Format and Organizational Aspects of the International Migration Review Forums

A/RES/73/326View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda items 14 Integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields and 119 Follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit, published in 2018.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

2 entities

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Subprogramme 5	Population	30
	Subprogramme 6	Social development	47

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

2 entities

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Subprogramme 5	Population	30	—
	Subprogramme 6	Social development	47	—

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report · 2026

Year	Symbol	Title		Mandate resolution
2026	A/80/632	Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration report of the Secretary-General		A/RES/73/326

What subjects does this mandate have?

3 subjects

Conferences International Migration Migration Policy

What’s in this document?

53 operative paragraphs

Decides that the forums:

Shall be convened under the auspices of the General Assembly and be chaired by the President of the General Assembly;

Shall operate under the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, as applicable, unless otherwise provided in the present resolution;

Shall take place during the first semester of the year 2022, and thereafter every four years at United Nations Headquarters in New York;

Shall last for four days;⁴

⁴The forums shall be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 to 6 p.m. each day.

Shall be held at the highest possible political level, including Heads of State or Government;

Also decides that the forums shall be open to participation by all States Members of the United Nations and all members of specialized agencies that have observer status with the General Assembly;

Invites intergovernmental organizations and other entities having received a standing invitation to participate as observers in the work of the General Assembly and organizations and bodies of the United Nations to participate as observers in the forums;

Reiterates the importance of the effective participation of all relevant stakeholders in the forums, and invites non-governmental organizations that are in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, as well as all stakeholders that were accredited to the preparatory process of the intergovernmental consultations of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration⁵ or that were accredited to participate in the Intergovernmental Conference to Adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, and encourages them to register with the Secretariat in order to participate in the forums;

⁵Resolution 73/195, annex.

Requests the President of the General Assembly to draw up a list of other representatives of relevant non-governmental organizations, academic, scientific and knowledge-based institutions, the private sector, trade unions, faith-based, migrant and youth organizations, diaspora communities and other relevant stakeholders, who may attend and participate in each forum, taking into account the principles of transparency and of equitable geographical representation, with due regard to the meaningful participation of women, and to submit the list to Member States for their consideration on a non-objection basis, no later than three months before the forums;⁶

⁶The list of proposed as well as final names will be brought to the attention of the General Assembly. Where a name is objected to, the objecting Member State will, on a voluntary basis, make known to the Office of the President of the General Assembly the general basis of its objections and the Office will share any information received with any Member State upon its request.

Invites national human rights institutions compliant with the Paris Principles⁷ to register with the Secretariat in order to participate in the forums, including the informal interactive multi-stakeholder hearings described in paragraph 15 below, and invites the institutions, as well as the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions and regional human rights institution networks, to submit inputs prior to the forums;

⁷Resolution 48/134, annex.

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the expertise of the United Nations system as a whole, including specialized agencies, funds and programmes, related organizations and regional economic commissions, as well as all relevant special procedures mandate holders and treaty bodies, in accordance with their respective mandates, giving due regard to Geneva-based expertise, is coordinated to support the State-led forums and to facilitate their participation therein;

Encourages Member States to take into account, to the extent possible, a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach when composing their delegations to the forums;

Requests the Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), as Coordinator of the United Nations Network on Migration (the network), to assist, upon request by Member States, in the preparation and organization of regional reviews of the implementation of the Global Compact;

Invites relevant subregional, regional and cross-regional processes, platforms and organizations, including the United Nations regional economic commissions and regional consultative processes on migration, to review the implementation of the Global Compact, within their respective regions, and to contribute to the work of the forums, with the involvement of all relevant stakeholders;

Invites also the Global Forum on Migration and Development, including its civil society, business and mayoral mechanisms, to provide a space for informal exchanges on the implementation of the Global Compact, and report the findings, best practices and innovative approaches to the forums;

Invites forums such as the IOM International Dialogue on Migration, regional consultative processes on migration and others to contribute to each forum by providing relevant data, evidence, best practices, innovative approaches and recommendations as they relate to the implementation of the Global Compact;

Requests the network, in preparation for the forums, to collect all inputs received from local, national, regional and global levels and to develop, as part of the global knowledge platform, within existing resources, a dedicated website featuring inputs submitted by Member States and other relevant stakeholders to the forums;

