International Women Migrants and Global Citizenship Task Force’s Report by Chairperson Jenny Gulamani-Abdulla, JD
This taskforce was the first of its kind creating an inclusive approach to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Migrant women must be considered one of the vulnerable groups of women left behind when it comes to economic empowerment and realizing the SDGs. As stated in its terms of reference, the role of the taskforce was to advocate for immigration, labour, and social protection policies that protect the rights of migrant women, identify opportunities and partnerships to position them to become contributing cit- izens, to educate the population on the positive economic contributions of immigrants, and to narrow the gaps between immigrant and non-immigrant women. There were numerous initiatives undertaken this triennium by this taskforce.
One primary responsibility was to review the Global Compact For Migration to understand the overall need and importance of migration management and be able to hold governments accountable to handle the issue responsibly and effectively. The Canadian input to the Office of the Special Representative to the Secretary Gen- eral on International Migration for the Secretary General’s Report on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration was examined in detail upon its release in 2018.
There was panic created by the opposition that the Compact was legally binding and that it impacted the sover- eignty of individual countries. The taskforce Chairperson issued a statement and declared
that the Preamble of this document stated that “this Global Compact presents a non-legally binding, cooperative framework that builds on the commitments agreed upon by Member States in the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants. It fosters international cooperation among all relevant actors on migration, acknowledg- ing that no State can address migration alone, and upholds the sovereignty of States and their obligations under international law.” It was explained that this Global Compact was not new and that it was a combination of two other Compacts for “Refugees” and for “Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration” which started dialogues in 2006 carving a path for the “New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants” in 2007.
Report 2017-2021, Workbook 2021, p. 64/65
