Waching daily Nov 27 2018

- The Global Compact for Migration

and the Global Compact on Refugees

are good news for migrants and refugees.

They are principled documents, well grounded on human rights

and with aspirational views.

But like many good news, they may be short-lived

if there is no political will to implement them.

The Global Compact for Migration

brings about a positive narrative.

It's an ambitious document

that deals with all aspects of migration.

The Global Compact on Refugees aims to ensure

more funding is available for assisting refugees,

particularly in protracted crises.

It proposes a more balanced way

to share responsibility between states.

So, if it is true that both Global Compacts

are good documents, they are not binding.

States are expected to implement them,

but they do not have a legal obligation to do so.

So, when governments have to deal with domestic politics

and confront strong populist and anti-immigration narratives

at home, they may be inclined

to leave the Compacts on the shelves, forgotten.

I am a little bit less worried

about the Compact on Refugees, which is more straightforward

and simpler to implement.

The Compact for Migration is more complex.

The aspirational dimension of its text

is often in sharp contrast with the realities on the ground,

where we find closed borders, lack of solidarity,

and discrimination against migrants.

The real challenge is to translate human rights commitments

but also basic human decency into practice.

This is a major shift that takes political courage and guts.