. Lesotho reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the principles and objectives of the Global Compact on Migration. As a GCM champion state, we continue to strengthen whole-of-government and whole-of-society implementation. Over the past years, we have enhanced migration governance through the National Consultative Committee, National Labour Migration Committee, Multi-stakeholder Committee on Trafficking in Persons, Migration Data Committee. We have also operationalized an integrated migration data management system. Lesotho continues to advance bilateral labor mobility frameworks with South Africa, including a joint one-stop border post pilot, automated border management system, and an advanced migration model is under negotiation. We also We are also expanding our engagement beyond the region through negotiations on bilateral labor agreements with Gulf countries to create regular pathways. We echo the IMR calls for expanded regular migration channels, fair equipment, and stronger protection of migrant workers' rights. Lesotho has strengthened anti-trafficking capacity, trained prosecutors, labor inspectors, and police officers, and fully operationalize our national referral mechanism. We welcome the forum's emphasis on integrating climate mobility into national resilience strategies, as climate-induced vulnerabilities continue to rise across Southern Africa. We have invested significantly in diaspora engagement through a dedicated diaspora directorate, governing forums on trade, investment, skills transfer, and financial inclusion. in line with the Maputo Diaspora Declaration. As a landlocked country whose global access depends on predictable mobility through South Africa, Lesotho underscores the I. Thank you.

Thank you, Excellency. I thank the Minister of Labour and Employment of Lesotho, I now give the floor to His Excellency Marc-Élie Nelson, Minister of Social Affairs and Labour of Haiti.

President of the General Assembly, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, It is an honour to take the floor at this second International Migration Review Forum. I thank the United Nations for this essential space for cooperation on an issue that touches millions of lives. Migration is an unavoidable reality of our age. While it represents the hope of a better future, it also exposes migrants to serious vulnerability. Excellencies, in my country, we are particularly sensitive to migration challenges. Migration is an element that structures our social and economic fabric. More than 1.5 million of our fellow citizens live abroad. The contributions of our diaspora are significant. This is true financially as well as socially. Nonetheless, we also face challenges related to irregular migration, related to the brain drain, and related to the protection of our citizens abroad. Given this reality, we have a clear collective responsibility. We must promote governance of migration that is humane, inclusive, and respectful of fundamental rights. The Global Compact on Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration remains in this regard a crucial reference framework to guide our actions and to strengthen international cooperation. Under the leadership of the government, led by Prime Minister Alex Didier Fise-Me, His Excellency, we have undertaken several initiatives to better regulate these flows. Our priority is to strengthen the social protection of migrants, foster their reintegration, and guarantee the rights of workers while working closely with our partners. Ladies and gentlemen, the topic of this forum invites us to recognize the gaps that exist. Migration cannot be managed without stronger cooperation among states, civil society, and international organizations. We must invest in policies that are grounded in reliable data. We need to promote regular pathways, and we need to resolutely fight back against human trafficking networks. It's crucial to guarantee that migrants can access essential services, health, education, and social protection. In closing, I reaffirm our government's commitment to work for migration that respects human dignity and contributes to sustainable development. Together, let us make migration a choice rather than a constraint, an opportunity.

I thank the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor of Haiti. I now give the floor to His Excellency Adrian Guémanba. Minister of the Interior, Security, and Decentralization of Gabon.

President, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it is an honor for Gabon to be taking the floor at this second International Migration Review Forum. four years after the first such meeting. This meeting affords us the opportunity to collectively take stock of progress made toward implementing the GCM, but it's also an opportunity to reaffirm our common responsibility with regard to one of the human challenges that is doing the most to shape our current age. Madam President, as a country of transit and of destination, in particular because of the economic opportunities we offer and the political stability we have, Gabon for several decades has been under strong migration pressure. And this trend has not abated, quite the contrary, it has increased. And this is why we're aware of our responsibility. So we're working on two major priorities, humanizing migration and preserving the basic rights of migrants. Implementing these priorities has allowed us to achieve tangible and visible results in terms of providing aid and assistance to migrants that are returning to their countries of origin. And we have ensured that they can return with humane and inhumane conditions that protect their dignity for a total cost of 1 million US dollars. We took on 86.44 of those costs. At the same time, from 2022 to 2025, we've regularized 387,637 migrants, and we've issued 300,000 entry visas on our territory. In terms of guaranteeing employment and integration of migrants, we've provided 902 work permits out of 964 requests in 2025 alone, allowing migrants and their families to better access social services in terms of healthcare, education, and learning. To deepen the impact of these results, we are deepening cooperation with countries of origin and migrants to establish concerted and adapted solutions to integrate migrants, and particularly to benefit the most vulnerable, who are more and more at risk of exploitation by criminal networks in countries of origin and transit. We have made strides, but we still lack the dearth of cooperation of the states of origin of migrants and the scant support by international organizations in the UN system in terms of implementing actions that we are courageously carrying out despite our lack of national resources. But, despite all of these obstacles, our country remains faithful to its values of humanity. This is why I reiterate our full commitment.

I thank the Minister of the Interior, Security, and Decentralization of Gabon. I now give the floor to His Excellency Ahmed Assoumani Mohamed, Minister of the Interior in charge of Decentralization and Territorial Administration of the Comoros.

Madam President, distinguished delegates, allow me, on behalf of the Union of Comoros and His Excellency Mr. Azali Assoumani, President of the Union of Comoros, to express our sincere thanks to the President of the 80th session of the General Assembly, as well as to competent UN bodies and the international Organization for Migration for convening this second International Migration Review Forum. This forum represents the main intergovernmental global forum dedicated to following up on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration adopted in 2018 in a spirit of shared responsibility, international cooperation, and solidarity among nations. The Union of the Comoros reaffirms its commitment to the principles and objectives of the Global Compact, as well as to an approach to migration that is based on human dignity, the respect for human rights and the fundamental rights of migrants and international cooperation. For a small island developing state such as ours, migration represents both an historic reality, a major human challenge, and also a driver of development. The Comoros is a country of origin, transit, and to a lesser extent, destination. Our diaspora is present in Africa, in Gulf countries, in Europe, and in North America. It contributes significantly to the economic and social development of our country through remittances, community investments, shared skills, and strengthened human and cultural links. In this regard, The Union of the Comoros has undertaken several reforms to bolster our national migration governance. We have a multi-sectoral coordination commission for migratory matters. Our legal framework has been bolstered to address trafficking of persons and migrant smuggling. We've reviewed our laws on entry and residence conditions, and we have a national gender-sensitive migration policy. We are also undertaking significant steps to modernize our civil register, to formalize legal identity, and to promote pathways for regular, safe, and orderly migration. However, despite this progress, we have considerable challenges. We remain considerably concerned by the multiple irregular, dangerous migration pathways, the tragic loss of human lives at sea, the expansion of criminal networks for migrant trafficking and smuggling, as well as the heightened vulnerability of women, children, and young migrants. As many SIDS, the Comoros bears the full brunt of the harmful effects of climate change, coastal erosion, and natural disasters, which worsen displacement and social vulnerability. Faced with these challenges, we called for strengthened, regular, safe, and orderly migration pathways, international cooperation.

Thank you. I thank the Minister of the Interior in charge of decentralization and territorial administration of the Comoros. I now give the floor to His Excellency António Leitão Amaro, Minister of the Presidency of Portugal.

