I would like to congratulate you for the initiative that was taken by the Institute on this important topic.
 
Last week, the UN Secretary General presented his report on Migration and Development in preparation of the High Level Dialogue of next September. Through this document, the international community is asked to reflect in order to improve the coherence of the activities in the field of migration and development.
 
This report deals with a number of aspects. What really merits our attention today is the follow-up that could be given to this High Level Dialogue. The SG makes a proposal inviting governments to think of a consultative forum to debate questions related to migration and development. How will this proposal be received? Nobody knows, but we could look at the challenges and opportunities it offers.
 
Actors in international migration, a part from migrants themselves, pertain to two broad categories: governments on the one hand and international institutions on the other. As far as the governments are concerned, what are the elements that can help them to decide to accept or refuse the proposal made by the Secretary-General? The main issue concerns the added value of the proposed forum. This question has already been addressed by previous speakers, notably by Dr. Rolf Jenny. It is for governments to evaluate the positive and less positive aspects of this proposal. I would just add that, by establishing a forum under the auspices of the UN, governments would benefit from the universality of the organisation, as well as from its multi-disciplinary character, embracing the multiple facets of modern migration.
 
For their part, international institutions are performing a very useful work in the various areas of their competences and mandates. I regret , however, along with comments made earlier, that cooperation between these institutions has not reached a satisfactory level. The 12 international bodies (11 UN and IOM) involved in the newly created Global Migration Group (GMG) are yet to organise themselves to provide a coherent and comprehensive service to the international community in the field of international migration. The establishment of a forum of governments would no doubt constitute a strong encouragement for these agencies to cooperate more closely and create much needed synergies between their actions. It might also permit to strengthen a necessary and workable interface between governments and international institutions on migration issues.
 
Since the Cairo conference, international thinking has come a long way. Still, the notion that governments could meet in one single place to discuss in a non-binding manner issues, at time contentious, of international migration has yet to come to fruition. The demarche leading to the forum is rooted in the numerous initiatives that have been developed. Regional processes, in particular, constitute a solid basis. They have proved that cooperation between states can help address difficult situations. The proposed global forum represents more than the sum of regional ones. It is time now to expand the scope of cooperation to the global level in order to be able to address modern migration trends.
 
The notion of forum is still undefined and does not correspond to any known category within the UN. Governments will need to be ready to engage into innovative approaches. In these efforts, they could benefit from the assistance of the UN, particularly from the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Peter Sutherland, who has been at the origin of the proposal. Of particular importance will be the definition of the link between the state-run forum and the UN, as the forum should benefit from a UN umbrella without getting entangled in cumbersome procedures. I hope that interested governments will engage into this process, together with the UN, and identify the most appropriate and creative solutions leading to an improved and more comprehensive approach of migration issues.