Refugee policy: Israel and Poland reject migration pact

With the migration pact, the UN wants to set the principles for dealing with flight and migration for the first time. The document will be signed at a summit in Morocco on 10 and 11 December. But there are more and more refusals.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the State Department not to sign the migration pact. "We are determined to protect our borders against illegal immigrants, and we have done so, and we will continue to do so," Netanyahu said, according to his bureau.

Israel is pursuing a restrictive refugee policy. The country has been trying for months to deport tens of thousands of African migrants. Israel has therefore also built a barrier on the border with Egypt.

The UN migration pact

The key points at a glance

The UN Migration Pact for "Safe, Orderly and Regulated Migration" will be formally adopted on 10 and 11 December at a conference in Marrakech, Morocco. In Germany, a debate has arisen about the document, not least within the Union.

Non-binding agreement

After lengthy negotiations, the United Nations first reached a global agreement in July, which identifies more than 20 migration policy objectives. The agreements are not binding. Rather, it is a declaration of intent to prevent illegal immigration and to better control legal immigration.

Data and documents

The objectives of the Migration Pact include the collection and use of correct data as a basis for political action. A "public discourse based on verifiable facts" should be promoted. It also seeks to ensure that all migrants have "proof of legal identity". According to the Foreign Office, this is above all a matter of the homelands of the migrants issuing ID cards to their citizens quickly and smoothly.

Discrimination and human rights

In the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), countries commit to eliminating all forms of discrimination. This includes the persecution of "hate crimes", as it is already legally anchored in Germany in racist, xenophobic or other inhuman motives.

A further goal is the rescue of human lives as well as a stronger international fight against smugglers and human trafficking. Detention of immigrants, such as on the US border with Mexico, is mentioned as a "last resort".

labor migration

The Pact provides for the promotion of a "fair and ethical recruitment of workers and ensuring the conditions for decent work". According to the Foreign Office, this is primarily about migrant and seasonal workers who are threatened by exploitation and trafficking in other countries.

In general, labor mobility should be facilitated, for example by facilitating the mutual recognition of qualifications and promoting training and further education. In addition, immigrants should be granted access to basic services. However, this is already regulated by law in Germany.

Impact in Germany

The UN-Migration Pact is not an international treaty and therefore not binding. According to the Federal Government, Germany already fulfills the political guidelines contained therein in any case. Nor is it an international refugee agreement, but an agreement to cover all forms of global migration.

The pact does not include acceptance commitments. By contrast, the Federal Government hopes that countries of origin and transit will be more politically involved and motivated to make a greater contribution to reducing illegal migration and combating the causes of flight.

Poland also announced that it would not sign the document. Earlier, the US, Austria, Hungary, Australia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Estonia had already rejected the pact.

In Germany comes mainly from the AfD massive criticism. Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) had demanded a vote at the federal party conference on the handling of the refugee pact on the weekend. "If necessary" Germany will accept the pact later. The thrust of Spahn is controversial in the Union. The congress will be held on 7 and 8 December in Hamburg.

Chancellor Angela Merkel and France's head of state Emmanuel Macron support the agreement. Although the contract is not mandatory, but yet an important stage of international cooperation, including in the fight against trafficking networks, said Macron on Monday during a state visit to Belgium.