SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
RESOLUTION
ON THE UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL COMPACT FOR
SAFE, ORDERLY AND REGULAR MIGRATION
4 December 2018 No XIII-1695
Vilnius
recognising that migration is a global phenomenon and that Lithuania and the international community regularly face the challenges of mass, uncontrolled and illegal migration;
recalling the painful experience of the Second World War and the post-war period, when the desperate people of the subjugated nations were able to create their life from anew in foreign countries only through the solidarity of the West;
emphasising that the cooperation of the Members States of the United Nations is based on the principles of national sovereignty;
recalling that the United Nations Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration’) reaffirms the fundamental principle that states have the sovereign right to determine their national migration policy and to govern this area within their jurisdiction;
stressing that the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration provides for the need to ensure the security of national borders, communities and migrants and to effectively combat trafficking in human beings and the smuggling of migrants;
noting that no country can deal with the challenges of migration on its own;
being aware of the need to cooperate with other states in addressing the issues of migration flows and tackling the causes of irregular and illegal migration as well as of the need to address the issues of forced migration, first and foremost, at the places where they arise;
reminding of the need to govern flows of migrants to the Member States of the European Union, to effectively and promptly implement the control of the European Union’s external maritime and land borders;
emphasising that migrants, in exercising all human rights and fundamental freedoms, must observe national laws and respect traditions and customs of the countries of destination;
affirming that the adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration will make it possible to foster global responsibility for migration processes and will actively contribute to the prevention of illegal migration and the reduction of flows of unwanted migration;
pointing out recent numerous discussions in the Member States of the United Nations on the importance of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, its impact on the migration policies of individual countries, the sovereignty of the countries in implementing these policies as well as the definition of the legal status of migrants and the interpretation thereof,
states that the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration is a global agreement on the treatment of migration and is not a legally binding document, creates no legal consequences for the State of Lithuania in the field of migration policy, nor does it create any new legal categories and does not seek to create provisions of international customary law;
is of the firm opinion that it is up to the countries how to contribute to the implementation of the provisions of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration;
calls on the Government of the Republic of Lithuania to thoroughly analyse the progress and outcome of the discussions on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and, in the event of the adoption of the Compact, to make a unilateral declaration or, if there emerges a like-minded group, a multilateral declaration in accordance with the provisions set out in this Resolution;
encourages the Government of the Republic of Lithuania to develop a dialogue with the public and the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania regarding discussions at the global level on topical issues of migration policy.