Requests the Secretary-General, as part of the biennial report preceding each forum, drawing on the network, to provide guidance for the deliberations during the forum, including the envisaged round tables and policy debate, and to make the report available at least 12 weeks ahead of each forum;

Requests the President of the General Assembly to organize and to preside over one day of informal interactive multi-stakeholder hearings one day prior to each forum with all relevant stakeholders, as listed in paragraphs 4 to 7, and also requests the President of the General Assembly to invite the representative of civil society to present a summary of the hearings during the opening segment of the plenary;

Takes note of the establishment of the Start-Up Fund for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration as part of the capacity-building mechanism;

Requests the Secretary-General to facilitate the participation of representatives of developing countries, particularly the least developed countries, and other relevant stakeholders, as appropriate, in the work of the forums, and in this regard invites Member States, financial institutions and other organizations to make financial contributions;

Decides that:

Each forum, to be held within existing resources, shall consist of four interactive multi-stakeholder round tables during the first day and the morning of the second day, followed by a policy debate in the afternoon of the second day, at the beginning of which the technical summaries of the round tables will be presented; the plenary will be held during the third and the fourth days;

The plenary shall be divided into an opening segment, a general debate and a closing segment;

The opening segment of the plenary shall feature statements from the President of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General, the Director General of the International Organization for Migration, as the Coordinator of the network, one representative from the migrant community, and the representative from civil society;

Invites the President of the General Assembly to deliver remarks during the closing segment;

Encourages Member States to consider presenting the result of their reviews of progress in implementing the Global Compact, on a voluntary basis, drawing on contributions from all relevant stakeholders, as a part of their national statements;

Decides that:

The four round tables will offer space for discussion covering all 23 objectives of the Global Compact with the aim of reviewing the progress made in its implementation at all levels, bearing in mind that the Global Compact is based on a set of cross-cutting and interdependent guiding principles;

All 23 objectives of the Global Compact shall be covered in the following indicative way:

Round table one: objectives 2, 5, 6, 12 and 18;

Round table two: objectives 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13 and 21;

iii

Round table three: objectives 14, 15, 16, 19, 20 and 22;

Round table four: objectives 1, 3, 7, 17 and 23;

Each round table will be co-chaired by two Member State representatives, to be appointed by the President of the General Assembly, with due regard for geographical and gender balance, in consultation with regional groups;

Adequate space should be reserved during each round table for participation of non-governmental stakeholders and representatives of local authorities, as well as of regional processes, platforms and organizations;

Each round table may include a keynote speaker to guide the interactive debate;

Each round table shall result in a technical summary to be prepared by the co-chairs;

Requests the Secretary-General, with input from the network, to prepare a background note for each round table to be circulated at least six weeks prior to each forum;

Requests the Director General of the IOM, as Coordinator of the network, to facilitate the policy debate focusing on challenges in the implementation of the Global Compact, including links with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,1 the capacity-building mechanism and contemporary and emerging issues related to migration; the policy debate will also consider possible guidance for the United Nations system to strengthen its efforts in improving system-wide effectiveness and coherence and in supporting Member States in implementing the Global Compact, upon the request of Member States, based on their national policies and priorities;

Decides that:

The round tables and the policy debate shall be interactive, evidence-based, and action-oriented in nature, with participation of all relevant stakeholders;

The summaries of the plenary, round tables and policy debate shall be distributed by the President of the General Assembly within 10 working days following the conclusion of each forum;

Requests the President of the General Assembly to appoint two co-facilitators no later than two months ahead of each forum to conduct open, transparent and inclusive intergovernmental consultations with a view to agreeing on the Progress Declaration, preferably before the beginning of each forum;

Decides that:

All inputs to each forum along with the reports of the Secretary-General may inform the Progress Declaration;

The Progress Declaration shall be brief, concise, evidence-based and action-oriented and may contain:

An evaluation of the overall progress made with respect to the implementation of the 23 objectives of the Global Compact at all levels;

An identification of the key challenges, opportunities and emerging issues related to the implementation of the Global Compact, and the scope for further international cooperation on international migration;

iii

Recommendations on the implementation of the Global Compact, as appropriate;

The Progress Declaration shall be adopted during the closing segment of each forum;

Decides also to review, after the second forum, its format and organizational aspects, unless otherwise decided.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

Table of contents

Who cites this mandate in the budget?