25 September 2025
Representatives from several WIMN organizations participated in the 15th Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) in Riohacha, Colombia earlier this month. WIMN members were among more than 800 participants from governments, the private sector, youth groups, and civil society.
The Colombian government, which has adopted a Feminist Migration Foreign Policy, chaired this year’s Forum and hosted the GFMD. Paola Cyment from WIMN’s secretariat commented on Colombia’s positive impact: “Colombia’s rights-based and gender-responsive approach to migration was echoed throughout the summit.” She added, “That voice helped to set the tone of conversations in different panels and expert discussions.”
Unfortunately, many governments chose to only send diplomats from their embassies in Colombia – very few came from country capitols, which had been the usual practice in previous GFMDs. Nonetheless, the GFMD summit provided space for constructive dialogue between governments and civil society in both formal and informal settings.
WIMN co-hosted a side event on the summit’s second day: At the Crossroads: Advancing Gender-Responsive Migration Governance in Times of Crisis. Co-organizers included UN Women, the International Detention Coalition (IDC) and the governments of Colombia, Germany, Switzerland, and Canada. Cyment, who also coordinated WIMN member delegates, spoke on the panel, along with Carolina Gottardo from the International Detention Coalition (IDC), a WIMN member organization.
Above, civil society participants gather prior to GFMD.
Panelists raised concerns about how far-right movements are driving increasingly restrictive migration policies that negatively affect the rights, safety, and lived experiences of migrant women and migrants with diverse SOGIESC (sexual orientation, gender identity, expression, and sex characteristics).
At left: Participants from diverse regions in WIMN co-sponsored side event..
The GFMD also featured an expert panel on care work in migration and two other side events on gender: one on the experiences of migrant women in transit and their integration challenges, and another on international protection for LGBTIQ+ people. Additionally, the governments of Mexico and France co-chaired a roundtable discussion, The Impact of Women on Global Migration and Development. The session enhanced participation with breakout groups.
Other program priorities included climate change, youth and children, returns, remittances, and regularization policies. The latter was a summit highlight, as Colombia showcased its program that has regularized millions of Venezuelan migrants. Another key issue was the recent phenomenon of reverse migration: due to new border restrictions, Colombia has become a destination for migrants forced to return, while large numbers of Colombian nationals are also being deported from the U.S.
Civil society groups rally behind new campaign
Some 80 civil society representatives held a preparatory meeting on Sept. 1 prior to the GFMD itself. (Due to the limited venue space, the civil society delegation was much smaller than in previous fora.) The civil society meeting focused on launching a new campaign, Resist, Reclaim, and Realize: Migrant Rights are Human Rights. The campaign aims to “take control of the migrant and human rights agenda, set the tone for civil society engagement in international governance and migration discourse, and build collective solidarity with wider social and civil society movements worldwide.”
WIMN member groups participating in civil society preparatory activities and the intergovernmental GFMD included Alianza Americas, Bloque Latinoamericano, Centro de Atención a la Familia Migrante Indígena (CAFAMI); IDC; Instituto Instituto para las Mujeres en la Migración (IMUMI); National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR); and the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM).
While in Colombia, Cyment also participated in a radio Interview: Migratory remittances, an income with increasingly higher human costs, available here: