Secretary-General Urges Greater Cooperation to Crack Down on Human Trafficking, Save Lives, in Video Message for Migration Conference

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message for the Sixth Ministerial Conference on the Budapest Process, in Istanbul today:

Excellencies,

Colleagues,

I am pleased to address this important gathering on migration, one of the most important challenges of our time.  I welcome your adoption of the Istanbul Commitments and the Call for Action.

And I commend the significant work the Budapest Process has achieved over more than 25 years.  Indeed, those accomplishments contributed to the successful adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration last December by the United Nations General Assembly.

Now, our attention must focus on generating effective cooperation that responds to the Compact - addressing the complex challenges of migration while reaping its many benefits, saving lives and taking stronger action to crack down on human trafficking.

I wish you fruitful discussions and thank you for your efforts and partnership.