Delegation from Represented by

French Republic De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde

Position Paper for the International Organization for Migration

The agenda before the International Organization for Migration are: (I) Addressing Climate Migration and Cross-
Border Disaster Displacement; (II) Addressing the Issue of Migration in Libya; (III) Strengthening Cooperation
between IOM and Civil Society. The French Republic is one with the international community in ensuring the safety
of refugees amidst climate change and political turmoil.

I. Addressing Climate Migration and Cross-Border Disaster Displacement

184.4 million of people are forcibly displaced due to climate change-induced phenomena and continues to increase
annually at a rapid and turbulent pace. To address cross-border displacement, the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees adopted the Nansen Initiative, a consultative consensus-building process that aims to establish a global
protection agenda responding to the needs of people displaced across borders in the context of climate change.
Furthermore, the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference adopted the Paris Agreement on Climate Change
which gave the political impetus for multiple complex climate migration crises. Moreover, IOM is working with the
multi-sectoral Migrants in Countries in Crisis (MICIC) Initiative that provided guidelines to protect migrants in
countries experiencing conflict of natural disasters and a roadmap for relocating populations affected by disaster
displacement.

The French Republic highly recognizes the role of the research and development (R&D) industry to instrumentalize
mechanisms to solve the issues of human mobility. In line with this, France’s Adaptation to Global Climate Change
highlighted the formulation of climate projections, development of new calculation models and codes, and climate
services that assess impacts and vulnerability of economic, environmental and societal activities to climate change.
In support to this initiative, France spearheaded the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD) 2016-2019 Steering
Group that functions as a follow-up to the work started by the Nansen Initiative focusing on disaster risk reduction
and diminution of displacement risk at the regional and international levels. France, moreover, provided monetary
assistance to the Regional Technical Advisor (RTA) post on trafficking initiative of the United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to address the
exploitation of migrant populations along the migration route.

Recognizing the importance of international cooperation in dealing with this migration challenge, the French
Republic recommends a three-phase framework entitled PREpared: Preparation, Response, and Evaluation that
includes to (1) promote climate resilience to reduce displacement through risk-informed education programming that
will identify early warning systems, early response modalities for crisis management, and the ability to recognise
and address root causes of fragility with R&D, (2) advance a planned and assisted migration scheme consisting of
effective cross-border health measures that adheres to IOM’s Planned Relocation Guidance and PDD to secure safe
and legal migration of people from disaster-inflicted places, (3) create an in-depth monitoring and assessment tool
with the steering body of the Nansen Initiative and Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) to review and
improve on policies, procedures, tools, and practices in climate change adaptation. France remains highly committed
to build on the exceptional impetus generated by COP21 and set an example with its adaptation and mitigation
policies.

II. Addressing the Issue of Migration in Libya

The plight and high-traffic area for migrants in Libya, which has festered for decades, has reached an uncontrollable
level. With an estimated 700,00 to one million migrants and 300,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), it remains
an exceedingly complex migration issue as of today. In the efforts to highlight migration policy areas, the UN
General Assembly adopted the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants (2016) during the 2016 UN
Summit for Refugees and Migrants which paved the way to the global compact on political willingness of Member
States to equitable sharing of responsibilities for supporting the world’s refugees. Furthermore, with the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, IOM has concerted efforts for
development targets into its work in Libya to aid government and societal capacity for development, ensure safe and
decent work for migrants and eliminate any forms of exploitation.
The French Republic, as the first country to accept African refugees from Libya, stands highly committed in
restoring security and order in Libya. Hence, France has initiated an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council
(SC) against slavery and trafficking of migrants in Libya. It highlighted the protection of vulnerable groups,
including migrants, as the centre of the activities of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya. In line with this,
France brought forward a meeting that contributed to the political solution and inter-Libyan dialogue in the Skhirat
Agreements. Furthermore, France has provided a total of €2,942,584 as monetary humanitarian aid and planes,
vessels and medicines as in-kind assistance since the start of the Libyan civil and political unrest in 2011. Moreover,
the French Government has contributed $1 million in 2016 to the Stabilization Facility for Libya of the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for infrastructure rehabilitation in conflict-affected areas. In addition to
this, the North African component of the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa received a monetary assistance of
€600,00 from France for the economic reinsertion and protection of migrants and refugees in Libya.

Noting the international commitment to respond to this migration crisis, the French Republic recommends three-
pronged approach entitled CO-Response or the Communication, Operations and Resilience Response that involves
(1) upholding the inter-Libyan agreement by mediation through a process of national reconciliation involving all
Libyans, including institutional, security and military actors of the State and continue the established political
dialogue (2) intensify the European Union Naval Force Mediterranean or Operation Sophia with enhanced maritime
security skills training including search and rescue activities to save lives and to disrupt smuggling and trafficking
from and to the shores, (3) create resilience building measures through the proper mapping of donor funding
channeled to housing and agriculture services and assistance provisions supported by the UNDP. The French
Republic stays highly committed to contributing inclusive and operational arrangements that will immediately
respond to this greatest historical issue of human migration.

III. Strengthening Cooperation between IOM and Civil Society

The International Organization for Migration has been working with more than 600 innovative projects in over 100
countries as regards to various longstanding issues in human migration - emphasizing the significant need to
establish multi-sectoral cooperation.