Barbados has reaffirmed its commitment to safe, orderly and regular migration while urging stronger international cooperation and climate financing during the Second International Migration Review Forum at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
Addressing delegates yesterday, Gregory Nicholls, Minister of Home Affairs and Information, said migration was critical to the sustainability, economic development and identity of small island developing states such as Barbados.
“Barbados comes to this forum with one purpose – to turn commitment into progress,” Nicholls said during the general debate on the Global Compact For Safe, Orderly And Regular Migration.
He described Government’s commitment to the migration compact as “unwavering”, while stressing that migration and sustainable development were closely linked.
Nicholls highlighted the launch of the CARICOM Full Free Movement arrangement on October 1, 2025, involving Barbados, Belize, Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines, which allows nationals of those countries to live and work indefinitely across participating states.
The arrangement also guarantees access to health care and education for children.
“This is not generosity. It is obligation built on political will, regional solidarity and human rights,” Nicholls said, adding that Barbados viewed the initiative as a model for regional cooperation.
He also revealed that Barbados was developing a comprehensive National Migration Policy guided by CARICOM frameworks and the Global Compact, aimed at modernising migration pathways, strengthening border systems and supporting economic growth.
Nicholls warned that for small island states, climate change and migration could no longer be treated as separate issues.
“Displacement is already here: straining borders, threatening food security and eroding the stability that safe migration depends on,” he said.
Financing systems
Referencing the Bridgetown Initiative, the minister renewed Barbados’ call for reform of international climate financing systems, arguing that migration should remain a choice rather than an act of survival forced by climate impacts.
He also called for greater support for the Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund and stronger cross-border cooperation.
Nicholls further outlined efforts to strengthen ties with the Barbadian diaspora in the United Kingdom, Canada and United States through investment opportunities, skills transfer and return migration initiatives.
“Migration, managed well, is not a burden. It is an engine for creativity, innovation and growth,” he said.
The minister added that Barbados remained committed to building partnerships that supported safe and dignified migration globally.
(NS/PR)
