Agreements on "achievement": EU bishops support migration pact

With the migration pact, the UN wants to set the principles for dealing with flight and migration for the first time. Although the Bundestag has now agreed to the agreement, but the criticism of the pact continues - in Germany and many other countries.

With the Catholic bishops within the EU, another sociopolitical group has spoken out in favor of the document. Bishops in Europe have demanded that EU governments approve the document, which is also being rejected by a number of Catholic countries within the EU, notably Austria and Poland.

The bishops called on the EU states "to make this Uno-Migration Pact an achievement for the common good of humanity". In Germany, above all, the AfD mobilizes against the pact.

Design migration

In the declaration of the Catholic bishops, the President of the Commission of Episcopal Conferences in the EU, the Luxembourg Archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich, also referred to reminders of Pope Francis. The Pope had explicitly called for "welcoming, protecting, promoting and integrating migrants and refugees in our societies".

The UN Migration Compact recognizes a shared responsibility "to shape and regulate migration for the benefit of all people and societies involved". The aim is to ensure security and protection for both migrants and host societies "by promoting legal migration routes that prevent trafficking in human beings, deadly travel, family destruction and violence".

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 decent work conditions". 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.

Countries that reject the agreement

More and more countries reject the text draft for the UN-Migration pact. Most recently, Australia's government said the agreement could "encourage illegal immigration." The United States, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Israel, Hungary, Bulgaria and Estonia also opposed the agreement.

The UN-Pact is to be accepted by the international community at a meeting on 10 and 11 December in Morocco. Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that she wanted to travel to the signing ceremony.