Basseterre, St. Kitts (19 December, 2018) – The Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration was adopted in Marrakesh on December 10th and then formally adopted in the United Nations General Assembly on December 19th 2018. St. Kitts and Nevis was represented by Ms. Asha DeSuza, Second Secretary at the Federation’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.

The Global Compact is the first multilateral framework that promotes the benefits of international migration and provides guidance and best practices for states on methods to confront its challenges.

The Compact has 23 objectives ranging from diaspora engagement, facilitating remittances, portability of social security, providing documentation, encouraging decent work as well as data collection for evidence-based policies.

Objective 2 is of special significance to our country as it references and includes disaster displacement policy prescriptions, in addition to addressing irregular migration and the systematic factors that propel people to migrate including climate change and natural disasters, poverty and conflict amongst other factors.

In line with the commitments in the Compact, the Government is encouraged to incorporate displacement considerations in disaster strategies and cooperation.

The government reiterates its intention to establish a committee to address the needs of the Hispanic Community, given the influx of migrants from Dominica Republic, as well as Cuba and Venezuela.