UN Network on Migration in the Arab Region Holds Dialogue on Climate Change, Just Transition and Labour Mobility

Cairo  – The Regional United Nations Network on Migration in the Arab region held on 25 October a hybrid Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) Talk on a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies from which migrant workers can also benefit and contribute to.

This event gathered representatives of Member States, the United Nations system, trade unions and employers’ organizations, civil society, migrant groups and diaspora organizations, youth and other stakeholders to share and discuss experiences, practices, gaps and needs for a just transition and how to promote climate-related labour mobility through national, regional and cross-regional schemes.

“A key element of just transition is the need to involve the voices of all workers in this process, including women, migrant workers and persons with disabilities,” said Dr. Ryszard Cholewinski, Senior Migration Specialist, ILO Regional Office for Arab States. “Consequently, a just transition cannot be realized without effective social dialogue involving governments and employers’ and workers’ organizations, as well as the engagement of all other relevant stakeholders.”

“Sustainable and green transition, if done in a just and inclusive way, can also serve as a catalyst for economic opportunities in the Arab region to promote more robust economic expansion and diversification of the livelihoods,” said Ms. Asmara Achcar, Senior Regional Liaison and Policy Advisor of IOM Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa. “It will help ushering in fresh opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship for rural and urban communities.”

The Regional UN Network on Migration in the Arab region, together with the regional inter-agency Issue-based Coalition on Migration, is working on a Policy Brief on Migration and Climate Change in the Arab Region, which draws on some of the discussions in last year’s Regional Dialogue and offers concrete recommendations, with a view to its publication prior to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28).

“Labor mobility can function as a resilience strategy in the face of climate change, if properly managed, in a way that is just and equitable whilst taking into consideration migrant rights and the needs of both countries of origin and destination by ensuring decent work opportunities, reducing inequalities and leaving no one behind,” said Ms. Sara El Khatib, Country Program Director, Gulf and Migration Specialist, MENA, Solidarity Center, Member of the Regional Stakeholder Advisory Group to the UN Network on Migration in the Arab region. 

This GCM Talk, co-led by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), builds on the Regional Dialogue on the Climate Change and Migration Nexus in the Arab Region, which was organized back in October 2022.

The meeting summary report will be made available here (https://migrationnetwork.un.org/arab-states-2024) as part of the preparatory process towards the GCM Regional Review scheduled for the first half of 2024.

For more information please contact:

Mohammedali Abunajela, Spokesperson, IOM Regional Media and Public Information Department, mmabunajela@iom.int 

Salwa Kanaana, Regional Communication and Public Information Officer, ILO Regional Office for Arab States, kanaana@ilo.org