United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General
Secretary-General Appoints Louise Arbour of Canada Special Representative for International Migration (9 March 2017)
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Louise Arbour of Canada as his Special Representative for International Migration. The Special Representative will coordinate the work of the UN system to implement the New York Declaration, adopted at the High-level Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants on 19 September 2016. Ms. Arbour will lead UN system-wide preparations for the 2018 intergovernmental conference on international migration, working with Member States, in partnership with other stakeholders, as they develop a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration. She will also lead United Nations advocacy efforts on international migration, provide policy advice and coordinate the engagement of United Nations entities on migration-related issues.
Ms. Arbour has a long and distinguished career in international affairs. She previously served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and as Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. She is a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and of the Court of Appeal for Ontario. From 2009 to 2014, Ms. Arbour was President and CEO of the International Crisis Group.
The Secretary-General would like to thank for their dedicated service and effective leadership, Peter Sutherland of Ireland, who served as Special Representative on Migration for more than 11 years from January 2006; Karen AbuZayd of the United States, who served as Special Adviser on the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants; and Izumi Nakamitsu of Japan, who has been serving as Special Adviser ad interim on the follow-up to the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants since November 2016.
Source: http://www.unpopulation.org/press/en/2017/sga1712.doc.htm
Peter Sutherland is the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for International Migration. Appointed in January 2006, he supported the Secretary-General in promoting the United Nations agenda on international migration prior to and during the 2006 High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development as well as the second High-level Dialogue in 2013. With the Secretary-General, he proposed and advocated for the creation of the State-led Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) in 2006, which now attracts over 150 countries annually to advance international cooperation on migration. In addition to serving as the primary link between the United Nations and the Global Forum process, Mr. Sutherland advises the Secretary-General on issues related to international migration and development; leads initiatives to foster cooperation on critical issues such as protecting migrants affected by crises and ensuring that migration is considered in the follow-up to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; and writes and speaks frequently on migration-related issues (see below).
Advocate for migrants
Mr. Sutherland is a strong advocate for promoting practical action to increase the benefits of migration for countries of origin, destination, and migrants alike, while reducing its economic and human costs. He strongly believes that international migration, development, and human rights are intrinsically interconnected, and advocates for promoting and respecting the rights of all migrants, regardless of their status. He is currently highly engaged in promoting global responsibility sharing for migrants affected by crises such as civil conflicts or natural and man-made disasters, as well as developing priorities for international cooperation on migration in the coming decade.
Career
Mr. Sutherland has served as Attorney General of Ireland; EC Commissioner responsible for Competition Policy; Director General of GATT and then of The World Trade Organisation; Chairman of Goldman Sachs International; Chairman of the London School of Economics; a member of the UN Commission on Human Security; Chairman of the European Institute of Public Administration; and Chairman of BP plc. He has received numerous honours, including an honorary knighthood, as well as awards and honorary degrees for his work on regional and global interdependence. He currently serves as Professor in Practice at the London School of Economics in the School’s Institute of Global Affairs as well as the President of the International Catholic Migration Commission.
Report
3 February 2017Report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Migration (A/71/728)
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Statements
Remarks by Peter D. Sutherland, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on International Migration
Remarks by Peter D. Sutherland, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on International Migration delivered at the <>Fourteenth Coordination Meeting on International Migration ...
Joint Statement on South East Asia situation
Joint Statement by UNHCR, OHCHR, IOM and the SRSG for Migration and Development: A comprehensive people-oriented approach to the irregular movement of migrants and refugees in South East Asia ...
Joint Statement on Andaman Sea/Bay of Bengal
Joint Statement by UNHCR, OHCHR, IOM and SRSG for Migration and Development on search and rescue at sea, disembarkation, and protection of the human rights of refugees and migrants now imperative to save lives in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea ...
Statement on the European Agenda on Migration
Statement on the European Agenda on Migration by Peter Sutherland, UN Special Representative for International Migration and Development ...
Cooperation between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations in maintaining international peace and security - Security Council, 7439th meeting
UNWebTv
UN Security Council Briefing by Peter Sutherland, UN Special Representative for International Migration
Joint Statement on Protection in the Mediterranean in Light of the EU Council’s Decision of 23 April 2015
UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for International Migration and Development Peter Sutherland, and Director-General of the International Organization for Migration William Lacy Swing ...
Joint Statement on Mediterranean Crossings
UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for International Migration and Development Peter Sutherland, and Director-General of the International Organization for Migration William Lacy Swing ...
News and features
In Focus Migration and Refugees
27 May 2015
UN Press Conference on International migration
23 January 2006
Articles published on the Project Syndicate platform
SRSG Sutherland publishes frequently on the Project Syndicate platform; his articles are reproduced by newspapers around the world and are available in different languages at: http://www.project-syndicate.org/contributor/peter-sutherland.
Migration’s Private-Sector Problem-Solvers
International cooperation among governments is necessary to help displaced people, but it is not always sufficient. The private sector is providing critical support for migrants as they travel through...
