Consider the following statements about platforms for multilateral co-operation:

Question

Consider the following statements about platforms for multilateral co-operation:

1. The 'Colombo Process' is a regional consultative process in which member states take binding decisions by consensus.

2. The 'Abu Dhabi Dialogue' is a voluntary non-binding consultative process among Asian countries of labour origin and destination to facilitate regional cooperation on contractual labour mobility.

3. The 'Global Forum for Migration and Development', created upon the proposal of a former UN Secretary General, is a voluntary forum whose decisions are non-binding in nature.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. A. 1, 2 and 3
2. B. 1 and 3 only
3. C. 2 and 3 only (Correct answer)
4. D. 2 only

Correct Answer

Option C — C

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Option C.

Key Points

• Statement 2 is correct: the Abu Dhabi Dialogue is a voluntary, non-binding consultative process among Asian countries of labour origin and destination, to cooperate on contractual labour mobility.
• Statement 3 is correct: the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), proposed by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, is a voluntary, state-led, non-binding forum.
• Statement 1 is incorrect, and is the key: the Colombo Process is a non-binding regional consultative process on the management of overseas employment for Asian labour-sending states — it does not take binding decisions.
• these migration platforms are deliberately consultative and non-binding — that shared feature is exactly what statement 1 gets wrong.

Exam Tip

• almost all migration 'dialogues/processes/forums' are voluntary and non-binding; any claim that one takes 'binding decisions' is usually the planted error.