"The knowledge and expertise Ambassador Marchi will bring to ICMC’s work in the area of trade and development could not be more timely”, notes ICMC Secretary General Johan Ketelers. “There is a significant division between the attitudes of migrant countries of origin, transit and destination that can only be reduced by the development of new approaches to human mobility and the global organization of labour”.

Ambassador Marchi will support ICMC efforts to foster political willingness towards the development of a dynamic system of global migration governance that efficiently responds to new societal and political challenges. As policy makers and global leaders look for more manageable and flexible structures to allow labour surpluses and shortages to meet, ICMC, together with Ambassador Marchi, will explore alternative schemes that promote a more fluent circulation of labour, and better managed global mobility and protection to migrants.

Former Canadian Trade Minister and Ambassador to the WTO, Marchi has recently joined the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) in Geneva as a Senior Fellow. He also served as Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.

Working directly with migrants and refugees in more than 40 countries around the world, and actively contributing to policy development work at the international level, ICMC advocates and implements rights-based policies and durable solutions for vulnerable refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants across the globe, regardless of faith, race, ethnicity or nationality.

For further information, please contact ICMC Communications, + 41 (0)22 919 10 20; info@icmc.net<