Excellencies, in a period of global instability, we need balance. Balance also in migration. On the one hand, we must acknowledge migration is a global reality and a necessity, with people being treated as people, subjects of fundamental rights, whose human dignity has to be preserved. On the other hand, our citizens must feel that migration is under control, that our states and societies can keep it safe, orderly, and regulated, to preserve social cohesion and guarantee that everyone is treated and integrated with dignity, everywhere, all the way. Balance and cooperation in migration, that is what we need, and that is what the Global Compact is about, in which Portugal so much believes. Portugal reaffirms its commitment to the human-centered and rules-based approach of the Global Compact. Excellencies, Portugal remains firmly committed to international cooperation. and continues to be a partner that makes tangible contribution to our collective efforts. But words are not enough. We need actions. That is why I'm pleased to announce a financial contribution of $600,000 to the Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund. I am pleased to announce the launch of a new national integration plan. and the continuation of our reforms of migration policy in full alignment with the Global Compact and the European Pact and their principles. These pledges reflect our vision: a migration system that is regulated, secure, orderly, and humane and sustainable. at all migration stages, including return and reintegration. Portugal is putting its words of commitment into action. We are diligently implementing the Global Pact and the European Pact. We regularized and controlled 400,000 immigrants who had no valid documentation. We reorganized our pathways of migration, eliminating what was uncontrolled and reinforcing legal and safe pathways through consular visas. We packed with the private sector to create a fast track for ethical recruitment abroad. We gave voice to immigrant communities in the National Council, and we created tutoring programs in schools to help the integration of thousands of foreign students. We reformed our institutions, our capacity of control, to fight irregular migration and have effective returns. We do it because we believe in the Global Pact, and we believe in.

I thank the Minister of the Presidency of Portugal. I now give the floor to His Excellency Gregory Nichols, Minister of Home Affairs and Information of Barbados.

Mr. President, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, Barbados comes to this forum with one purpose: to turn commitment into progress. Our commitment to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration is unwavering, and our concern and our connection to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is indivisible. For a small island developing state, migration is central to our security, sustainability, to our economy, and our identity. It complements the foundation on which peace and prosperity are built. Where Barbados has made promises, it has acted. On October 1st last year, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines launched full free movement, granting nationals the right to live, work, reside indefinitely across all four states with guaranteed health care and education for children. This is not generosity. It is an obligation built on political will, regional solidarity, and human rights. We offer it not as a boast, but as a blueprint. Barbados is developing a comprehensive national migration policy guided by the GCM and CARICOM frameworks, grounded in evidence and anchored in human and labor rights. It will modernize pathways, strengthen borders, and drive economic growth. For small island developing states, climate change and migration are not parallel agendas. They are the same agenda. Displacement is already here, straining borders, threatening food security, and eroding the stability that safe migration depends on. Through the Bridgetown Initiative, Barbados reiterates its call for finance reform because migration should be seen as an option and not as a mere act of survival. Accessible finance, cross-border cooperation, and the Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund are not optional. These are the infrastructure for humane governance, and we call for a full resourcing. Barbados is opening up pathways for our diaspora through investment, skills transfer, and return migration. Pending legislative reform will deepen these bonds further because our diaspora is not peripheral to our development, but it's at the heartbeat of it. Barbados comes today not only to speak, but to build on partnerships to make safe, orderly, and dignified migration a reality. Migration, managed well, is not a burden. It is an engine for creativity, innovation, and growth. As a small island with unshakable commitment, this compact is the cornerstone of our present and the architecture of our future. I thank you.

I thank the Minister of Home Affairs and Information of Barbados. I now give the floor to His Excellency Carlos Hoyos, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Panama, on behalf of the Quito Group.

Mr. President.

