The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) actively participated in the 2nd Session of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), held on 15-16 October in Geneva, Switzerland.
The event gathered more than 380 participants from governmental agencies, NGOs, universities, youth organizations, the private sector, and international and regional organizations, such as the United Nations, the European Union and the African Union.
Ambassador Putman-Cramer, Permanent Observer of PAM to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva, represented the Assembly at this important event.
As a follow up to the first session of the International Dialogue on Migration 2019, held in New York on 28 February, where further discussions and recommendations regarding youth and migration had been elaborated, this second session stressed the need to unlock the potential of young migrants and enable them to respond to the challenges and opportunities of migration. Furthermore, a presentation of young migrant’s voice, an African Union case study and a side event on “African Youth and the SDGs” were held.
In his intervention, Amb. Putman-Cramer referred to the PAM meeting on the nexus between population movements and security, recently held in Turkey, kindly hosted by the Grand National Assembly. He highlighted to the need, identified by PAM for prompt parliamentarian action, to address the large number of children under the age of 12 currently in detention camps in Syria, as well as the many thousands of babies born to refugee parents in Turkey and in other host countries in the Mediterranean. In this regard, he stressed the importance of both adequate health care and education, and, as they grow up, the necessary support and access to job market or safe return.
On the issue of migrants, Amb. Putman-Cramer called for the improvement of the perception of migration and the promotion of the potential and skills of young migrants, by tackling and solving the challenges they face in their process of integration in both constructive and innovative ways.
PAM will organize a special meeting on migration, scheduled to take place in spring 2020 in Tangier, kindly hosted by the Moroccan Parliament, to discuss the latest development of the phenomenon and review the actions taken in the implementation of the Global Compact on Migration.