After concluding the IX Summit of Leaders of North America, Canada, the United States and Mexico, a joint statement was presented on the progress and plans agreed in various meetings held.
Following the trilateral meeting in Washington DC, the first since 2016 between the three countries, the joint statement “Building back better together: A safe and prosperous North America” was presented.
One of the sections of the declaration was entitled "Migration, development and a safe North America", which addresses the factors that have caused the increase in migration, and the health, economic, human rights and security challenges facing the countries of origin.
The importance of addressing the root causes of migration through investment in these regions was raised, prioritizing development cooperation in order to create economic opportunities that benefit everyone.
“Our intention is to work together to face this challenge in our hemisphere. We reaffirm our commitment, based on shared responsibility, to take an ambitious and comprehensive approach to safe, orderly and humane migration management. We look forward to continuing to work with partners throughout the Americas to support this goal, ”the statement explains.
The joint vision of the three countries is to strengthen and increase protection for refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in vulnerable conditions throughout the North American region. It also emphasizes the need to create programs that provide protection and support to migrant groups with higher risks and to people who have been victims of human trafficking.
Regarding legal migration, the statement explains the following: “We are committed to strengthening opportunities for migrants to access our countries through legal channels, whether through seasonal and temporary work, family reunification or humanitarian protection, including resettlement. ”.
In this sense, it seeks to promote migration routes through labor mobility programs, especially in the agricultural sector.
"We invite more countries to join us in tackling the challenges of unprecedented migration through a new and more ambitious regional pact on migration and protection," the section concludes.
