United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres (Photo: Agencies)

New York (People's Daily) - With the General Assembly set to agree on a new global compact on migration, the United Nations (UN) leader on Thursday highlighted its “immense potential” to harness the benefits of migration and lower risks that millions face while moving from one country to the next without proper documentation.

“Migration is a positive global phenomenon,” Secretary-General António Guterres said at a press conference at UN Headquarters, with negotiations on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration expected to conclude Friday, for formal adoption by the end of the year in Morocco.

“Migrants are a remarkable engine for growth,” Guterres stressed, noting that they number more than 250 million around the world, making up three per cent of the global population and contributing 10 per cent to the global gross domestic product.

Yet more than 60,000 have died while in transit from one country to the next, at sea, in the desert and elsewhere, he warned.  And often, migrants and refugees are “demonized and attacked.”

The Guterres said the compact has three important objectives.

First, to refamiliarize national development policies and international development cooperation to take migration into account and create opportunities for people to work and live in dignity at home.

Second, he said it was vital to strengthen international cooperation against smugglers and human traffickers, and to protect their victims. “Smuggling and trafficking are criminal activities; migration is not,” said the UN chief.

Third, he called for more opportunities on the part of nations worldwide, to broaden legal migration.   

Guterres said that many aging developed countries need migrants to fill crucial gaps in labor markets. Climate change and other factors, “including simple human aspiration, will continue to lead people to seek opportunity far from their homes.” 

“If migration is inevitable, it needs to be better organized through effective international cooperation among countries of origintransit and destination, so that we do not leave control of movements of people in the hands of smugglers,” he said.

Turning to consultations on a Global Compact on Refugees, which were concluded last week for consideration by the General Assembly at the end of the year, Guterres said the majority of the world’s refugees are hosted in developing countries that themselves face constraints. 

“This responsibility must be shared globally,” he said.

The two global compacts are being developed following the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants in 2016, in which 193 member states adopted the New York Declaration – an overarching plan to manage large movements of refugees and migrants.

The UN head explained that both Global Compacts were the product serious consultations that connected a variety of international players with migrants and refugees. 

“These agreements show multilateralism in action and give us a strong platform for progress,” said Guterres.