标签： Dominica

At the conclusion of the second International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) hosted at United Nations Headquarters in New York, national governments from every region of the globe have finalized four days of intensive negotiations on cross-border migration challenges and shared opportunities, unanimously approving a new Progress Declaration to guide collective action over the coming years.

Negotiated directly by all participating UN Member States, the new declaration formally reaffirms the international community’s shared commitment to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), the landmark non-binding global agreement on migration first adopted in 2018, according to an official statement released by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Beyond restating this core commitment, the declaration takes stock of all progress made in implementing the GCM since the first review forum, and outlines clear priority action areas for member states through 2030. Key priorities highlighted in the text include upholding fundamental labor rights for migrant workers, expanding access to official legal identity documentation for all migrants, creating more safe and regular migration pathways, reducing preventable deaths along migration routes, and strengthening cross-border collaboration between nations connected by major migration corridors.

H.E. Annalena Baerbock, who presided over the forum in accordance with existing UN General Assembly resolutions, emphasized that migration is a universal reality that touches every nation in some capacity. “Migration is an inevitable human reality. The question is not whether migration is good or bad. The question is whether we manage it well, and manage it together. As every country today is either a country of origin, transit, or destination – and most times even all three at once,” Baerbock told delegates. She added that coordinated international cooperation remains indispensable to tackling migration-related challenges, noting that “No state can manage migration alone. It requires cooperation, it requires international regulation. And that is precisely the purpose of the Global Compact. This is precisely the purpose of multilateralism.”

Held from May 5 to 8, this second IMRF marked the second global progress review of the GCM, a voluntary agreement designed to address all forms of migration, guided by ten principle aligned with international law. Months before the forum opened, participating member states submitted 90 voluntary national reviews of their own GCM implementation efforts – a 30 percent increase compared to submissions ahead of the first forum in 2022, with submissions from every global region. Forum organizers note that these reviews represent the most detailed global snapshot of national migration compact implementation compiled to date.

Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration and Coordinator of the UN Network on Migration, highlighted a key takeaway from the forum’s deliberations: that national sovereignty and the human rights of migrants do not have to be mutually exclusive. “Every sovereign state has the right to set its own migration priorities. Every migrant has the right to be treated with dignity. This Forum showed that these two truths are not in tension – and that when countries work together, both can be upheld,” Pope said.

In a nod to the GCM’s inclusive whole-of-society approach, organizers held an informal multi-stakeholder pre-forum hearing on May 4, one day ahead of the official plenary opening. The hearing brought together a diverse cross-section of stakeholders beyond national government delegates, including migrant representatives, civil society organizations, diaspora and faith-based groups, local government officials, private sector leaders, trade union representatives, parliamentarians, independent human rights institutions, delegates from the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, academic researchers, media representatives, and UN partner agencies.

Over the four days of official forum proceedings, delegates joined roundtable discussions, policy dialogues, and general plenary debates focused on advancing the agreed 2030 migration priorities, with conversations shaped by earlier consultations held at local, national, and regional levels across the globe. In addition to the Progress Declaration, the forum also saw a dramatic expansion of concrete commitments to support global migration action. Since December 2021, governments, UN agencies, and allied partner organizations have contributed more than 450 individual pledges to advance GCM goals, compared to just 158 pledges recorded ahead of the first review forum. These pledges cover a wide range of initiatives, from improving working conditions for migrant workers and scaling up digital civil registration systems to supporting nations hosting large displaced migrant populations and contributing funding to the Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund established under the GCM framework.

The United Nations Network on Migration, a coalition of 39 UN entities coordinated by IOM, has continued to support national governments in their GCM implementation efforts, providing support for resource mobilization, capacity building, and the development of national action plans. The next full International Migration Review Forum is scheduled to convene in 2030, in line with the GCM’s review timeline.

Residents of the Caribbean island nation of Dominica are facing immediate financial strain after government officials announced sharp increases to all petroleum product prices, set to take effect on May 5, 2026. Matthan Walter, the country’s Director of Trade, attributed the dramatic price adjustments to the escalating ongoing conflict between the US, Israel and Iran, which has disrupted global energy supply chains and pushed up crude and refined fuel costs worldwide.

Walter officially outlined the new regulated price points for all major fuel grades in a public statement. Regular gasoline will now sell for $17.98 per unit, while High Sulfur Diesel (HSD) is priced at $19.23, kerosene at $18.21, and Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) – the most widely used road transport fuel in the country – has reached $20.53. Compared to the last official price adjustment, these jumps represent dramatic percentage increases: 26.7% for gasoline, 33.87% for HSD, 23.33% for kerosene, and a near 39% rise for ULSD.

