LOOKING AHEAD TO GLOBAL FORUM ON MIGRATION AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANILA 002262 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/29/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREF PREL RP SMIG SUBJECT: LOOKING AHEAD TO GLOBAL FORUM ON MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT REF: STATE 92074 Classified By: DCM Paul W. Jones, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: DFA has provided a dipnote inviting high-level Embassy participation at the upcoming Global Forum on Migration and Development, to be hosted October 27-30 in Manila by the Philippine government. Per reftel guidance, Embassy representation at the Forum will be limited to an observer/notetaker. Given anticipated levels of attendance and the Philippines' status as a leading origin of immigrant workers, the Forum promises to be a major event that will attract widespread publicity. Post anticipates further efforts by the Philippine government to enlist significant Embassy participation. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) DFA has sent a diplomatic note inviting Embassy participation in the Global Forum on Migration and Development, to be hosted by the Philippine government October 27-30 in Manila. The Forum promises to be major event, to be attended by some 1,200 delegates and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. During a recent vist to the Philippines, International Organization for Migration (IOM) Director General Designate Ambassador William Swing said that he would attend as well. ¶3. (C) Intense Philippine interest in the Forum stems from the country's status as one of the world's major sources of immigrant workers; some 8.7 million Filipinos living and working overseas comprise 10 percent of the nation's population and nearly a quarter of its workforce, sending home $15 billion annually in remittances -- equivalent to 10 percent of the Philippines' GDP. The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA),a special agency attached to the Philippine Department of Labor and Employment, is devoted solely to migrant-worker affairs, as is the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). ¶4. (C) Per reftel, post understands there should be no official USG representation above the level of a working-level observer/notetaker, and we will proceed accordingly. In view of the importance the Philippine government places on issues relating to the rights of migrant workers, we anticipate the Philippines may also approach Washington to seek higher-level U.S. participation. KENNEY