As a GFMD Civil Society Days 2012 delegate, it is very fulfilling to see Recommendations and Key Learnings concerning the UN High Level Dialogue from the Conference being followed through. It is therefore only fair that I should also hold up my end of the bargain by fulfilling one of the Key Action Points I committed to on behalf of DfAD (formally Zambia Diaspora Development Network (ZDDN)) from the Conference. I promised to ‘Increase awareness of the GFMD and the UN HLD to other Diaspora organisations. Find the full list of ZDDN Key Action Points in the Diaspora Report on Post GFMD 2012 Civil Society that I co-authored with Susan Oldman from MIFUMI here.

The UN High Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development committed to taking up one priority recommendation and/or benchmark in 2013 which was, ‘Migration and development needs to be included in a new policy framework of sustainable development goals, agreed by all nations’. As part of the Key Learning from the Conference, Civil society organisations also called for full and active participation in the 2013 UN High Level Dialogue (HLD) on Migration and Development. In addition they called for opportunities for civil society to speak at plenary sessions and for funds to be made available for preparatory meetings and participation in the HLD.

I am therefore very pleased to share with you that the United Nations has opened a one-step registration for both the High-level Dialogue on Migration and Development (3-4 October 2013) and the Informal Interactive Hearings with NGOs, Civil Society and the Private Sector (15July 2013). Both events will take place at the UN General Assembly in New York. Full information can be found here.

Participation by civil society organisations is expected to be open to all who are interested and able to attend. Information has been provided for organisations with no ECOSOC status as well. Those interested in participating are only required to submit a single registration by going to the following UN website and clicking on the button “NGO participation”.

Civil Society “self” organizing towards the HLD

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Since the organisation of the first UN High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development (HLD) in 2006, civil society organisations across the world have increasingly been working and moving together on migration and development advocacy and work. With an eye on the upcoming HLD, civil society organisations present at the 2012 Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD Mauritius) and at the World Social Forum on Migration (Philippines) a week later, achieved broad agreement on establishing a Civil Society Steering Committee to coordinate civil society engagement in the 2013 High-level Dialogue and its preparatory process.

ICMC’s GFMD Civil Society Coordinating Office has been invited to step into a coordinating role for civil society and the Steering Committee towards the HLD. The GFMD Civil Society Newsletter published on 26 April 2013 indicates that on March 2013, the Civil Society Steering Committee was established with utmost respect to sectoral, geographical and gender balance, and representativity. The membership of the Steering Committee reflects a balance of civil society sectors working on migration including migrant/diaspora, labour, rights and development organizations, academia and organizations working in the private sector.

The Steering Committee will advise the President of the UN General Assembly on participant, speaker and theme selection for the Interactive Hearings and modalities for the selection of civil society speakers at the High Level Dialogue. Additional information concerning upcoming meetings will be made available through HLD Civil Society 2013. For further information regarding Civil Society organising towards the HLD, please refer to the following document: HLD Civil Society Update 11 April 2013

Financial support for delegates

ICMC was able to secure funding support from the MacArthur Foundation and the Open Society Foundations therefore, partial financial support is expected to be available to reduce costs for a limited number of civil society participants, mainly from developing countries and migrant communities. The Civil Society Steering Committee will set transparent and fair selection criteria and procedures to allocate the limited funding to participants who otherwise would not be able to participate in the Interactive Hearings or HLD. Information about the funding application procedure will soon be available on HLD Civil Society 2013.

If you have any question regarding the civil society preparations towards the HLD, please write to contact@hldcivilsociety.org