In his address, Walter stressed that the price surge is not an isolated issue unique to Dominica. The global energy market disruption has pushed up fuel prices across the globe, he noted, with other member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) already reporting similarly elevated costs for the same petroleum products. Walter called on the Dominican public to practice patience as the country collectively works through the economic fallout of the distant geopolitical conflict.

To help consumers offset the impact of higher fuel costs on household budgets, Walter outlined a series of practical steps the public can take to reduce energy consumption and lower overall spending. He recommended that residents adopt carpooling for daily travel, cut back on non-essential trips, and reduce unnecessary electricity use at home – measures that he says will ultimately ease financial pressure on individual households while supporting broader national economic stabilization efforts.

The announcement also addressed growing speculation over potential increases to public bus and taxi fares. Walter reminded transport operators that any fare adjustment must follow official protocol: any request for a rate hike must first be submitted as a formal written request to the national transport board, which holds sole authority to review and approve revised fare pricing for public and private commercial passenger transport. Closing his statement, Walter expressed confidence that with prudent personal decision-making and collective patience, the country can successfully navigate this period of elevated energy costs.

On May 6, 2026, a landmark new cooperation agreement between the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Government of Spain was formally signed during the 10th convening of the Joint Technical Committee (JTC) for the CARICOM-Spain Joint Fund for Scientific and Technical Cooperation, unlocking expanded regional support for Caribbean healthcare systems and marking a new milestone in decades of cross-regional partnership. Dr. Carla Barnett, CARICOM Secretary-General, and María Cristina Pérez Gutiérrez, Spain’s Ambassador to CARICOM, put their signatures to the agreement in an official signing ceremony held alongside the meeting.

Under the terms of the new pact, the Spanish government is committing €400,000 in funding to a targeted regional health initiative named “Strengthening Regional Leadership, Governance and Coordinated Action in Health to Address New and Existing Health Challenges in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).” The multi-stakeholder project will be executed collaboratively by the CARICOM Secretariat and the Caribbean Public Health Agency, with the ultimate goal of shoring up fragmented local healthcare infrastructure and improving regional capacity to respond to both persistent public health gaps and emerging health threats across the bloc’s member states.

Opening the JTC meeting, co-Chair Elizabeth Solomon, who also serves as Assistant Secretary-General of CARICOM’s Foreign and Community Relations Directorate, emphasized the deep, long-standing collaborative ties between the regional bloc and the European nation. Solomon noted that the CARICOM-Spain Joint Fund has grown far beyond a basic financing mechanism, evolving into a results-driven support program that prioritizes practical, demand-aligned action to advance Caribbean-led regional priorities, delivering measurable, on-the-ground benefits to residents across all CARICOM member states. “The CARICOM-Spain Joint Fund continues to play an important role in advancing regional priorities through cooperation that has evolved into a results-oriented programme of support that is both practical and responsive delivering tangible benefits to the people of the Caribbean Community,” Solomon stated in her opening remarks.

Ambassador Pérez Gutiérrez echoed these remarks, reaffirming Spain’s unwavering commitment to long-term partnership with the Caribbean bloc. “Spain values its partnership with CARICOM and remains committed to supporting initiatives that strengthen resilience, sustainability and regional cooperation,” she said, underscoring the Spanish government’s continued focus on supporting Caribbean development priorities.

Beyond the health agreement, meeting participants also conducted a comprehensive review of two additional proposed regional development projects that have a combined total valuation of $700,000 U.S. dollars. The first proposal, the Greening Caribbean Ports Programme (GCPP), centers on advancing sustainable maritime infrastructure across Caribbean Small Island Developing States, and is slated to be implemented by the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in partnership with the Port Management Association of the Caribbean if approved. The second proposal, focused on disaster preparedness, aims to “Strengthen the Caribbean Emergency Response Capabilities through the Next Level Regional Response Mechanism (RRM),” with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency tapped as the lead implementing body for the initiative.

By the close of the meeting, representatives from both CARICOM and Spain issued a joint reaffirmation of the critical role the CARICOM-Spain Joint Fund plays in driving inclusive regional development. Both sides described the fund as an indispensable mechanism for advancing shared development priorities and deepening technical cooperation between the Caribbean bloc and Spain, with future collaborative projects expected to continue targeting climate resilience, public health, and sustainable infrastructure across the region.