ABSTRACT
In international or global diplomacy, the concepts of ‘Geostrategy’ and ‘Geopolitics’ are all about strategic analysis. As an analysis between international relations theories and geostrategy realities, it’s essentially the exploring of relationships and interactions between states or countries, civilizations, peoples and economics. Migration implies mobility and people on the move traverse geopolitical terrain, thereby they become both the narrative and also the result of such mobility. Moreover, all international migrants are from some country and move to another. This makes them susceptible to the laws and rules of different countries and dependant on the geostrategies of the time and region.
Back in 2016, 193 members of the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a non-binding political declaration, the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, pledging to uphold the rights of refugees and migrants, help them resettle and ensure they had access to education and jobs. This ‘New York Declaration on Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants’ saw the launching of a two-year process to develop a Global Compact on Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration, or as it is better known, ‘the Global Compact for Migration’. It resulted in the final adoption of this Global Compact in December 2018 at Marrakesh.
While increasing volumes of research have focused on the actual and potential contributions of migrant communities to sustainable development or poverty reduction in their countries of origin, the findings have not been systematically translated into policy change. This needs to be looked at by all Governments since migration is a reality of global diplomacy and the world is beginning to view it as such.
