UN conference on migration closes in Morocco, compact adopted

The UN intergovernmental conference on global migration closed Tuesday in the Moroccan city of Marrakech.

The two-day conference witnessed the formal adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration by over 150 countries.

Speaking at a closing press conference, UN Special Representative for International Migration, Louise Arbour, said the conference was "a historic moment for migration and multilateralism."

"With the compact, we have an opportunity to embark on new phase on handling migration issue," she said.

Arbour stressed the compact is designed to enhance "safety and order" in migration management, and reduce "recourse to dangerous, chaotic migratory routes," adding that "it seeks to maximize all the benefits of human mobility and mitigate its challenges."

She also called for tackling the misinformation surrounding migration and the international accord, saying that the "non-binding" compact imposes no obligations on member states and doesn't infringe any sovereignty.

For his part, the Moroccan Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, said the adoption represents only the first step.

He urged all stakeholders to maintain the momentum witnessed in the conference, stressing the importance of multilateralism in addressing migration and other pressing international issues.

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration lays out a cooperative framework comprised of 23 objectives with each one containing a commitment and a range of actions.

According to the United Nations, there are currently some 258 million migrants worldwide, up from 173 million in 2000.

UN data showed that more than 60,000 migrants have died on the move since 2000.