Save the Children welcomed the adoption December 10, 2018, in Marrakech of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration by the overwhelming majority of UN member states. This historic document establishes a solid platform for collaboration between countries to protect the rights of millions of migrant children – many of whom have faced unimaginable journeys, especially when traveling alone.
The United Nations Special Representative for International Migration Louise Arbour emphasized that “the adoption of the Migration Compact is a re-affirmation of the values and principles embodied in the UN Charter and in international law.”
The UN asserts that the GCM is not a legally binding document and that its text is an agreed outcome from several years of intergovernmental negotiations and it is for each State to determine its own next steps.
Although 164 countries approved the compact, several remain opposed, including the United States.
Some migrant children flee crippling poverty, disasters, violence, and human rights abuses only to face abuse, trafficking, deportation, detention or even death, according to Save the Children. The Global Compact on Migration contains 38 paragraphs referring to children. Its goal is to enhance working relationships between countries to better protect migrant children whether that’s before they embark on a journey, while a decision is made on their migration status at their destination or in their country of origin in cases of return.
Save the Children’s Global Campaign, Advocacy and Communications Director Patrick Watt said:
“The Compact on Migration was developed because the world recognized that protecting the rights of children on the move requires a global, organized response. All children—regardless of where they come from or where they’re going – have the right to be safe, access basic services and not be separated from the people that care for them.
“We must now harness the energy, ideas, and experiences of children and young people themselves to ensure that they have a say in the way that this compact is implemented and that it meets their needs.”
The UN asserts that the GCM is not a legally binding document and that its text is an agreed outcome from several years of intergovernmental negotiations and it is for each State to determine its own next steps.
Although 164 countries approved the compact, several remain opposed, including the United States.
Some migrant children flee crippling poverty, disasters, violence, and human rights abuses only to face abuse, trafficking, deportation, detention or even death, according to Save the Children. The Global Compact on Migration contains 38 paragraphs referring to children. Its goal is to enhance working relationships between countries to better protect migrant children whether that’s before they embark on a journey, while a decision is made on their migration status at their destination or in their country of origin in cases of return.
Save the Children’s Global Campaign, Advocacy and Communications Director Patrick Watt said:
“The Compact on Migration was developed because the world recognized that protecting the rights of children on the move requires a global, organized response. All children—regardless of where they come from or where they’re going – have the right to be safe, access basic services and not be separated from the people that care for them.
“We must now harness the energy, ideas, and experiences of children and young people themselves to ensure that they have a say in the way that this compact is implemented and that it meets their needs.”
