GFMD Civil Society Mechanism

'Now more than ever, ourmissioncalls on us to toemphasizegospelvalues, andbridgethe gap between the global Church and refugee and migrant communities around the world. This Easter, in ICMC’s 75th anniversary year, we extend out deepest gratitude for your support and accompaniment, now and into the future.'

ICMC extends warmest wishes to all this Easter! https://bit.ly/3NOosqd

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Your ongoing support creates lasting change! To help ICMC make a lasting difference to the lives of refugees, visit https://bit.ly/3VqLnYK.

Moving Forward in Solidarity this Easter - The International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) This Easter, in ICMC's 75th anniversary year, our prayers remain with the many thousands of people affected by war and conflict around the world.

📣 Our Report on the 15th GFMD is out now!

This report shows how we organised ourselves, supported one another, and made collective choices during a demanding and at times challenging cycle, and it reflects the many hours of coordination, debate, learning, and care that went into that work.

👉 Read the blog post here: https://lnkd.in/e-HEynn2

Access the report in:

🔺 English: https://lnkd.in/en5XsC7h
🔸 Español: https://lnkd.in/eQu6TGsJ
🔹 Français: https://lnkd.in/egst2eBj

Spread the word with your networks and partners!

With International Catholic Migration Commission - ICMC & Swiss Development & Cooperation

“It’s so important that the like-minded can keep talking to each other, and that civil society, countries of origin, and countries of destination in direct dialogue. The GFMD is a platform where pragmatic issues can be discussed, and that can have an impact for some migrants. We must maintain a dialogue, knowing that we may not have an impact today, but that we will be ready for a tomorrow when, maybe, there will be a better environment.”

The 15th Summit of the Global Forum on Migration and Development - GFMD process took place in Riohacha, Colombia, on 2-4 September 2025. In its long-standing capacity as the GFMD Civil Society Mechanism, International Catholic Migration Commission - ICMC facilitates the engagement of civil society organisations in the GFMD.

What was the civil society experience of the Summit? How does the current global situation affect international migration processes such as the GFMD? What role can civil society dialogue with governments play in this context?

To find out, read our Q&A with ICMC Director of Policy Stéphane Jaquemet https://bit.ly/4pllHd5

“If we Remain Principled and Realistic, Dialogue is Always Important” - The International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) The 15th Summit of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD)* process took place in Riohacha, Colombia, on 2-4 September 2025. What was the civil society experience of the Summit, and how does the current global situation affect international migration processes such as the GFMD?

Our website has a new look 🎉

All developed in-house, we’ve refreshed the GFMD Civil Society Mechanism website with the same link, a cleaner design, and much easier access to what you need.

In addition, we have new articles by Rachel Westerby from the Civil Society Road to Colombia journey!

📚 “If we Remain Realistic, Dialogue is Always Important”. Interview with Stéphane Jaquemet
📚 ‘It’s so important that we’re here. ’ Civil Society Perspectives on Roundtable Discussions at the GFMD Summit
📚 Raising the Voice of Civil Society at the GFMD Summit
📚 Jornada de Acción de la Sociedad Civil Colombiana; lo que construimos juntas, juntos y juntes en Bogotá
📚 Civil Society Highlights Positive Impacts of Regularisation for Migrants and Communities at the GFMD
📚 ‘Resist, Reclaim, Realise’: Civil Society Launches Unprecedented Global Campaign on Migrant Rights at the GFMD Summit

Access it here ➡️ http://gfmdcivilsociety.org

Take a look at the revamped site (same URL as before) and let us know what you think. If there’s a resource you can’t find, reach out to us!

Page not found - The International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) The GFMD Civil Society Mechanism ensured civil society voices and perspectives were present throughout the 15th Summit of the Global Forum on Migration and Development, held on 2-4 September in Riohacha, Colombia.

Jornada de Acción de la Sociedad Civil Colombiana ¡qué evento tan espectacular!

Gracias por traer experiencia, memoria y estrategia. Fue un día para afinar mensajes, tejer alianzas y salir con tareas claras.

Tuvimos 3 conversaciones espectaculares:

1️⃣ Retornos y dignidad: Con la moderación de Lina María Arroyave Velásquez (Dejusticia) y la sabiduría de César González (ONG Plan País), Diana Martínez (International Detention Coalition / RROCM), Julián Arias (Colombia Nos Une) → no devolución y debido proceso como piso mínimo; articulación consular–OSC para acompañar y rendir cuentas.
2️⃣ Trabajo decente y regularización: Moderado por Sylvana Castro Barbudo de (Temblores ONG) y la participación de Juliana Manrique Sierra (ANDI - Asociación Nacional de Empresarios de Colombia), Marcela Suárez PSI - (Public Services International), Nidia Tarazona (CGT Colombia) → del informal al formal con compras inclusivas, certificación por competencias y tolerancia cero a la discriminación.
3️⃣ Feminismo interseccional: Moderado por Diana Maria Quimbay Valencia de Ayuda en Acción Colombia y con la participación de Diana Guzmán (Dejusticia), Angela Fernanda Bedoya Horta (Mutante), Lublanc Prieto (Refugiados Unidos) → datos y cuidados al centro; ocupar también los espacios informales del FMMD para que nadie quede por fuera.

Y de los breakouts, nos llevamos tres cositas que la Sociedad Civil Colombiana encuentra necesaria:
👉 Acción colectiva sin egos.
👉 Mesas locales permanentes con agenda compartida.
👉 Regularización efectiva y nuevas narrativas hacia afuera.

