The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) hosted the 3rd Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) – Stakeholder Workshop at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 18 January 2018 under the theme of “Designing the Way Forward for GCM Implementation to Enhance the Social Inclusion of Migrant Populations in Host Communities.” Over 110 representatives from concerned government agencies, academia, private sector and civil society organizations participated in the workshop.

 

During the opening ceremony, Mrs. Kanchana Patarachoke, Director-General of the Department of International Organizations, highlighted that migration is a global phenomenon, and it is not merely about state security but also involves the protection of human beings, requiring a whole-of-society support. She also thanked all stakeholders for their keen participation during the meeting to help ensure that migration becomes an effective tool for sustainable development. All the inputs received will be taken into consideration, particularly with a view to consolidating Thailand’s national position for the upcoming GCM formal negotiation in New York in February 2018. 

 

Mr. Supark Prongthura, Deputy Director-General of the Department of International Organizations, informed the meeting of the results of the Global Preparatory Stocktaking Meeting held on 4 – 6 December 2017 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. He also highlighted that Thailand’s position at the aforementioned meeting was shaped through the two previous stakeholder meetings in Thailand. In addition, almost all issues that Thailand places importance, such as promoting safe and legal migration, access to health care and education, non-detention of children, and combating human trafficking, were included in the summary of the meeting and hence expected to be incorporated into the first draft of the GCM as well. Furthermore, he also mentioned that during the meeting in Mexico, the Director General of the IOM and the President of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly praised Thailand’s policy on access to health for migrant workers as a best practice and an example for the world. In his view, this international recognition would not be possible without contributions from all stakeholders in Thai society and thanked all participants for their continued engagement in the GCM process. 

 

The workshop was held in a constructive atmosphere where participants expressed and presented diverse views, ideas, and useful recommendations, on both policy matters and actionable measures. Key issues discussed included the importance and need for an effective migrants database, the need for legislative review to create system-wide harmonized standards and clear-cut policy to frame and shape practical solutions, the need to create awareness on migration issues especially for youths, enhanced cooperation between country of origin and destination to promote legal migration, measures that enhances social inclusion of migrants in host communities, such as providing access to health and education, the promotion of cooperation among stakeholders through a possible working group on migration to follow up on the implementation of the GCM and other migration-related issues.

 

In her closing remarks, Ms. Dana Graber Ladek, Chief of Mission, IOM Thailand, praised Thailand’s exemplary role in the region on migration management and the fact that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has held a series of GCM Stakeholder Workshops for inputs to the GCM process.