The UN members run into stiff political headwinds, mostly in parts of the West that want national borders to remain sacrosanct, however, the Global Compact for Migration adoption caused a lot of criticism, Al-Jazeera reported.
Top U.N. officials and government leaders from about 150 countries are uniting around an agreement on migration, while finding themselves on the defensive about the non-binding deal amid criticism and a walkout from the United States and some other countries. “Migration is a natural phenomenon,” Angela Merkel said and added that migration happens all the time all over the world. “If it happens legally, it’s a good thing,” German Chancellor concluded.
Angela Merkel and UN Secretary-General were among the biggest names in Marrakech for the two-day conference that is set to agree, but not sign, the compact by acclamation shortly after the opening Monday.
In July, the draft of Global Migration Pact had been approved by all 193 United Nations member nations except the US, which backed out last year. In fact, about 80 percent of the world’s migrants move between countries in a safe and orderly fashion, they’re not fleeing their countries due to the war (Syria), economic collapse (Venezuela) or famine (Yemen). Despite this, the UN report shows that more than 60,000 people have died on the move since the year 2000.
The recent UN document, Global Compact for Migration, has proven a test for globally minded policymakers who want to ensure safe and orderly migration of people displaced by issues like war, economic necessity and climate change.
