缅北禁地

The first-ever plenary session of the 缅北禁地General Assembly on migration issues opens 14 September at the United Nations in New York, with a focus on ways to maximize the development benefits of migration and to reduce difficulties.

鈥淲e are only beginning to learn how to make migration work more consistently for development,鈥� Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a report prepared in anticipation of the meeting. 鈥淓ach of us holds a piece of the migration puzzle, but none has the whole picture. It is time to start putting it together.鈥�

Conceived and scheduled more than two years ago by the General Assembly, the 14-15 September High-level Dialogue follows a period of intense public attention to the cross-border movement of people, and a quickening pace of multilateral talks on migration.

In addition to the plenary debate, the 14-15 September High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development brings ministers and delegates together in informal round table discussions on themes such as remittances (i.e., monies sent home by workers abroad); smuggling of migrant and trafficking in persons; and partnerships at the bilateral and regional levels.

• Opening statement by the Secretary-General
• Summary by the President of the General Assembly
• Closing statement by the President of the General Assembly