 Throughout human history, people have migrated to improve their lives. Today, more than 230 million of the world's people live outside of their birthplace. Most move of their own volition in safe and secure circumstances. But in 2013, approximately 97 million people were affected by natural disasters and 51.2 million were affected by conflict. For 2014, the International Center for Displacement Monitoring that more than 19.3 million people were forced to flee their homes as a result of disasters and UNHCR reported that more than 59.5 million were forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflicts, generalized violence, or human rights violations. This trend has not abated in 2015 with the ongoing conflicts in Yemen and Syria and natural disasters in Nepal and Colombia to name but a few. In countries hit by crises, those affected include citizens, but also migrants. Migrants often have legal status in the host country, but there are those without legal status. They can be present in the country temporarily, for example as tourists, students, or business people, or they could have lived there for decades. Most will work in local business and contribute significantly to the local economy. Some may have citizenship of other countries, but others may be stateless. Notwithstanding that nearly all countries today host some type of migrant population, non-citizens are very often forgotten when a crisis strikes, whether that is a conflict or a natural disaster. The needs of migrants often are not considered in preparing for or responding to crises or in recovery. Migrants have particular needs. They may not speak the local language or understand local customs. They may have difficulty accessing travel documents or permission to leave the country or enter another for safety. Research has shown that during crises, migrants can be particularly vulnerable to human traffickers. In emergencies, it's easy for some migrants to fall through the cracks, especially if they have unique needs or vulnerabilities. Successive conflicts and natural disasters in the early 2000s created significant losses of lives and other hardships for migrants and their home and host communities. Over the past decade, the international community has come to recognize the great human, economic and stability-related costs of failing to include the needs of migrants in planning, response and recovery mechanisms. Indeed, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for greater attention to the issue of migrants caught in countries in crisis during his statement to the 2013 UN High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development. In 2014, the government of the United States joined with the government of the Philippines to launch the Migrants in Countries in Crisis Initiative. We wanted to work with other governments and institutions to support migrants caught in crisis and to do so more systematically. No country is immune to crises, as Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy in the United States demonstrated. The 2011 Libya crisis was a watershed moment for the international community that raised awareness of the need for greater coordination. Our goal is to create a set of non-binding, voluntary principles, guidelines and effective practices. These guidelines would be used by governments, international and civil society organizations, employers and recruiters of migrants. They will cover all stages, before, during and after crises. We aim to create a reference tool that will really make a difference. It will help the international community save lives, increase protection, decrease vulnerability and improve humanitarian responses. Over 10 million Filipinos live and work overseas in more than 200 countries. This makes their safety and protection a key national concern. Many of them experience the dangers and sufferings caused by the conflicts and natural disasters that occurred in their host countries. In addition, in 2013, the Philippines was trapped by the super typhoon Haiyan. 11 million of our people were affected. We learned how vulnerable victims can be, including vulnerability to human trafficking. We also learned the importance of coordination, international cooperation and the engagement of the diaspora in dealing with and recovering from a crisis. The Philippines has gained considerable experience in responding to the situation that our nationals got in countries experiencing crisis. But we believe it has to be a collective effort. The MICA initiative is led by the United States and the Philippines. They are assisted by a working group comprised of the governments of Australia, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Ethiopia and the European Commission, as well as the International Organization for Migration, the High Commissioner for Refugees, the Special Representative of the Secretary General for International Migration, Georgetown University and the International Center for Migration Policy Development. IOM serves as the initiative secretariat. The European Commission with the assistance of ICMPD is sponsoring six regional consultations with governments and other stakeholders. Civil Society organizations are organizing their own parallel consultations to provide consolidated input into the governmental discussions. The IOM secretariat and co-chairs are also organizing consultations with civil society organizations, the private sector and partner international organizations from both the humanitarian and development spheres. Finally, we want to reach out more broadly to others who have a stake in protecting and assisting migrants in countries experiencing crisis situations. We publish regular newsletters and are hosting webinars. On our website, we have created a portal to facilitate engagement and receive specific input and ideas. The final principles, guidelines and effective practices will be disseminated in 2016. They're intended to be practical and useful guidance for states, organizations, the private sector and civil society. They will not affect existing regimes or obligations, including the regime governing the protection of refugees. The MICIC initiative is a great opportunity for us to work together to come up with better solutions to make migration safe for all migrants. Every contribution helps. We encourage everyone to visit the Migrants and Countries in Christus website, get informed and offer your views. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of millions of migrants around the world. We can uphold their rights, improve their dignity and keep everyone safe.