UNITED NATIONS, CMC- Barbados has told an international conference on migration that its presence there is to turn commitment into progress and that for a small island developing state (SIDS), migration is central to its sustainability, economy, and identity.
Addressing the second Session of the International Migration Review Forum at the United Nations, Barbados Minister of Home Affairs and Information, Gregory Nicholls, said Bridgetown’s commitment to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) is unwavering, and its connection to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and that its commitment complements the foundation on which peace and prosperity are built.
“Where Barbados has made promises, it has acted. On 1 October 2025, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines launched full free movement, granting nationals the right to live, work, and reside indefinitely across all four states, with guaranteed healthcare and education for their children.
“This is not generosity. It is an obligation built on political will, regional solidarity, and human rights. We offer it not as a boast, but as a blueprint,” Nicholls said.
He said Barbados is developing a comprehensive National Migration Policy guided by the GCM and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) frameworks, grounded in evidence, and anchored in human and labor rights. It will modernize pathways, strengthen borders, and drive economic growth.
“For Small Island Developing States, climate change and migration are not parallel agendas; they are the same agenda. Displacement is already here: straining borders, threatening food security, and eroding the stability that safe migration depends on.”
Nicholls said that, through the Bridgetown Initiative, Barbados reiterates its call for climate finance reform, as migration should be seen as an option, not a mere act of survival. “Accessible finance, cross-border cooperation, and the Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund are not optional. They are the infrastructure of humane governance, and we call for full resourcing.
Barbados is opening pathways for our diaspora across the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States through investment, skills transfer, and return migration. Pending legislative reform will deepen those bonds further, because our diaspora is not peripheral to development, but it is the heartbeat of it.”
He said Barbados comes not only to speak but to build on partnerships that make safe, orderly, and dignified migration a reality.
“Migration, managed well, is not a burden. It is an engine for creativity, innovation, and growth.
We are a small island with an unshakeable commitment. This Compact is the cornerstone of our present and the architecture of our future,” Nicholls told the international community.
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