The 2011 GFMD is being hosted by the Government of Switzerland and held on 1 and 2 December.  It is a state-led, voluntary process dedicated to informal, non-binding and outcomes-oriented dialogue. Emerging as an outcome of the UN General Assembly’s High Level Dialogue on Migration and Development in 2006, policymakers from many countries all over the world participate in various GFMD meetings to discuss the relation between migration and development, share experiences and forge practical cooperation.

A clear institutional framework for migration at the global level is lacking and as a result migration flows are “managed” through inter-governmental trade or cooperation agreements. In a joint statement released at the GFMD and related events, GUFs reject the current de-regulatory economic approach to migration, insisting that labour is not a commodity and migrant workers must not be “traded” among countries like products or raw materials!

GUFs strongly insist that global governance of migration must be based within the UN system with a clear normative framework to oversee the implementation of states’ obligations under international law.

EI has taken measures to address the plight of migrant teachers and to promote decent work for all women and men working across national borders by adopting a new Congress Resolution on Teacher Migration and Mobility. The Resolution paves way for the establishment of a taskforce and development of a web portal to deal with the issue.

The GUF’s statement is available here.