I have the honor to address you on behalf of Panama's pro tempore presidency of the Quito process to present the voluntary review report on the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration in Latin America and the Caribbean. We recognize the value of the International Migration Review Forum as the main intergovernmental platform to assess progress, strengthen commitments, and promote more consistent and effective migration governance. Within this framework, we are presenting a review report of the KETO process that shows our commitment to a comprehensive, evidence-based, people-centred response. Since its establishment in 2018, the KETO process has built itself as a regional mechanism for technical and political coordination, bringing together governments, civil society, academia, the private sector, and international partners to respond in a coordinated manner to the challenges and opportunities of human mobility. The report speaks to significant progress in the institutionalization of regional migration governance. Through 10 thematic pillars, the process has developed concrete tools, protocols, guidelines, standards, and data platforms All of these strengthen States' abilities to manage migration in a safe, orderly, and regular manner. In protection, the region has made progress in mechanisms for the care of children and adolescents, family reunification, and the prevention of trafficking in persons, thus consolidating more comprehensive and coordinated responses. Just as important was the strengthening of cooperation between specialized regional mechanisms, enabling strategic synergies, improved use of data, and more effective responses to migration contingencies. All of this progress has been enabled through a robust institutional architecture with the technical support of the International Organization for Migration and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Excellencies, The Quito process has demonstrated that regional cooperation based in trust, evidence, and respect for state sovereignty can translate global commitments into concrete and sustainable solutions. The presentation of this report reaffirms the commitment of Latin America and the Caribbean to migration governance that is centered on human dignity, human rights, and sustainable development. We reiterate our willingness to contribute together with other Member States, the UN system and all relevant stakeholders to advance towards the effective implementation of the Global Compact. I will now proceed to read my statement in a national capacity. International migration has become one of the major challenges of our time. and Latin America has emerged as one of the global epicenters for this phenomenon. As a natural bridge between South and North America, Panama plays a fundamental role in regional migration management. Against this backdrop, Panama presents its national voluntary report to the 2026 International Migration Review Forum, highlighting regional security as the essential component for safe, orderly, and regular migration. In just two years, Panama has reduced irregular migration through the Darién Gap by more than 90% thanks to the policy of our president. We have also focused on control measures, regional cooperation, At the same time, the report points to new migration trends, including reverse migration flows towards the south and increased adaptability of criminal networks facilitating irregular migration. We particularly flag the effectiveness of strengthening border security with a humanitarian approach, as well as the positive impact of combating transnational organized crime. Our efforts in these areas have been further enhanced by the promotion of regional cooperation, which represents a key instrument for stability and capacity building. President, as we look ahead, Panama will promote priorities such as ensuring interoperability for regularization systems, expanding the socioeconomic integration strategies, ensuring comprehensive protection for children, cooperation with the private sector, and strengthening data-driven public policies. Panama reaffirms its commitment to the Global Compact for Migration and calls on the international community to consolidate regional security as the fundamental pillar for migration governance. Thank you.

I thank the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Panama I now give the floor to His Excellency Kirti Vartan Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs of India.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, namaskar. It is my privilege to address this plenary session on behalf of India at the second IMRF of the Global Compact for Migration. As home to one of the world's largest and dynamic diaspora of over 34 million, and a leading recipient of global remittances, India is witness to how migration can transform lives, communities, and nationalities. Our approach to migration governance is anchored in a holistic and pragmatic framework, guided by the core operational principles of protection of migrants, comprehensive governance across the migration life cycle, and strong international cooperation. Digitalization, which is the central pillar of this framework, led by the eMigrate platform, has significantly enhanced transparency and accountability in recruitment since its launch in 2015. Consular protection has also been strengthened through the Mudad grievance redressal portal and migrant resource centers. Our Passport Seva online portal further ensures timely and accessible services for Indian citizens overseas and at home. India has also undertaken extensive initiatives to support its nationals abroad. The Indian Community Welfare Fund has provided emergency assistance, legal support, and repatriation services to Indian nationals since its inception in 2009. In line with our Honourable Prime Minister's vision of positioning India as a global hub for skilled talent, we have strengthened skilling initiatives and expanded pre-departure orientation to equip our migrants with essential knowledge, including their rights and the cultural awareness of the host countries. Excellencies, I would like to highlight that India has concluded comprehensive bilateral mobility agreements and MOUs with 23 countries, and is pursuing several more to create sustainable pathways for fair and ethical mobility. This is the key to ensure migrant welfare through safe and regular migration pathways. Excellencies, migration is ultimately about people, their aspirations, resilience, and contributions. Our endeavor is to build an inclusive, humane, and future-ready framework while addressing challenges such as irregular migration, trafficking, and gaps in social protection. And as we look ahead, our progress on migration and mobility remains anchored to stronger international cooperation, and India stands committed to partnering with all stakeholders to advance.

