A national civil society forum has been established to facilitate the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) that Bangladesh will host for the first time in December 2016.

The initiative titled Bangladesh Civil Society Coordination Committee for GFMD 2016 (BCSCC) was launched at a city hotel on Saturday (5 March), said a press release.

The GFMD is a voluntary, informal, non-binding and government-led process to advance understanding and cooperation on the mutually reinforcing relationship between migration and development and to foster practical and action-oriented outcomes.

This is for the second time that Asia will host this important global that began in 2007, said the press release.

The BCSCC feels that the event provides an unique opportunity to push the issue of rights and dignity of migrant workers and that civil society of the host country has an important role in shaping the GFMD agenda, in informing the government process, in pushing forward issues in the official Civil Society Days and in highlighting concerns that not covered in official process at the People’s Global Action on Migration, Development and Human Rights.

43 human rights, migrants’ associations, development NGOs and international organizations participated in the launch event and charted out programmes to mark the GFMD.

The sessions were chaired by CR Abrar of RMMRU and Co-chaired by Syed Saiful Haque of WARBE DF.

Among others Nur Khan of ASK, Hassan Imam of BRAC, Shakirul Islam of OKUP, Sumaiya Islam of BOMSA, Atiqun Nabi of INAFI and Biman Barua Chowdhury of BASUG participated in the discussions. The sessions were also addressed by William Gois representing Migrants’ Rights International and Tatcee Macabuag of Migrant Forum of Asia.