US urges collective action to make migration safer, more orderly

WASHINGTON

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken implored the international community to collaborate to ensure migration is "safer and more orderly" as the number of people seeking a better life abroad hits record levels.

Blinken told a migration-focused UN forum the administration of US President Joe Biden is committed to working with civil society, governments and the private sector to implement "migration policies that are grounded in human rights, human dignity, transparency, and state sovereignty."

Migration, the top diplomat said during the first-ever International Migration Review Forum, "is a challenge that no one of us can solve alone," particularly given that it has hit levels not seen since World War II.

"Every migrant is a human being deserving of dignity, and protection. The United States will work closely with our partners to build on the progress that's being made," he said at the UN General Assembly.

Every one in five migrants is undocumented, and Blinken said the US is "working on the root causes of irregular migration, including a lack of economic opportunity, insecurity, corruption, repressive governance, climate-related emergencies, to address why people are leaving their homes in the first place."

The forum is being used to review progress on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), which was adopted in 2018, and to take collective action to further bolster the pact.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres implored nations to view migration "not solely as a problem to fix," but rather as a "potential solution to many of the challenges we face."

"Migration is a fact of life. In fact, it is as old as human life itself. But too often, it has been poorly managed, uncoordinated, misunderstood, and vilified," he said. "Migrants are part of our societies -- they must be part of the renewed social contract."