The President of the 76th Session of the General Assembly, H.E. Abdulla Shahid, had a meeting on 15 February 2022 with the Director-General of the International Organization for Migration, and Coordinator of the United Nations Network on Migration, H.E. Mr. António Vitorino. The President and the Director-General exchanged views on the preparatory work for the first International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) to be held from 17-20 May 2022, and the multi-stakeholder hearing to be held on 16 May 2022.
They discussed the importance of mobilizing and galvanizing the engagement of Member States and stakeholders ahead of the Forum. They also discussed the preparations for the launch of the Secretary-General’s report on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration as an important first step in the preparations for the IMRF and underscored that the recommendations laid out in the report could be a good starting point for the Member States as they further develop pledges and prepare for the consultations of the Progress Declaration.
H.E. Ms. Rabab Fatima, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh, and H.E. Mr. Oliver Maes, Permanent Representative of Luxembourg, co-facilitators appointed by President Shahid to conduct the consultations on the IMRF Progress Declaration joined the meeting as well, and shared their plans on taking forward the process of consultations.
