Civil Society, the Common Space, and the GFMD

Abstract

Civil society and other non-state agencies have contributed substantially to the evolving global debates on migration and development. Yet where and how they fit into the structure and culture of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) remains a challenge. The Mexican GFMD in 2010 took the traditional government-civil society “interface” to another level by opening up a “common space” for dynamic, frank debate during the opening plenary of the government meeting. The Swiss GFMD Chair in 2011 reinforced this by factoring common spaces into its global “thematic meetings” and into the GFMD Concluding Debate. This chapter reflects on the evolution of the civil society-government relations in the global discussions on migration and development and examines the effectiveness of the GFMD “Common Space” in engaging a wider cross section of civil society in exchanges with governments. It poses questions about who civil society is, and why its engagement with the GFMD has been so unbalanced (e.g., where are the diaspora and the private sector?). It calls on those well placed to bring a stronger development focus to the GFMD to join forces and provide leadership on this. It also calls upon member states to extend more of an agenda-setting role to non-state actors.