eca0003 3 i 380  dpa 0045

Switzerland/migration/UN/
REFILE
1ST LEAD
Switzerland joins list of countries resisting UN migration pact
By dpa correspondents =

Geneva (dpa) - Switzerland is joining a growing number of countries
that will refrain from signing a UN migration pact in December, the
government announced on Wednesday.

The government said it "wishes to postpone its final decision pending
conclusion of the parliamentary debates."

This failure to secure domestic support for the pact, which is meant
to regulate global migration, is notable because Switzerland's UN
envoy Juerg Lauber was one of the two chief negotiators of the
agreement.

UN member countries are scheduled to gather in the Moroccan city of
Marrakesh on December 10 and 11 to sign the "Global Compact for
Migration."

Swiss opponents of the pact fear that its non-binding political goals
could be interpreted as legal obligations in the long run.

They include the nationalist People's Party, the country's largest
political movement, as well as liberal and centre-right
parliamentarians.

Maria Fernanda Espinosa, the head of the United Nation's 193-member
General Assembly, said she understands some countries are "not ready"
to commit to the compact but hopes they will change their minds.

She added that the agreement is a "framework to enable burden
sharing" that allows "enormous flexibility" for countries to adapt it
to suit their domestic policies.

Migration is a "transboundary phenomenon" that needs to be tackled
multilaterally, she said.

"Every day we have proof that we need a shared framework on migration
because we see issues emerging every day on migration and unusual
migration flows around the world," Espinosa told reporters in New
York.

"So we do really need a shared agreement between countries to ensure
that the human rights of migrants are guaranteed and that we promote
an orderly and regular migration around the world."

The "Global Compact for Migration" aims to tackle the factors that
make people seek better lives abroad, to fight people smuggling and
to manage borders, while protecting various migrant rights.

The document acknowledges that migration causes problems in host
countries, but it also talks of the "overall economic, social and 
political benefits" of seeking work abroad.

The pact does not deal with refugees, which are covered by a separate
UN document that is being finalized.

The countries that have rejected the migration pact so far are
Austria, Australia, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary, Israel, Poland and the United States.

# Notebook

## Refile

## Note to editors
- adds head of UNGA in grafs 7-11

## Internet links
- [Swiss government statement](http://dpaq.de/EM405)
- [UN migration pact](http://dpaq.de/hKivX)

* * * *
The following information is not intended for publication

## Editorial contacts
- Reporting by: Albert Otti in Vienna, Christiane Oelrich in Geneva
  and Helen Corbett in New York
- Editing by: Rachel More, +49 30 2852 31472, <international@dpa.com>

dpa al rmo hct rmo

212322 GMT Nov 18