📝 Créditos a Juan Pablo Rangel (Fundación Ideas para la Paz) por la relatoria del evento. Pueden encontrar sus notas al igual que los takeaways de los breakouts en el artículo.

🙏 Antes de cerrar, nuestro agradecimiento a Andrés F. Segura-Arnaiz y su equipo de la Alcaldía Mayor de Bogotá, a Maria del Rosario P. de la Secretaría de Gobierno y al equipo del Centro de Memoria, Paz y Reconciliación por el apoyo y el espacio. Gracias también a Juan Carlos Sánchez Nieto (IDPAC), a Laura Arango, a todas/os/es las y los ponentes, a quienes moderaron las conversaciones, y a todes ustedes por su participación; y un agradecimiento especial a Juan Pablo Rangel por la relatoría de la jornada.

🔗 Lee el artículo con más detalles (y enlaces a relatoría y notas): https://gfmdcivilsociety.org/jornada-de-accion-de-la-sociedad-civil-colombiana-lo-que-construimos-juntas-juntos-y-juntes-en-bogota/

Seguimos construyendo con solidaridad y con la mira puesta en la proteccion de las personas migrantes 🙌

Jornada de Acción de la Sociedad Civil Colombiana; lo que construimos juntas, juntos y juntes en Bogotá 🇨🇴 - To read this article in English or any other language, please select your preference from the top left corner of the website. El 27 de "Jornada de Acción de la Sociedad Civil Colombiana; lo que construimos juntas, juntos y juntes en Bogotá 🇨🇴"

The 15th Global Forum on Migration and Development - GFMD Summit in Colombia, a country that has pioneered large-scale regularisation programmes, was the ideal venue to discuss why regularisation saves lives and must be grounded in human rights.

Together with colleagues from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), civil society delegates and partners from across regions, we co-hosted the side event “Securing lives through regularisation: a rights-based agenda,” during the first day of the Summit.

🔗 Read our short recap of the event and why regularisation, done right, is a win for everyone: https://gfmdcivilsociety.org/civil-society-highlights-positive-impacts-of-regularisation-for-migrants-and-communities-at-the-gfmd/

The conversation was practical and pointed, with four overarching takeaways:

1️⃣ Regularisation protects. It stabilises and opens access to work, health care and education, reducing exploitation and precarity for people on the move and benefiting host communities and local economies.
2️⃣ It must be doable. Procedures should be simple, accessible, and affordable, with clear information, timelines, and other relevant factors.
3️⃣ Rights first, always. Gender- and child-sensitive design, due process, data protection and firewalls are critical.
4️⃣ Joint action is a must. Progress depends on cooperation between national and local authorities, consulates, employers, trade unions, and migrant-led and community organisers.

💭 If there’s one thing attendees took away, it’s that this isn’t theory. We heard concrete experiences from the ground: the Freemove Project, presented by Professor Diego Acosta, showing how legal design can open (or close) real pathways; the State of Tlaxcala on linking regularisation to services and decent work; Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on anchoring programmes in rights and accountability; and civil society voices from Alianza Americas and Platform for Undocumented Migrants - PICUM on closing implementation gaps, strengthening community accompaniment, and keeping migrants’ rights at the centre.

✊ Resist, Reclaim, Realise: Migrant Rights are Human Rights

At the 15th Forum on Migration and Development Summit, global civil society came under the 3Rs campaign, urging communities, civil society, migrants, and policymakers to:

the criminalisation of migrants, the intimidation of human rights defenders, and the silencing of migrant voices.
the language of human rights, and the dignity, humanity, and justice of all people on the move.
a collective vision for just migration systems, rooted in truth, humanity, and rights.

🌍 This is a global campaign coming at a defining moment, since when human rights have become something that states don’t even aspire to anymore, we can no longer settle for vague commitments or empty declarations. Join the movement, resist, reclaim, realise!

Read the full article to learn more about the campaign 👇

🔸 https://gfmdcivilsociety.org/resist-reclaim-realise-civil-society-launches-unprecedented-global-campaign-on-migrant-rights-at-the-gfmd-summit/
🔸 https://resistreclaimrealise.org/

At the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) Summit, we made the 3Rs unavoidable. Over 3️⃣ days in Riohacha, civil society didn’t just speak; we showed up with actions.

In the library courtyard, we installed a monument for those being left behind, outside decision-making spaces and outside the protections they’re owed. Inside the Overflow Room, immediately after the Opening, we stood together and held up signs to remind everyone that this is not “business as usual”. And across panels and from the floor, we led with . . , in every intervention.

This is not a one-off. It’s the start of a long-term push to take back the narrative, rebuild accountability, and demand real protections where people live, move and work.

🔗 Learn more about the campaign: https://resistreclaimrealise.org/

Speaking of the campaign, the Grassroots Forum on Migration Governance (GFMG) is dedicating its 5th webinar in the capacity-building series to mobilise civil society in the lead-up to the 2026 International Migration Review Forum for the Campaign, with a webinar called ‘Resist, Reclaim, Realise…a global campaign on the road to the IMRF.’

📆 Thursday, 25 September from 16:00 - 17:00 (GMT +2)
✍ Register: https://lnkd.in/e6zZf5Yq

An added bonus, our own college, Hector Poveda, will be moderating this session.

Hope to see you there!