Scalabrinian Presence at the United Nations
This week the two directors of the Scalabrini International Migration Network,Fr. Leonir Chiarello, c.s. of the Office of Representation, and Fr. Ezio Marchetto, c.s., of the Development Office were present in their capacity as observers at the UN in two international conferences:
1) “Trafficking in Women and Girls: Meeting the Challenge Together.” This conference focused on the ways of improving the coordination of efforts – at the national, regional and global levels – against trafficking in persons, especially women and children, the most vulnerable to trafficking and the vast majority of victims.
The UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro introduced the International Conference by saying: “This year, we commemorate the bicentennial of the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. We celebrate the fact that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Yet, around the world, millions of people are still deprived of their freedom. There should be no place in the twenty-first century for forced labor or sexual exploitation. The fact that there are forms of slavery in our world today should fill us all with shame.”
The dimension of the problem was highlighted in the morning panel discussion: Trafficking in Women and Girls: Towards a Comprehensive, Coordinated and Rights-based Response. It dealt with:
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the importance of rights-based and gender-sensitive approaches to all anti-trafficking efforts;
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addressing comprehensively the chain of trafficking in women and girls (supply, transit and demand);
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the role of national and international partnerships in prevention of trafficking in women and girls, protection of its victims and prosecution of its perpetrators;
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the impact of improved coordination of anti-trafficking efforts of governments, international organizations, civil society and media on fighting the trade in women and girls.
2) “Seminar on Building Partnerships”, part of the “Migration and Development Series”.
This seminar brought together representatives of various governments, international organizations, NGOs and migration experts to share their views and discuss the migration-development nexus in the context of their respective mandates and policy agendas. Looks at the historical evolution of this nexus lead to a discussion on more recent developments. The Seminar presented evidence and experiences regarding the building and functioning of partnerships that bring together development and migration ‘communities’, including local actors, the private sector, as well as migrants and diaspora organizations.
This seminar intended to:
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increase mutual understanding between migration and development communities;
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look at how migration is taken into account in development cooperation;
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identify good practices in increasing the development impact of migration and, in this context, models of successful partnership between different stakeholders;
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discuss the way forward for enhanced international cooperation in this field;
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brief delegates on the state of preparations for the first Global Forum on International Migration and Development to be held in July in Belgium, and on the work of the Global Migration Group (GMG).
One of the speakers was Mr. Joseph Chamie, of the Centre for Migration Study of New York on the theme “History of migration and development as a topic at the UN.”
The Scalabrinian presence at the United Nations provides us with a very unique forum that allows us to be kept abreast with international developments in the field of migration and related issues. It also gives us a voice at a global level, with the possibility of expressing our Scalabrinian vision of the world of migration.
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