The Minister participated in the first International Migration Review Forum, which was established by the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in 2018. The holding of this first forum will conclude with the adoption of a declaration on progress made in the implementation of the Global Compact. In this declaration, which is the result of the intergovernmental consultations that Luxembourg has facilitated with Bangladesh at the request of the President of the United Nations General Assembly, the Member States of the United Nations reaffirm the Global Compact and its ten guiding principles, take stock of progress made and remaining challenges, and commit to taking action to accelerate the implementation of the Global Compact and strengthen international cooperation on migration.
In his address to the United Nations General Assembly, the head of Luxembourg’s diplomacy reaffirmed Luxembourg’s resolute commitment to safe, orderly and regular migration at national, European and international level. “Migration is at the heart of our identity”, he pointed out, recalling that Luxembourg was a country of emigration in the 19th century, before becoming a country of immigration during the following century. “Our experience shows us that migration is a source of prosperity, innovation and sustainable development”, underlined Jean Asselborn.
As a member of the Human Rights Council, Luxembourg’s commitment to human rights is reflected in the fact that it pays particular attention to the human dimension of migratory flows. In this context, the Minister highlighted that “migrants must be able to enjoy fundamental freedoms and human rights, regardless of their migratory status”.
“Regardless of our geographic and economic situation, we are all countries of migration. It is unacceptable that thousands of people continue to suffer, disappear or die during their migration. It is also unacceptable that racism and hate speech continues to stigmatize migrants and diasporas”, concluded the minister.
As a champion country of the Global Compact, Luxembourg is proud to commit to strengthening international cooperation on migration. Minister Asselborn announced that Luxembourg has decided to contribute to the Migration Trust Fund.
Subsequently, the head of Luxembourg’s diplomacy made a statement during the public debate of the United Nations Security Council chaired by the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and devoted to the link between conflict and security. food, with particular emphasis on the war in Ukraine. In his statement, Jean Asselborn first emphasized the importance of the debate on the issue of food security: “Food insecurity, accentuated by the harmful effects of climate change, constitutes a major threat to peace. It risks further destabilizing fragile societies, pushing millions of human beings into poverty and thus fueling conflict.” And to add: “We see the illustration of this today in the unprovoked and unjustified military aggression of Russia against Ukraine. This aggression has plunged thousands of Ukrainians into misery and despair. By blocking millions of tonnes of Ukrainian cereals intended for export, Russia is accentuating the food crisis which particularly affects countries and populations in fragile situations in Africa and the Middle East, where harvests are already severely affected by the combined effect of climate change, conflict and economic shocks”.
Jean Asselborn insisted on the fact that “it is the war led by Russia which is the cause of the food crisis. It is not the sanctions, which are the consequence of the war”.
“The crisis we are facing is complex and multidimensional: a global, multi-actor and coordinated response is imperative in order to mitigate the impact of conflicts on food security and ultimately lead to production and more sustainable processing”, underlined Minister Asselborn, also mentioning Luxembourg’s commitment in the field of food security.
Finally, the Minister took the opportunity of his trip to New York to hold several bilateral meetings. He was received by the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, for an in-depth exchange of views on the latest developments in the Sahel as well as the war in Ukraine and its impact on food security. The Secretary General reported on his efforts to facilitate the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol following his visit to Kyiv and Moscow.
The Minister also met with the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, in order to take stock of the work of the 76th session of the General Assembly, and in particular the ongoing efforts towards the adoption by consensus of the statement on progress made in the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
To conclude the visit, a working lunch with the Director General of the International Organization for Migration, António Vitorino, the Coordinator of the United Nations Network on Migration, as well as representatives of several champion countries of the Global Compact for Migration safe, orderly and regular will be organized at the Permanent Representation of Luxembourg to the United Nations.
Press release by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs
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