GFMD Civil Society

Info

Civil Society Programme of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD).

Geschichte

The Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) emerged as an outcome of the UN General Assembly’s High Level Dialogue on Migration and Development in 2006. It is a state-led (but not states-only), voluntary process dedicated to informal, non-binding and outcomes-oriented dialogue. Policymakers and stakeholders from many countries all over the world participate in various GFMD meetings, in particular a large annual GFMD convening, to discuss the relation between migration and development, share experiences and forge practical cooperation.

Although state-led, the GFMD directly engages civil society partners, including migrant and diaspora organizations, human rights and development groups, labour unions, and members of the academic community and the private sector. Civil society partners are invited to provide input and make recommendations and concrete proposals. To this end Civil Society Days (CSD) are organized prior to the annual meeting of governments.

In the first four years of the GFMD, the host country for the year designated a national foundation to be responsible for the overall organization of the Civil Society Days (CSD). In 2011, a GFMD Civil Society Coordinating Office was established for longer-term engagement, upon the invitation of the Swiss Chair and under the auspices of the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC), an internationally operating NGO based in Geneva. ICMC continues to serve as the Coordinating Office for civil society GFMD activities in 2014.

With the assistance of an International Advisory Committee for civil society, the Coordinating Office carries overall responsibility for the preparation and organization of the Civil Society Days, including format and themes, selection of participants, panelists, fundraising and continuity. To ensure the participation of concerned civil society actors, the selection criteria include, inter alia, such factors as experience in migration and/or development work, broad constituency, gender and geographic balance.