High-level side event “Road to Marrakech”

Marrakech at night © Moroccan National Tourist Office

The "Road to Marrakech" is a high-level side event taking place during the 2018 UN General Assembly. It will build momentum, among Member States and other stakeholders, towards the Intergovernmental Conference in Morocco in December.

Date and Time: 26th September 2-4 pm

Location: Conference Room 2, UNHQ, New York

Organisers: The Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for International Migration (SRSG)

Co-sponsors: The Permanent Missions of Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Mexico, Philippines, Rwanda, Turkey and the conference host Morocco.  

Background 

Member States will gather at the highest political level in Marrakech, Morocco, on 10-11 December 2018, to adopt the text of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. Marrakech will be an opportunity to breathe life into the Global Compact by outlining initiatives for its implementation.

The Global Compact, firmly rooted in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the commitments made in the New York Declaration, will be the first global agreement designed to better manage international migration in all its dimensions, for the benefit of all States and communities, and with the rights of all migrants at the fore.

Objectives

The side event will galvanize participation at the Intergovernmental Conference at the highest political level and build a bridge between the end of the negotiations in July and the conference in December.

Governments will have the opportunity to highlight initiatives already in place, as well as the types of actions, partnerships and innovative ideas they foresee in coming years as means of implementing the Global Compact, particularly at the regional and national levels.

The event will mobilize Member States and other concerned actors to come to Marrakech ready to think creatively, share initiatives, and make commitments, including through partnerships, in the spirit of international cooperation which is at the heart of the Global Compact.

Envisioned Program

The event will be moderated by the Special Representative Louise Arbour. 

  • UN Secretary-General will deliver the opening remarks, followed by the President of the General Assembly.
     
  • Special Representative, in her capacity as Secretary-General of the Intergovernmental Conference, will outline the major steps in the process leading to the gathering in Morocco.
     
  • Morocco, as host of the Intergovernmental Conference, will deliver key messages followed by remarks from Ms. Mónica Ramírez, a leading voice on migrants’ rights and migrant representation.
  • The event co-sponsors will take the lead by sharing their respective countries’ actions and innovative approaches to implementing the Global Compact.
     
  • The moderator will then open the floor to other Member States and stakeholders to participate in the conversation and share their perspectives and priorities on international migration.

The incoming President of the General Assembly, H.E. Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, and  Mr. William Lacy Swing, the Director General of the International Organization for Migration will also be in attendance.

Media

There will be limited capacity for media wishing to attend. The event will be livestreamed on UN Web TV.

Registration and participation

Registration is now closed.

Contact

Please send any questions to Nicole Lai (laim@un.org), Nora Sturm (sturm@un.org) or Mathilde Verstraete (mverstraete@iom.int).