SFA-AGR-167-08

THE PHILIPPINES GEARS UP FOR THE GLOBAL FORUM ON MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT (GFMD) IN MANILA, OCTOBER 2008

18 March 2008—On 27-30 October 2008, the Philippines will host the Second Meeting of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD).  The GFMD is a global consultative process that will address the multidimensional aspects, opportunities and challenges related to international migration and its inter-linkages with development. It is open to all 192 UN Member States.

Last March 10 in Geneva, the Philippines presented the themes that will be discussed in the three roundtable sessions at the Manila meeting.  The central theme of the Philippine GFMD is “Protecting and Empowering Migrants for Development.” It reflects a growing understanding that the developmental benefits of migration are contingent upon the degree to which migrants are protected and empowered by both home and host countries. 

In Manila, the Philippines will showcase the country’s best practices on the life-cycle approach to migration, i.e., pre-deployment, on-site protection, and migrant return and reintegration.  It will advance the view that the protection of migrants is a shared responsibility of labor-sending and labor-receiving countries. It will also emphasize the fact that the first line of defense in the protection of migrant workers starts right at home even before they leave for work abroad.

The Second Meeting of the GFMD affords the Philippines a unique opportunity to demonstrate the government’s extensive policy and institutional protection mechanisms for our migrant workers, which are regarded as model practices in the global community.  END

wingret