Excellencies,

Mr. Director General,

Let me thank the United States, the Philippines and IOM for organizing this eye-opening briefing.

Unfortunately, we are witnessing various man-made and natural disasters that cause immense human sufferings. Turkey, hosting over 1.7 million Syrians, believes that countries have to work closely in order to provide assistance to and protect migrants caught up in crises. Indeed, latest unfortunate incidents in the Mediterranean once again proved thatcooperation in the international fora is of utmost importance.

In this regard, Turkey particularly welcomes the MICIC Initiative. We believe that MICIC constitutes an important platform to exchange views on migrants in the countries in crisis in order to protect their hopes and rights.

Let me also underline, as the Chair of the GFMD, that GFMD has welcomed the MICIC since its inception.Protection of migrants and their rights is one of the priorities of our GFMD Chairmanship.


The Istanbul Meeting to be held between 14-16 October this year will have a dedicated roundtable on migrants who are compelled to cross international borders that will benefit from the outcomes of MICIC consultations.

Last but not least, the migration experience is not only limited to the incidents mentioned above. Migrants have become an undeniable part of our development effort and daily lives around the globe. All the host countries should spare no effort to ensure protection of the human rights of migrants, their dignity and well-being. We believe that migrants are the elements that diversify and enrich the culture of the society they live in, as well as contribute to the economies of the host countries. Therefore, we would like to call on the States that have not yet done so, to adhere to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, adopted by the UN General Assembly Resolution 45/158 of 18 December 1990.

Thank you.