A/HRC/40/65 should facilitate full, fair and informed parliamentary debate. Social divisions produced by the “us/them” tendencies that populists sought to exacerbate should not be reinforced. Ms. Stanton encouraged like-minded parliamentarians to work together to counter populist appeals and defend the human rights of vulnerable populations. She referred to the work of IPU and the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief in that regard, and highlighted the work of the Commission in coordinating joint letters and statements at critical moments. Finally, Ms. Stanton emphasized that certain policy areas merited vigorous and sustained scrutiny by parliamentarians. In that context, she referred to antiterrorism legislation and surveillance technologies and the way in which legitimate national security concerns were used to legitimize policies and practices with discriminatory consequences. 31. Mr. Briere described the causes of migration in Central America from the 1970s onwards. He said that 150,000 Guatemalans left the country every year, and 17 left every hour. He outlined how Guatemalans working in the United States contributed to the Guatemalan economy by sending remittances that constituted 10 per cent of Guatemala’s gross domestic product. Ensuring that the country stopped depending on remittances was a challenge, as was creating opportunities for decent work within Guatemala. Mr. Briere referred to his role as Chair of the Congressional Committee on Migrants. He described the drafting process of Guatemala’s Migration Code, which referred to the human rights of migrants and took a human rights-based approach. He acknowledged the United Nations system’s support during that process. It had taken seven weeks for the Congress of Guatemala to adopt the Code in 2016. One of its provisions had led to the creation of the National Institute of Migration, which looks into different aspects of migration including origin, transit, destination and return. Mr. Briere emphasized that Guatemala was mainly a country of transit and that migrants came through Guatemala on their way to Mexico and the United States. He said that migration was a priority issue for Guatemala. Mindful that children were exposed to particular risks, Mr. Briere outlined measures in place to look after unaccompanied minors, based on the best interests of the child – notably family reunification and non-segregation of family members. He spoke about the work to broaden the consular network to provide temporary shelters for migrants and to help them return to their home countries. He referred to the causes of migration, which included a lack of access to health care, education, security, justice, infrastructure, housing, employment or a decent standard of living. He urged parliamentarians to recognize that these were basic requirements for a reasonable standard of living and were key to the delivery of human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals. 32. Mr. Okoth outlined how the Constitution of Kenya required international treaties to be ratified by Parliament to become Kenyan law. Given the role of Kenya in developing the Sustainable Development Goals, Mr. Okoth said Kenyans should hold the Government accountable for their implementation. He underlined how parliament could adopt national legislation that advanced on the rights set out in international human rights instruments. Referring to international human rights mechanisms, Mr. Okoth said that State reports to, inter alia, the universal periodic review, the Commission on the Status of Women and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights should be tabled for parliamentary review before submission. The recommendations made by international mechanisms should be presented to parliament and parliament should oversee their implementation. Mr. Okoth referred to parliament’s authority to represent the people, legislate, and oversee the executive. He emphasized that the parliamentary committees on budgets, finance and planning were key for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. He described parliamentary caucuses as all-party parliamentary groups that partnered with civil society and academia to draw attention to specific issues, such as human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals, and to educate parliamentarians. He emphasized that parliamentarians needed to consider how each piece of legislation would contribute to fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals. Mr. Okoth explored the Kenyan system of devolution, whereby 47 county governments handled the provision of health care, local infrastructure, water, roads and schools. He called for awareness of human rights at the county level so that decisions taken by each County Assembly were made with human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals in mind. He closed by arguing that parliamentary committees and caucuses were helpful in developing knowledge and sharing 9