The Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM), Amb. Sergio Piazzi, represented PAM President, Senator Lhou Lmarbouh, together with Ambassador Gerhard Putman Cramer, PAM Permanent Observer to the UN in Geneva, at the IOM Conference dedicated to the International Dialogue on Migration (IDM) on Assessing progress in the implementation of the migration-related SDGs, which took place on 11 – 12 October 2016. PAM’s participation took place within the framework of the PAM/IOM cooperation agreement.
The PAM delegates addressed the session dealing with partnerships and stakeholders, highlighting the unique role of national and international parliaments as a key element of decision making processes, with regard to legislation and international agreement dealing with migration flows.
Furthermore, as it has already been indicated by PAM President on the occasion of the UN Summit on Migrants and Refugees, which took place on 19 September, ahead of the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly, in New Yok, PAM Secretary General underlined the new dimension of migration flows to and through the Mediterranean. He covered key aspects such as human rights, trafficking, climate change and security concerns. He also provided participants with outcomes from recent debates within PAM, and information over future PAM activities on the topic.
PAM also considered of particular interest the intervention by Mr. Jeffrey Sachs, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General on the Sustainable Development Goals. Mr Sachs referred to the possibility to reach these goals in continents, which will see their population, double between now and the end of the century. He also emphasized the unique role of education as the single instrument to render the SDGs reachable under such demographic trends.
The IDM workshop addressed the implementation of the migration-related Goals from a holistic perspective, taking into account the role of government at all levels, and the role of the private sector, civil society and international organizations – which should be included in State-led Regional Consultative Processes on Migration and international processes.
As a PAM contribution to this theme, it is worth to records that on 8-9 November 2016, PAM, jointly with the European Court of Human Rights, will conduct a debate which will look, inter alia, at the humanitarian aspects connected to all aspects of migration flows.