Kyle Carroll
Leonore Haskell
Gigi Khadivian
Jennifer Velasquez
Andrea Wise
Nejdan Yildiz
Effective Advocacy on Behalf of Migrants
at the Global Forum on Migration and
Development
A Policy and Analysis Paper by The New School University’s
Graduate Program in International Affairs for the United Nations
NGO Committee on Migration
Global Forum on
Migration and Development
+ International platform for
informal dialogue and cooperation
+ Annual meetings
+ Composed of two parts:
+ Government Days
+ Civil Society Days
Client Background
UN NGO COMMITTEE ON MIGRATION
 Consultative status with the UN Economic
and Social Council
 Encourages promotion and
protection of migrants’ rights
 25 organizations, 7 member executive
committee
 Sent delegates to GFMD 2007 & 2008
Migration Issues
+ Total migrant population would
constitute 6th largest country in the world
+ States open doors to capital,
goods and services, but close
doors to people
Migration Issues
+ Conflict between economic and human
rights approaches
+ Far from home, who protects
migrants?
Nexus of Migration, Development
and Rights
Project Objectives
and Deliverables
Policy and Analysis Paper
Current migration
field
Develop
recommendations
for improved
migrant advocacy
Researched
migration
topics
Analyzed process,
structure and
content of
GFMDs
Mapped
governments’
positions on
migration
Assessed the
Committee’s
strengths and
potential
Methodology
Communication with the Committee
Individual and collaborative research
Weekly meetings as a team and monthly meetings
with the Committee
Expert interviews
Outreach to organizations directly involved with
the GFMD
Research Results
Undocumented migrants +
Impact of the global economic crisis
Gaps between country statements
and practices on the ground
Accountability, transparency and
engagement at GFMD
Recommendations to the
Committee
For Increased Advocacy Capacity
 Strengthen relationships with civil
society
 Increase awareness of GFMD among
civil society
Recommendations to the
Committee
To Advocate for an Inclusive GFMD
Structure
 Facilitate communication between civil
society and GFMD institutions
 Ensure more institutionalized GFMD
structure
 Work towards continuity between GFMDs
Recommendations to the
Committee
To Improve Accountability and Transparency
at future fora through
the Engagement of Civil Society
 Increase civil society involvement in GFMD
preparations
 Enhance civil society engagement at the GFMD
 Lobby U.S. mission for more involvement
Future of the Project
Implementation of a
few recommendations
Further collaboration
between the Committee
and GPIA
Circulation of the Report
among Migration NGOs
Skills & Lessons Learned
 Managing a workplan with evolving tasks
and deadlines while keeping flexibility
 Organizing consistent team-report writing
 Collaborating and communicating with
the client
 Handling diverging opinions within the
client organization
THANK YOU!
QUESTIONS?