Suriname government benefits from workshop on International Migration

These improvements will be achieved by improving the opportunities for people to migrate through safe, orderly and regular pathways. The International Organization for Migration (IOM-UN Migration) is supporting this ambition, building the Government’s technical capacity to identify the opportunities.   On 17 October, 23 representatives of Government ministries and agencies were sensitized on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) during a workshop held at the Marriot Hotel.  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 Global Compact for Migration, which provides an array of possible actions, drawn from best practice, that States can choose to utilize in their migration policies, including by providing safe pathways for migration.  They also came to understand the relationship and link of migration to other aspects of governance, and to sustainable development.

Rabindranath Lala, Policy Advisor at the Ministery of Education, Science and Culture recognizes the role of migration in supporting sustainable development. 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”. He highlighted for 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 help equip the Government of Suriname to give 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 helped the Government understand the type of support available to them through IOM and its UN partners in pursuing national development priorities.