Third Informal Meeting on the Organizational Arrangements for the High Level Meeting of the UNGA to address large movements of refugees and migrants
April 7, 2016
Intervention made by Mr. Amit Narang, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations

Distinguished Co-Facilitators,

Thank you for organizing today's meeting.

Thank you also for sharing a potential draft decision of the General Assembly for the organizational arrangements of the High-Level Meeting on Refugees and Migrants.

We are happy to share some preliminary viewson the draft decision.

We are supportive of the comments made by the Ambassador of El Salvador and Bangladesh.

First and foremost, in paragraph 8, we would propose that the phrase 'consultations' be replaced by 'inter-governmental negotiations'. It is important that the outcome document of the High-Level Meeting which is expected to be adopted by our leaders, is inter-governmentally negotiatedand agreed among all States. This is the same modality that we followed for the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and referred to by the distinguished Ambassador of Japan.

We of course support a robust process of engagement with all stakeholders. This can also be done in full conformity with the rules of procedures of the General Assembly and in a manner done for the Summit for the adoption of 2030 Agenda.

Co-Facilitators,

Thank you also for sharing tentative proposed themes for the six roundtables. We welcome your initial suggestions but feel that more work is needed before we achieve consensus on themes.

While this is a procedural resolution, I need hardly emphasize that the nomenclature and format of the roundtables are directly related to the substantive conclusions of the High-level Meeting.  

The manner in which we frame our discussions will actively shape its outcome.  It is important therefore to get the framing right.

 
We are somewhat surprised to note that the current list of themes does not seem to reflect the broad understanding on this issue in the last meeting. There was a general agreement to have one conversation on the common issues related to refugees and migrants and then to have dedicated but separate round tables on the two issues in order to look at them in depth.
This is important and necessary since there clearly are different international processes and law dealing with these two issues.

In the current list we strongly favor the theme of the sixth roundtable on the global compact for safe, regular and orderly migration.  This is a very important issue and we also hope that the forthcoming report of the SG will also address it purposefully. 

However, we have concerns, particularly with the framing of the first two roundtables. We feel, as we emphasized in the last meeting, that the lens of 'prevention' cannot be uniformly and generically applied to both refugees and migrants.  By doing so, we are implying that migration itself is to be prevented.

Such an understanding does injustice to the fundamental impulse of human mobility which has shaped and influenced the current community of nations as well as the international system. 

Co-Facilitators,

As we have emphasized several times before, migration is a voluntary process by which an individual chooses to move out of his/her country to seek economic opportunities, subject to the rules and regulations of the destination countries. This is a process which moreover, also needs to be seen in the context of demand and supply of work force. It is, therefore, important to highlight the developmental dimension of migration.  Refugees, on the other hand, are those who have to flee their countries due to a grave danger to their lives and are in need of protection as per international law.

We would, therefore, request that the themes of the roundtables be redrafted to reflect this distinction. We would prefer the model discussed earlier to have one of the Roundtables on common issues coupled with separate Roundtables on the issues surrounding refugees and migrants respectively.

We would strongly support retaining the 6th roundtable theme as has been proposed.

I thank you Co-Facilitators.

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