I thank the Minister of State for External Affairs of India. I now give the floor to His Excellency Dmitry Lubinsky, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, the Russian Federation welcomes the convening of this second highly representative International Migration Review Forum. Our meeting takes place in the run-up to the celebration of the 81st anniversary of the Great Victory, the victory that marked the destruction of Nazism thanks to the heroic exploits of the people of the Soviet Union and thanks to the contribution of its allies. The fact that this heinous war led to a pressing issue, millions of refugees, predetermined the need to regulate migration processes. The international community responded by establishing the structures that are known now as the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration, organizations which even today work to address these challenging complex issues all over the world. Today, we have an opportunity to share best practices on implementing the GCM. This compact is the basis for multilateral cooperation to enable conditions for legal migration and oversight mechanisms for migration processes. We note the particular role of the International Organization for Migration in the development of the practical implementation of the provisions of this document. Russia is a global center of gravity for migrants. Taking into account the diversity of migration flows, their dynamic nature, and their dynamic nature, effective and flexible policies here is of paramount importance to my country. We're actively using the recommendations of the GCM to improve our domestic legislation. The progress declaration of the forum also contains a whole gamut of useful recommendations, although It references documents that are not approved by states, such as in paragraph 45. We think there's a need to prioritize national interests and to uphold international commitments, and we also believe in the importance of following approaches agreed upon by states. The principles and the goals of the Global Compact are considered in our concept of state migration policy for the period up to 2030. We have an interest in remaining open to foreign citizens that view our state as a country with favorable conditions for working and for getting an education. However, there's an unconditional imperative in our view. These migrants must follow Russian laws, norms, and rules, and respect our traditions, linguistic, spiritual, and our cultural features. Building on the Global Compact, we're continuing to work to simplify access to lawful migration pathways. Our priorities include ensuring lawful, regular, and organized hiring of foreign workers.

I thank the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. I now give the floor to Her Excellency Minna-Liina Lind, Undersecretary for Global Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia.

Thank you. Thank you very much. And first of all, warm thanks to those who have made this second IMRF possible. This plays a crucial role in fostering dialogue, sharing best practices, and supporting coordinated approaches. Migration remains a defining issue of our time, as we've heard in this hall already today, shaped by a complex set of drivers, including conflict, economic instability, demographic change, and increasingly also climate change. The GCM and the IMRF provide a unique platform to promote safe, orderly, and regular migration, prevent irregular movements, and strengthen governance along migratory routes. Migration must not be instrumentalized for geopolitical gain, nor should human suffering be used as a tool of pressure. However, this is exactly what we have seen along the borders of Estonia's neighboring countries in recent years. We recognize the persistent challenges in combating trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling, including the role of organized criminal networks and the misuse of migration for political purposes. This also refers to Russia recruiting migrants from various Asian and African countries through coordinated disinformation campaigns for participation in its ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine. This calls for stronger efforts to improve data, enhance victim identification and support, and ensure access to reliable information that counters disinformation. Against this backdrop, reducing irregular migration while expanding safe and orderly regular pathways remains a key objective. This is a central element of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. For Estonia, ensuring its effective and consistent delivery is a clear priority, fully aligned with the GCM as well as human rights. Despite our population of just 1.3 million people, Estonia is home to around 240,000 migrants who have found security and stability there. We also saw firsthand how Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine rapidly sparked large-scale displacement, with millions forced to flee their homes. Estonia responded in solidarity, providing safe refuge to over 30,000 Ukrainians. Beyond these challenges, climate change, as said, is increasingly becoming a significant driver of displacement. More frequent and severe extreme weather events disproportionately affect the most vulnerable and place additional pressure on regions already in fragile situations. International cooperation remains at the heart of our efforts, and no country can address migration challenges alone. I thank you very much.