Cities for Migrants
National and international debates about migration are deeply flawed, owing to their focus on security – and so are the policies that result from them. If municipal authorities were empowered to play...
Migration Fact vs. Migration Fiction
Because migration affects economies and societies worldwide, it rightly belongs at the center of political debate. But public opinion on this crucial topic tends to be shaped by emotions, rather than...
Defusing Migration
Throughout the developed world, populist demagogues are claiming that migration is draining national resources and eroding national sovereignty. Their lies have already pushed voters in the UK to...
Saving Our Drowning Humanity
In the last week of May, as least 1,050 migrants and asylum-seekers died in the Mediterranean Sea, victims of the international community’s unwillingness to address the needs of the world’s most vulnerable people...
Helping Refugees Together
This year is likely to be the most momentous for refugee protection and migration since the signing of the Geneva Convention in 1951. Depending on the choices we make, we will either help create more...
Europe’s Necessary European
German Chancellor Angela Merkel stands in the tradition of Walter Hallstein, the first president of the European Community, who spoke of a Europe “without military divisions relying on the rule of law...
A Better Year for Migrants?
The Mediterranean migration crisis has exposed the inadequacy of European and global systems for protecting migrants, which has enabled populist leaders to win support by stoking public fear. That is ...
Europe’s Bad Example
effective response to the refugee crisis continue to grow, with hundreds of thousands having suffered unnecessarily and bitter divisions jeopardizing
...
Europe’s Race to the Bottom on Refugees
European defense and foreign ministers have just agreed to an ambitious naval operation to disrupt human smuggling and trafficking in the Mediterranean. While this is an important step, military action
...
A Safer Path to Asylum
The majority of the 190,000 people who risked their lives to cross the Mediterranean last year are likely to be granted asylum in Europe. It is time for the European Union to separate the discussion
...
The Migration Opportunity
With some 1,600 asylum-seekers having died in the Mediterranean Sea since June 1, Europe's policy toward migrants and asylum-seekers is clearly in need of reform. While Europe cannot help all of
...
Dying for Europe
In the last year, more than 4,000 people have lost their lives attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Africa to Europe. As EU commissioners prepare to debate an immigration strategy, they must
...
Migration’s Hall of Mirrors
US President Barack Obama, concerned about his party’s ability to retain control of the Senate, has decided to put off immigration reform until after the election in November. But a new survey
...
Do Europeans Really Fear Migrants?
Though right-wing populists are set to make substantial gains in the upcoming European Parliament election, it
would be a mistake to conclude that migrants' mere presence in Europe fuels support for
...
Migration on the Move
Migration – when it is safe, legal, and voluntary – is the oldest poverty-reduction and human-development strategy.
Fortunately, it seems that this long-ignored reality is finally sinking in, with
...
A Decalogue for the UN Migration Summit
Next month, for only the second time in its history, the UN General Assembly will focus on international migration. Governments should commit themselves to ten realistic goals – all of which would ...
The Changing Mood on Migration
Headlines about migration can seem unbearably stark: attacks on foreigners by neo-fascists in Greece, domestic workers on death row in the Gulf, a callous campaign by the British government to drive ...
The Responsibility to Protect Migrants
With the number of international migrants on track nearly to double in the coming decades, a global framework is needed to help those caught in crisis situations, such as now exists in Syria. Most ...
Migration Is Development
It is perhaps understandable that the original Millennium Development Goals did not mention either internal or international migration. But migration is the original strategy for people seeking to ...
The Bilateral Threat to Free Trade
The Doha Round of global trade talks appears to have died this year, almost without a whimper. While a small portion of the project may be saved, the essential reality is that this is a unique ...
Europe’s Immigration Challenge
European countries must finally and honestly acknowledge that, like the US, Canada, and Australia, they are lands of immigrants. The issue is not how many new immigrants are accepted into the EU, but ...
After the Promised Land
Rising anti-immigrant populism in Europe and the US has concealed an important new trend: migration to both has largely stalled. That reversal is one of the great under-reported stories of 2011 (and ...
Europe’s Test in North Africa
Europe’s reaction to the historic revolutions in North Africa has vacillated between exhilaration and fear. But if Europe allows itself to be consumed by its fear that waves of refugees will reach ...
Other Articles
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Concluding remarks at the Common Space by Peter Sutherland ...
Peter Sutherland, United Nations, discusses the ongoing migrant crisis across the EU ...
Peter Sutherland discusses the ongoing migration crisis in the EU ...
Several European countries are coming under criticism for their response to a recent surge of migrants. Peter Sutherland, a special representative for the United Nations, discusses the situation ...
From the Mediterranean to Southeast Asia, hundreds of thousands of migrants are risking dangerous waters to escape war, persecution and economic hardship. Though developed nations have opened their doors to some, the figures are a mere drop in the ocean compared to the millions in need...
The European Commission will this week present a migration policy for Europe, including proposals to set refugee quotas for all EU member states ...
Migration Is Development:
How Migration Matters to the Post‐2015 Debate
Migration 2.0:
A time for action at the UN Summit on Migration and Development