Closing of Fifth Informal Interactive Multi-Stakeholder Hearing

– As delivered –

Statement by H.E. Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, President of the 72^nd Session of the UN General Assembly, at Closing of Fifth Informal Interactive Multi-Stakeholder Hearing “Migration – What’s Really Going On: Lessons from the Field”

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for participating in this fifth and final hearing.

We discussed a lot today.

I do not want to repeat what was said. And, I do not want to attempt to summarise it.

Because, I would not do it any justice.

What made our hearing unique was the first-hand experience which shaped it.

What you have seen and heard.

In your work. In your field missions and trips. And, in your daily lives.

So, what I will do, instead, is say a few words on the messages I – myself – will take away from this hearing.

The first one is on healthcare. You stressed that healthcare is a fundamental right – for everyone. It is often the difference between life and death. And it should, absolutely not, depend on migration status.

We heard today from the Physicians for Social Responsibility. They talked about their own experience, in providing healthcare services in Finland.  And they shared the lessons they have learned, in providing healthcare to migrants – regardless of where they are from, or why they have moved.

The second message I will take away is about partnerships. Speakers showed that migration must be addressed in a comprehensive way. And this cannot be done by any one actor, alone. Civil society organisations, even if they are delivering quality services, cannot be everywhere…. Governments, though they can legislate and regulate, cannot reach everyone. And we have seen how businesses and international organizations play a crucial role.

Thirdly, integration. And, here, I will take away an interesting lesson. Because, when it comes to integration, we are facing a kind of paradox. We all know how vital it is. We all know that it holds the key, to harnessing the opportunities of migration. And we all know that it needs to happen. Yet, we are all, still, seeing and experiencing challenges, on the ground.

But there are exciting things happening.

One example was shared by representatives of the City of Toronto. And it explains the importance of prioritising integration from the outset. The city’s Newcomer Services give residents the information and support to integrate – from the moment they arrive. We can learn a lot from this and other best practices.

Finally, a fourth message was on education. As we heard today, it is a very powerful tool.

It benefits migrants, themselves, as well as the communities they live in.

If one migrant cannot secure a place in school or university, he or she will, indeed, lose out.

But, so will the rest of us. A valuable resource will slip through our fingers.

That is why we all need to think about how we can make the tool of education more powerful – and more accessible. This will benefit people. It will benefit economies. And it will benefit whole societies.

Excellencies, dear colleagues,

This hearing was an opportunity to talk about what has – and has not – worked, on the ground. It allowed us to share lessons learned, and best practices.

But, even though it is our final one, it cannot be the final time we get together, to do this.

Because cooperation, dialogue, and the pooling of our experiences and best practices, is more crucial now than ever.

What we have seen is that even the most sensitive issues can be resolved. Because no matter their sensitivities politically, in practice we are doing the work. In practice, they are not off limits. Instead, you are already working to better lives of migrants and communities.

As we conclude this last hearing, we are facing into the final stretch of negotiations.

But this is not the end of our work. Actually, it is the starting point.

Once we have agreed on a Global Compact, we need to bring it to life.

I want to praise the ongoing efforts of our two, committed co-facilitators. But, they can only bring us so far. Then, it will be up to us, to take the torch.

We will need cooperation and dialogue. We will need outreach. We will need advocacy. We will need to speak up – to answer questions, and challenge misperceptions. And we will need to continue the kind of crucial work we heard about today.

Not from some of us – but from all.

The remaining negotiations will focus on the finer details. As Ambassador Gomez-Comacho just said, we cannot forget the bigger picture.

Which is that migration is here – and it is here to stay.

We all committed to making it safer, more orderly, and more regular.

We all acknowledged that this global phenomenon needs a global response.

We all put our trust in the United Nations to coordinate these efforts.

And we all said we would do our own part – to bring our vision to life.

In doing all of this, we said no to business as usual.

We acknowledged that we could not keep going, as we were.

Things needed to change.

For ourselves – and how we coordinate and work together.

And for the people, outside of these rooms. People who move. People who stay. And people on the ground.

That is why we all agreed to the New York Declaration. That is why we set ourselves this task.

So, this is not just a test for our multilateral system. It is also – to, again, quote His Holiness, Pope Francis – a test for humanity.

And history will be our judge.

Today, let us leave this room, more determined than ever, to work together – to rise to the challenge – and to make sure we are on the right side of history.

Thank you.