I thank the Undersecretary for Global Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia. I now give the floor to His Excellency Sofiane Chaib, Secretary of State to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in charge of National Community Abroad of Algeria.

Mr. President, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Migration through the ages has been a companion to the march of human urbanization, a phenomenon closely related to its evolution and transformation. Despite our common quest to make migration a conscious choice rather than an imposed necessity, the world continues to see millions of people move every year in search of better opportunities for life. And Algeria, long seen as a country of origin and a transit country is now increasingly a country of destination. This shift reflects the development dynamics and stability which made us an attractive space for migrants. In light of this transformation, Algeria, under the guidance of the President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, adopted a comprehensive and balanced approach to managing migration based on, first, addressing the root causes of migration. Migration is not just human movement; it is often an echo of development imbalances and a reflection of conflicts. In this sense, development must be at the heart of managing the migration file without neglecting the security dimension, especially with regard to combating smuggling networks. In this context, Algeria is implementing projects aimed at improving living conditions in migration-exporting countries, thereby enhancing the stability of population in their countries of origin. Second, cooperation as a strategic choice. Migration is by its nature a cross-border phenomenon, and no country, whatever its capabilities, can deal with it by itself. Therefore, Algeria has made cooperation a key pillar in its approach through development of bilateral, tripartite, and multilateral mechanisms in cooperation with IOM and other partners. Third, full respect for human rights. Algeria deals with migrants on its territory in a humane spirit based on the values of hospitality and solidarity. We are committed to ensuring the dignity and humanity of the human person, free from all forms of discrimination or exclusion. In closing, we, although we affirm the sovereign right of states to develop policies and legal frameworks that they deem appropriate to regulate the phenomenon in line with their national interests, we are fully aware that effectively dealing with the phenomenon of migration requires us to rise to the level of collective responsibility and to move beyond the logic of narrow interests. We need an approach that represents our collective commitment to implementing the SDGs. Only then can migration shift from a compelling necessity to a free choice, from silent suffering to a shared human horizon. I thank you.

I thank the Secretary of State to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Algeria. I now give the floor to His Excellency Eduardo Antonio Escobedo Sanabria, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala.

It's an honor to address you on behalf of the Government of Guatemala. Today, we haven't just come here to present the progress we've made. We've also come to remember why this dialogue is so important and why we are meeting here as the international community. Initially, we would like to refer to the story of Elvis, a young Guatemalan who migrated as a teenager, seeking opportunities that his community of origin wasn't able to offer him at the time. For 20 years, he worked hard, just like millions of migrants who sustain economies, families, and dreams beyond their borders. One day, he decided to return to his community of origin. He returned to Peten in the heart of the Mayan world, to the community where he was born. And since his return, he has set about implementing forestry production and conservation practices that are now transforming the landscape and the lives of his neighbors. Elvis didn't only come home, he came home to serve, to share what he'd learned, to demonstrate that migration can also be a bridge for development. Stories just like these remind us that behind every report, every statement, every objective met, there are real people. People migrating with hope, seeking dignity, who hope to ensure that their families and communities can flourish. People who deserve our decisions being commensurate with their dreams. Guatemala has worked with these people in mind. In these last four years, we've strengthened our migration-based institutions and aligned our policies with the principles of the Global Compact for Migration. We are implementing the Guatemalan migratory policy, strengthening and expanding consular services, promoting regular pathways through circular work programs, and consolidating mechanisms for comprehensive programs for returnees, such as the Return Home Plan and the Registration and Reception Center. We're also making progress in protection, particularly protecting child migrants, also in addressing human trafficking, in disaster risk management, and in integrating the human mobility approach in climate change policies. We're doing all of this through a multi-sectoral governance model that recognizes that migration is part and parcel of development and profoundly transformative for societies of origin and destination. At the international level, Guatemala, as the pro tempore president of the Regional Conference on Migration in 2026, presented a report which reflects the progress made in member countries, which for three years has promoted the dialogue and exchange of good practices.

