国际英语新闻:Croatian gov't accepts UN migration agreement

ZAGREB, Nov 16 (Xinhua) -- The Croatian government said here on Friday that the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) is acceptable to Croatia and that the Interior Minister will represent the country at the next month's conference in Marrakech, a city in western Morocco.

The co-called Marrakech agreement, signed by 124 nations on April 15, 1994, brings a series of migration proposals that are addressing the issue of "regular" migration in the world. Countries representatives should accept it at the meeting on Dec. 10-11 in Morocco.

Although it is a kind of document that doesn't need the parliament's approval, the Croatian government decided to send it to the parliament anyway and it is expected to be confirmed at one of the following sessions.

The government's decision to accept the GCM is in contrary to Croatian president's position on the issue. President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic at first accepted the invitation from United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to come to Marrakech, only to change her mind last week when she decided not to go.

She told reporters that she neither approves nor disapproves the GCM, but that she is not going because there is no global consensus on migrant issues.

The Croatian government estimates that this is not an international treaty, rather a non-binding document. They claim that each country can apply only those issues from the document that are acceptable for the country's migration policy.

"The content of this document has been embedded in the foundations of the Croatian migration policy, and in the area of illegal migration," Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said at the government's session on Friday.

The Croatian government has assessed that this document also represents the wish of the international community to find a global solution for legitimate migration.