Speech by Ghulam M. Isaczai, UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan, at the UN Network on Migration (UNNM) national coordination meeting for Azerbaijan

Thank you Vladimir, 

Dear Mr Vusal Huseynov, Chief of State Migration Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 

UN colleagues, 

Distinguished participants! 

It is a great pleasure for me to join today’s online meeting and speak as a co-chair of the UN Network on Migration for Azerbaijan.  

Following extensive system-wide consultations and the proposal by the Deputy Secretary-General and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for International Migration, the Secretary-General decided, at a meeting of the Executive Committee on 23 May 2018, to establish a UN Network on Migration, as a successor to the Global Migration Group, to ensure effective, coordinated system-wide support to the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM). 

In the GCM, Member States, including Azerbaijan “welcome the decision of the Secretary-General to establish a UN Network on migration to ensure effective and coherent system-wide support to implementation, including the capacity-building mechanism, as well as follow-up and review of the Global Compact, in response to the needs of the Member States (para 44-45 GCM)” 

The GCM further notes that: a) IOM will serve as the coordinator and secretariat of the Network; b) the Network will fully draw from the technical expertise and experience of relevant entities within the UN system; and c) the work of the Network will be fully aligned with existing coordination mechanisms and the repositioning of the UN Development System. 

The movements of people, driven by diverse motivations, and regardless of size or resources of each UN Agency or government institution, can be a challenge and cannot be resolved with a stand-alone approach. Migration challenges are requiring an integrated response within the principles of humane and orderly migration for the benefits of the migrants and society.

We all present in today’s meeting, on the creation of the UN Network on Migration (UNNM) for Azerbaijan, should be working towards the same goals – establishing clearer and more consistent paths for regular migration, improving outcomes for migrants, whether social, economic or health-related, to ensure the realization of their fundamental rights, and addressing the root causes and the key factors that drive people to move. At the same time, we will need to be more effective in the fight against the trafficking, exploitation, and abuse of migrants, and gender-based violence, prevention of violent extremism and climate change.

The UNNM will support the Government of Azerbaijan in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the mainstreaming of migration into new or existing United Nations Sustainable Development Frameworks. Furthermore, the UNNM can be a valuable tool for the government seeking to close gaps in terms of meeting the commitments of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Global Compact for Migration. 

Thank you very much!