Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1060184
NEWS 5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 DECEMBER 2018 KURT SANSONE MALTA has long advocated a global response to the migra- tion phenomenon, which is why it will endorse the UN migra- tion pact in Morocco this week. Foreign Minister Carmelo Abela said the pact was "an im- portant political declaration" and the first UN document that deals with migration in a comprehensive man- ner. He confirmed that Malta will endorse the Global Compact for Safe, Order- ly and Regular Migration, at a two-day meeting in Marrakech that starts tomorrow. The compact is non- binding and comprises 23 ob- jectives for the management of migration at local, national, re- gional and global levels. However, it has been met with resistance from some countries, including several EU member states. The compact calls for cross- border cooperation and strives to minimise the "adverse driv- ers and structural factors" that force people to leave their home countries. It also calls for migrants to be provided with adequate docu- mentation and identity papers and promotes the saving of lives. The compact advocates the creation of conditions to al- low migrants to contribute to sustainable development in all countries and coopera- tion on a safe return and readmission of migrants to their home countries if necessary. The UN dec- laration makes it clear that it is non-binding and does not stipulate any mandatory number of migrants to be ac- cepted by a country. While a vast majority of the 193 UN member states will endorse the pact, there will be some notable absences in Mo- rocco, including the US, Hun- gary, Italy, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Re- public, Poland and Switzerland. The objections to the pact are varied and include criticism that it conflates the rights of asylum seekers and economic migrants. The anti-migration Maltese Patriots Movement last week urged the government not to sign up to the pact, which it de- scribed as an affront to national sovereignty. But Foreign Minister Carmelo Abela said that despite the focus on countries that will not adopt the compact, the expectation was that it will be adopted by the vast majority of UN mem- ber states. "Although it is unfortunate that it shall not be adopted uni- versally, I would like to point out that the migration compact is not legally binding," Abela said. He reiterated that a global re- sponse was the most appropri- ate course of action to address the migration phenomenon. "Malta has been calling for a comprehensive approach to address migration related chal- lenges and we can build on the global compact going forward," Abela said. The call for a global response to migration has featured every year in Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's annual address to the UN general assembly. The text of the agreement was finalised by UN member states on 13 July after 18 months of negotiations. The conference in Morocco will convene under the auspices of the UN general assembly. UN secretary general António Guterres said the document was an opportunity to maximise the contribution that millions of migrants made to society and to agree a set of actions to ensure that the rights of all migrants are fully respected. Malta to endorse UN global compact on migration Miroslav Lacák, President of the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly (left), stands with ambassadors Juan José Gómez Camacho of Mexico (centre) and Jürg Lauber of Switzerland, co-facilitators of negotiations on the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration, at UN Headquarters in New York Carmelo Abela