“In the migration world, we are at a critical juncture,” said Michelle Klein Soloman, senior policy adviser to the Director General of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), at the Global Conference on Cities and Migration. “We have a unique opportunity to forge a global agenda on migration for decades to come in a positive way, with a positive narrative that benefits not only individuals, but whole societies.”

The Global Conference brought together more than 150 mayors and leaders of local and regional governments from over 50 cities worldwide, and was hosted by the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the City of Mechelen in Belgium, UN-Habitat, IOM, UN Migration Agency, and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). The conference addressed urban challenges and opportunities faced by local authorities, and their role in migration management and policy making as embedded in the process of the UN Global Compact for Migration.

“The decision in September 2016 by heads of state and government in the UN General Assembly to embark on the process to develop a Global Compact for Safe, Regular and Orderly Migration (GCM) was truly a historic moment,” Ms Soloman stated in one of the plenary addresses, commenting further on the need to harness the potential of the GCM to provide a framework for international cooperation.

In a working session exploring the role that local communities play in addressing migration challenges and delivering on global commitments, Ms Tala Katarina Ram on behalf of the Baha’i International Community, Brussels Office, noted the need to address the drivers of migration as one of the central challenges underpinning the discourse.

Ms Ram went on to emphasize the importance of assessing “the impact of policies beyond their individual silos, and to gain a deeper understanding of how a broad range of policy areas, including trade, investment, agricultural, and environmental, impact the drivers of migration.”

The conference concluded with the release of a ‘Mechelen Declaration on Cities and Migration’ which captured the voice of local authorities, and was submitted to the Special Representative of the Secretary General for international migration (SRSG) Lousie Arbour. “We hope that the findings and conclusions of this conference will contribute usefully to the Global Compact on Migration, through the Declaration that this Conference will endorse,” said William Lacy Swing, IOM Director General about the Declaration.