Paramaribo, 23 October 2023 – On 17 October, 21 representatives of Suriname’s Government, ministries and agencies were sensitized on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration1 (GCM) during a workshop held at the Marriot Hotel in Paramaribo.  

The Government of Suriname is dedicated to effectively combat irregular migration by improving the opportunities for people to migrate through safe, orderly and regular pathways. This workshop is part of IOM’s support for this ambition by building the Government’s technical capacity. The workshop also delved into the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda, IOM’s work on migration, lessons learned in the region and other topics related to migration, to raise the understanding by government officers of how good migration governance can contribute to achieving the nation’s goals.   

Participants of the GCM sensitization workshop deemed the event to be a success. They learned about the GCM, which provides an array of possible actions, drawn from best practices, that States can choose to use in their migration policies, including by providing safe pathways for migration.  They also came to understand the relationship between migration, sustainable development and other aspects of governance.  

Rabindranath Lala, Policy Advisor at the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture recognizes the importance of a whole-of-government approach for migration governance. He believes that the government should develop a national policy on migration making the point that, “If we [Suriname] have a national policy on migration, the implementation would be known within all ministries of the government”.  

Lala also highlighted the importance of migration for sustainable development. He mentioned, as an example, the situation of migrant children who need education, noting that while not all children of migrants may have the right documentation in Suriname, every child needs education to be able to contribute fully to development.  

The Government of Suriname is in the process of using concrete evidence and data combined with the inputs of regional stakeholders to create a “Suriname Needs Assessment on Migration Governance” that will present a panoramic view of the current state of migration governance in Suriname. Marcel Veldbloem, manager of the coastguard in Suriname, said, “Suriname has the opportunity to make its contribution to this international migration issue.” The government has already installed working groups. Veldbloem hopes they will have the opportunity to carry out the assignments so that the government can proceed to implement the proposals. “There is no point in proposals not being translated into action. Migration is a very important issue for Suriname and the region as well as the world.”  

The knowledge gained at this workshop is intended to provide the Government of Suriname with concrete ways to include the guidance of the GCM in its programming, to give attention to implementing the GCM and reporting on its implementation, and to utilize migration as a tool to advance each of the SDGs. The training also assisted the Government in understanding the type of support that is available to them through IOM and its UN partners on migration governance and development.  

For more information please contact: IOM Suriname Programme Coordinator: Jan-Willem Wegdam, jwegdam@iom.int +597-885 9232

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NOTES TO THE EDITOR:  

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) resulted from the Global Compact agreement that (the majority of) the UN Member States adopted in 2018 to work on all areas of migration internationally. https://migrationnetwork.un.org/global-compact-for-migration 

The Global Compact covers all dimensions of international migration in a holistic and comprehensive manner. This non-binding document respects the rights of the sovereign states to determine who enters and stays in their territory and demonstrates commitment to international cooperation on migration. It also presents a significant opportunity to improve the governance of migration, to address the challenges associated with today’s migration, and to strengthen the contribution of migrants and migration to sustainable development.  
 
The Global Compact is aligned with target 10.7 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in which Member States committed to cooperate internationally to facilitate safe, orderly and regular migration.