Abstract
Civil society and other non-state agencies have contributed substantially to the evolving global debates on migration and development. Yet where and how they fit into the structure and culture of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) remains a challenge. The Mexican GFMD in 2010 took the traditional government-civil society “interface” to another level by opening up a “common space” for dynamic, frank debate during the opening plenary of the government meeting. The Swiss GFMD Chair in 2011 reinforced this by factoring common spaces into its global “thematic meetings” and into the GFMD Concluding Debate. This chapter reflects on the evolution of the civil society-government relations in the global discussions on migration and development and examines the effectiveness of the GFMD “Common Space” in engaging a wider cross section of civil society in exchanges with governments. It poses questions about who civil society is, and why its engagement with the GFMD has been so unbalanced (e.g., where are the diaspora and the private sector?). It calls on those well placed to bring a stronger development focus to the GFMD to join forces and provide leadership on this. It also calls upon member states to extend more of an agenda-setting role to non-state actors.
This chapter was prepared by Mr. Chukwu-Emeka Chikezie, Cofounder, African Foundation for Development (AFFORD, UK & Sierra Leone); Consultant with Up!-Africa Limited & Inclusive Growth Strategies Limited.
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Notes
- 1.
As Matsas (2008) documents, the United Nations High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development generated no consensus on making international migration the subject of formal, norm-setting negotiations; thus, the GFMD – with its informal, state-led character, its limited role for the UN, international organizations, and civil society generally – was the compromise offered by the then UN Secretary-General to help build relationships of trust.
- 2.
“Global migration governance can be defined as the norms and organizational structures which regulate and shape how states respond to international migration” (Betts 2011). Compare also the definition used by Newland in the next chapter of this book.
- 3.
See, for instance, Hari (2009).
- 4.
See the observation by John Kenneth Galbraith: “Migration is the oldest action against poverty … it is good for the country to which they go; it helps to break the equilibrium of poverty in the country from which they come.” Cited in Harris (2002, p. 119) and in World Migration 2005 (International Organization for Migration 2005, p. 253).
- 5.
David Bohm (1917–1992) was a distinguished American-born British physicist who is best known for his work on the fundamentals of quantum theory and relativity theory and their implications for other fields. He devoted his later years to the investigation of dialogue, which he described thus “Dialogue is ‘not an exchange and its not a discussion. Discussion means batting it back and forth like a ping-pong game. That has some value, but in dialogue we try to go deeper…to create a situation where we suspend our opinions and judgments in order to be able to listen to each other.’” Retrieved July 24, 2011 from http://www.david-bohm.net/dialogue/experiment.html
- 6.
The Secretary-General Address to the High-Level Dialogue of the General Assembly on International Migration and Development, New York, September 14, 2006. Retrieved July 24, 2011 from http://www.un.org/migration/sg-speech.html
- 7.
Private conversation with a senior US aid official, Washington DC, June 2011.
- 8.
See “PSI call for broad approach on Migration during GFMD.” Retrieved June 3, 2011, from http://www.world-psi.org/TemplateEn.cfm?Section=Content_Management&CONTENTID=21496&TEMPLATE=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm
- 9.
See World Bank. “Defining civil society.” Retrieved July 16, 2011, from http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/CSO/0,,contentMDK:20101499∼menuPK:244752∼pagePK:220503∼piPK:220476∼theSitePK:228717,00.html
- 10.
See “The private sector and international migration policy.” Retrieved April 4, 2011, from http://www.gfmd2009.org/UserFiles/file/MPI-IMEPO%20Athens%202009%20Business%20Roundtable%20SUMMARY.pdf
- 11.
Markets for Migration and Development (M4MD): Trade and Labour Mobility Linkages – Prospects for Development? September 13–15, 2011, Berne.
- 12.
For instance, see “How business can link migration and development,” Retrieved June 12, 2011, from http://migrationlinkages.bsr.org/blog/how_business_can_link_migration_and_development
- 13.
A total of five government (including a Director-General of the European Commission), five civil society, and two international organization representatives participated in the two panels.
- 14.
Extract from the statement submitted at the CSD in Puerto Vallarta by migrant/diaspora actors.
- 15.
See “Formation of Europe-wide diaspora platform for development.” Retrieved June 20, 2011 from http://www.migration4dayevelopment.org/sites/m4d.emakina-eu.net/files/press_release-communique_europe-wide_diaspora_platform.pdf
- 16.
Speech by Anne McCormick, Director, Corporate Affairs, Diageo Africa at Diageo plc to “Charting a future for business-donor partnerships for development” meeting, London, July 5, 2011.
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Chikezie, CE. (2012). Civil Society, the Common Space, and the GFMD. In: Omelaniuk, I. (eds) Global Perspectives on Migration and Development. Global Migration Issues, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4110-2_14
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