The Secretary General of UN, Mr. António Guterres, said this in reaction to the adoption of the pact in Marrakesh, Morocco on Monday, describing it as a “roadmap to prevent suffering and chaos”.
Addressing the opening intergovernmental session at the event, Mr. Guterres, said that the compact provides a platform for “humane, sensible, mutually beneficial action” resting on two “simple ideas”.
“Firstly, that migration has always been with us but should be managed and safe; second, that national policies are far more likely to succeed with international cooperation.”
The UN chief said that in recent months there had been “many falsehoods” uttered about the agreement and “the overall issue of migration”. In order to dispel the “myths”, he said that the Compact did not allow the UN to impose migration policies on the Member States, and neither was the pact a formal treaty.
“Moreover, it is not legally binding. It is a framework for international cooperation, rooted in an inter-governmental process of negotiation in good faith,” he told delegates in Marrakech.
The pact would not give migrants rights to go anywhere, reaffirming only the fundamental human rights, he said.
Acknowledging that some States decided not to take part in the conference, or adopt the Compact, the UN Chief expressed his wish that they will come to recognize its value for their societies and join in “this common venture.”
The United States did not endorse the Compact, and more than a dozen other countries either chose not to sign the accord or are still undecided.
Isaac Oyimah/GEE
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Pix: Secretary General of UN, Mr. António Guterres
