IOM, the UN Migration Agency, was invited by Ecuador’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility to participate in the first working session on the Foreign Policy Agenda of Ecuador 2017-2021, which focused on the topics of human mobility and universal citizenship.
The event took place on Tuesday (11/7) and joined organizations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Ecuador’s Technical Secretariat of the Council for Equality for Human Mobility (CIMH) and its National Secretariat for Planning and Development (SENPLADES).
IOM Ecuador Chief of Mission Damien Thuriaux highlighted the importance of addressing the issue of human mobility in Ecuador in the Global Compact negotiations for a safe, orderly and regular migration. Thuriaux invited the national Government to be part of these negotiation processes and stated: “Ecuador’s position in the Global Compact will be crucial to dialogue on all the challenges related to migration and human mobility, which require a global solution under a framework of cooperation among all countries. Ecuador’s Foreign Policy Agenda will be a key instrument to consolidate this position.”
During the working session, emphasis was made on the importance of building a National Human Mobility Plan to include human mobility in Ecuadorian political planning at all levels of government. This will help to implement and promote a human rights-based agenda that highlights the respect of migrants’ rights inside and outside the country. José Luis Jácome, Ecuador’s Vice-minister of Human Mobility, referred to the Human Mobility Law to explain that each government institution has a responsibility to include public policies on human mobility in its work plans. “It’s a challenge, but we have to start working on this,” Jácome said. He also stressed: “It would be a big mistake to disregard human mobility in the national development plan in the process of constructing our national identity.”
Technical Secretary of the Council for Equality for Human Mobility José Sosa referred to Ecuador’s Human Mobility Law as an exemplary norm that could become a reference for other migration policies in the region. Sosa emphasized the importance in the law of the principle of universal citizenship, and offered the need to promote the return policies of Ecuadorian migrants through embassies and consulates. He explained how the possibility of Ecuador becoming a country of destination for foreign migrants would lead to the establishment of more South-South cooperation agreements to generate more inclusive and regularized migration mechanisms.
This dialogue is the first of eight round tables that aim to contribute to the Foreign Policy Agenda of the new Ecuadorian Government. The agenda will feature topics with implications for Ecuador’s policy both nationally and internationally. After the process is completed on 24 August, additional round tables will discuss relevant topics such as peace building, regional integration and human rights.
