GFMD Civil Society Mechanism

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. Since the creation of the GFMD in 2007 and up until the Quito Summit in January 2020, civil society participation in the GFMD was entirely through the GFMD Civil Society Days (CSD), organized preceding the annual GFMD Summit Meeting of governments. A significant evolution for civil society and other stakeholders was introduced by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2020, when the UAE Chair agreed to open the entire Summit to all GFMD stakeholders. As a response, the traditional Civil Society Days (CSD) of the GFMD were re-purposed to a Civil Society Preparatory Meeting (CSPM) taking place prior to the Summit to fully brief and prepare all civil society delegates to engage in the GFMD comprehensively. Since the Swiss chairmanship of 2011, civil society engagement in the GFMD has been self-organized. The CSD / CSPM and other GFMD civil society activities are coordinated by a Civil Society Coordinating Office housed by the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) under the guidance of a Civil Society International Steering Committee (ISC). The ISC is comprised of more than 30 civil society organizations and networks active in migration and development worldwide - at global, regional, national and grassroots levels, with broad sectoral and regional representation.