A United Nations conference adopted the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh on Monday despite earlier criticism by a number of member states, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
The pact, which was finalised at the UN in July following more than a year of negotiations was formally endorsed during a two-day conference involving over 160 countries.
Since it is not legally binding, it just opens the door for global cooperation on migration. The pact is expected to be enacted at the UN General Assembly on December 19.
READ MORE: UN Migration Conference Underway in Morocco
The move comes after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres voiced hope earlier in the day that the countries that had declined to sign the Global Compact for Migration would review their positions and eventually join the pact.
Earlier, such states as Austria, Australia, Israel, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Lithuania abandoned their plans to sign the agreement over concerns that the pact might put certain restrictions on their national migration policies.
The UN Global Compact for Migration represents the international community's attempt to establish a common global approach to all aspects of international migration. The pact comprises 23 objectives for better managing migration at local, national, regional, and global levels.
