BY FRANK ELBERS (FGJ ‘16) - Next week world leaders descend on Marrakesh, Morocco to put the finishing touches on a long-awaited, and by now controversial, new framework for managing international migration. The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, as it is officially called, will be discussed at the intergovernmental conference on December 10-11, after which the UN General Assembly is expected to formally adopt it before the end of the year. The Global Compact for Migration (you can read the full 30-page document here) is a voluntary pact negotiated by UN member states over the last two years. It is not a treaty, therefore not binding on participating states, and has no means of enforcement. During the negotiation process the United States, Hungary, Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, and Poland have made it clear they do not support the compact as it presumably encourages migration. READ MORE