UN General Assembly ratifies global compact on migration

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The UN General Assembly on Wednesday officially ratified by a large majority the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.

A total 152 countries voted in favor of the compact, which was approved last week by UN member states in Marrakesh, Morocco.

Five nations, namely the United States, Israel, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland, voted against the compact, while 12 countries abstained.

The compact is the first UN global agreement setting up a common framework on the management of international migration flows.