UN General Assembly
2017

The movement of persons across borders is a natural phenomenon. Migrants are an asset both to their countries of destination and their countries of origin. Jamaica highly values the contribution that our diaspora makes to national development and to the development of their host countries. We are actively working on strategies to deepen our engagement. Consistent with a renewed focus on placing people at the centre of sustainable development, we must not forget the plight of the refugees and persons displaced by conflict and natural disasters — occurrences not of their own making. Against this background, the ongoing deliberations on the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration take on even more significance as we move to the intergovernmental negotiations phase during this session of the General Assembly.