Press Release
Honourable Gokarna Raj Bista, Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security, and the leader of the Nepali delegation to the Intergovernmental Conference for Safe, Orderly Migration (GCM) being held in Marrakech on 10-11 December 2018 addressed the plenary session of the conference today. Minister Bista arrived in Marrakech, Morocco on 8 December.
In his statement, the Minister expressed that the adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration represents a historic milestone in the governance of international migration. Referring to the extensive consultations and negotiations over last two years, Hon. Minister highlighted that the process has given better understanding of international migration, its contribution to the development of countries of origin as well as destination, and its related challenges.
Sharing the priorities of the Nepali delegation, Minister Bista emphasized on the objectives related to decent work, fair recruitment, and skills recognition, addressing vulnerabilities of migrant workers, including women, and reducing the cost of remittances.
He also shared the new initiatives and reform measures undertaken by the Government of Nepal to ensure better service delivery and fair and ethical recruitment, and said that “we do not want migration to be a matter of compulsion.”
Earlier this morning the GCM was formally adopted by the Intergovernmental Conference. This is the first comprehensive framework agreed by the Member States of the United Nations to cover all aspects of the international migration in a holistic manner. The Compact comprises 23 objectives for better managing migration at local, national, regional, and global levels.
Last evening the Minister attended welcome reception hosted by the Government of Morocco. On the occasion, Minister Bista briefly met with the Secretary General of the United Nations Mr. Antonio Guterres and congratulated the United Nations for organizing this important intergovernmental meeting.
On the day of his arrival, Honourable Minister had a bilateral meeting with His Excellency Yousuf Mohammed , Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs of the State of Qatar. The two sides discussed the aspects of the labour migration from Nepal to Qatar and covered the areas such as, ensuring welfare of the migrant workers, addressing the vulnerabilities and improving governance of labour migration. The two sides underlined that a meeting of Technical Teams may assess the situation and work out the possible contents of a Bilateral Labour Agreement.
On 09 December, Honourable Minister spoke at a side-event on Decent Work and Labour Mobility Component of the Global Compact. Speaking at the meeting, of which Nepal was also a co-organiser, the Minister shared the recent initiatives taken by the Government of Nepal to ensure fair recruitment and decent work. Also among the panelists were Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa, President of the 73rd session of the UNGA, and Ms. Louise Arbour, Secretary General’s Special Representative for International Migration and Mr. Guy Ryder, Director General of ILO.
Also today the Hon. Minister attended the Royal luncheon hosted by His Majesty Mohammed VI, King of the Morocco, for the Heads of Delegation.
Click here for full text of the address.
Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations
New York
10 December 2018