I thank the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Guatemala. I now give the floor to His Excellency Bekzod Muzayev, Director of the Migration Agency under the Cabinet of Ministers of Uzbekistan.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, today, when we speak about migration, first and foremost, we speak about people, about families, hope, and human dignity. For Uzbekistan, safe, orderly, and regular migration is not merely a matter of labor mobility. It is a question of human development, social stability, and shared responsibility. In recent years, Uzbekistan has undertaken a profound modernization of its migration governance system. A unified institution has been established to coordinate the entire migration cycle, from the preparation of citizens to their protection abroad. Today, we view migration differently. It is no longer seen solely as an economic necessity. It has become an investment in human capital. Our principle is clear: quality before quantity, standards before scale, transparency before speed, and human dignity above all. We are actively strengthening cooperation with, rather, we share a common conviction Well-governed migration does not create divisions, it builds bridges of skills, trust, and development between societies. We also attached great importance to international dialogue and joint solutions. In this spirit, on May 18th, Tashkent will host, jointly with the International Organization for Migration, an international conference dedicated to contemporary migration challenges. We view this platform as a practical contribution to strengthening cooperation, trust, and humane approaches to migration governance. Excellencies, the success of migration policy should not be measured only by numbers. It should be measured by the safety, well-being, and dignity of every individual. Even far from home, every citizen should feel that their country protects their rights and dignity. Today more than ever, we must see migrants not as statistics, but as human beings, people with talents, dreams, and families. Because shared migration, protected migration, is migration that creates hope. Thank you.

I thank the Director of the Migration Agency of Uzbekistan. I now give the floor to His Excellency, Colm Brophy, Minister of State for Migration of Ireland.

President, Excellencies, migration has been central to Ireland's history, and our diaspora has played a vital role in Ireland's development. We recognize that well-managed migration can be a source of prosperity. of innovation and sustainable development in both the countries of destination and of origin. We appreciate, for example, the UN Secretary-General has acknowledged the work of the Global Diaspora Policy Alliance, which grew out of the Dublin Declaration of 2022, in which we had played leadership roles. But we also know there are challenges, too. People feel compelled to leave their countries, often through irregular migration. because of instability, because of human rights abuse, poverty, and a lack of opportunity or environmental degradation. And Ireland's development and cooperation program works to address some of these root causes driving migration, while our humanitarian assistance provide basic services for those driven from their homes. Our approach is rooted in respect for human rights, including through gender-responsive and child-sensitive policies. We recognise that because migration is by nature transnational, addressing any challenges effectively means us all working together. Therefore, a strong commitment to multilateralism lies at the heart of Ireland's foreign policy and our commitment, therefore, to the Compact. A further challenge we face is the public debate around migration is frequently characterised by the cynical use, misinformation and disinformation. Ireland has been proud to partner with IOM on the Global Migration Media Academy, which equips media professionals and students with the tools to identify reliable information and transmit that effectively. People are, of course, fully entitled to hold different and opposing views, but it is important that all debate is based on reality and is based on evidence. We also know that if migration is to be safe, orderly, and regular, which is what we all want, It should be well managed and seen to be so. It's difficult to maintain public support for migration if people have the impression that the rules are not being enforced. Taking steps, therefore, to reduce irregular migration, I believe, is an essential part of a balanced approach to human mobility. In recent weeks, the most significant reform of Irish asylum laws in our history was passed. allowing for the implementation of the EU Migration and Asylum Pact. Like the Global Compact, the Pact recognizes that migration requires sharing responsibility, robust and fair management of external borders, and a stronger governance of asylum and migration policies. The Global Compact, I believe, continues to provide us with a clear framework.

Thank you. I thank the Minister of State for Migration of Ireland. We have had the last speaker in the general debate for this meeting. We shall continue with the general debate this afternoon at 3 PM in this hall. The meeting is adjourned.