https://www.undp.org/speeches/global-forum-migration-and-development-ope...
by SHOKO NODA UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Crisis Bureau
Excellencies, esteemed participants,
Like migrants deciding which path to take, our world is at a crossroads.
Down one road – the one we know – lie multiple crises for our planet.
The other is an uphill climb. But it rewards us with our only viable future: - a world that can sustain, and include, everyone.
We are in danger of missing that turn.
- Conflicts and violence are spreading;
- COVID-19's ill effects linger;
- Many economies are not delivering for the public good, and;
- Livelihoods and lives are increasingly being lost in climate extremes.
As a result, people are leaving their homes at levels not seen before. And too many are being lost on the way.
Addressing these challenges is more urgent than ever. But collective action is frustratingly slow.
There is a lack of progress in reducing the potential costs of migration, or in harnessing its many benefits – for the communities they join and those they support from afar.
Societies that welcome migrants flourish. Because migrants bring their skills, expertise and new ideas with them.
For their families who remain behind, remittances lift millions out of poverty.
Migrants and diasporas also play an increasingly critical role in climate action.
Despite overwhelming evidence of their contributions, migrants keep facing barriers to regular and safe passage, as well as to jobs, housing, education and other basic rights.
Instead of celebrating migrants, public voices too often use an “us” versus “them” narrative.
Politicians simplify or politicize migration, contributing to rising anti-immigrant attitudes.
Racism, xenophobia and discrimination sow distrust and polarization, preventing migration from fulfilling its tremendous development potential, while slowing international cooperation.
We must reverse these trends now. UNDP is working hard to enable that.
With human mobility programmes and partnerships in over 75 countries and territories, including with IOM and other UN partners, we see the value communities gain when countries have policies, laws and programmes to leverage migration for the common good.
In Bangladesh, we launched Aspire to Innovate (a2i), an online portal for migrant workers, forcibly displaced people and host communities.
This helps the most vulnerable, especially women, build their skills through online training, and connects them to jobs.
In Peru, UNDP supports entrepreneurship among displaced Venezuelans and host communities through digital technology and knowledge-sharing.
This kind of initiatives, along with others highlighted in a recent report by UNDP, IDB and OECD, contribute to fostering the socio-economic integration of migrants in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as social cohesion.
In Moldova, UNDP piloted a unique model for engaging diasporas in local development that has now become a government programme.
Members of Moldova's diaspora, together with their communities of origin, have supported initiatives in more than 100 municipalities, benefiting over half a million people since 2015.
Through the Africa Climate Mobility Initiative, UNDP also works to boost intra-African human mobility, engaging with Member States in Africa and key stakeholders in Europe, including the European Union, to expand free population movement.
Excellencies, esteemed participants,
We look forward to working with you all to reiterate that migrants are vital to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals – our collective commitment to end poverty and protect the only home we all share – earth.
This Summit should serve as a basis for better policies and programmes.
I thank H.E. Aurélien Lechevallier for inviting me to join this Forum, a first for me.
This is also my first trip as UNDP’s Crisis Bureau Director – a priority for me because our organization sees migration as crucial to building resilience, along with breaking the cycle of vulnerability and poverty.
I’m encouraged to see such distinguished guests, and such a diverse audience, coming together to enhance the development promise of migration.
Whether you represent a national or local government, a migrant or diaspora organization, civil society, the private sector, or an international organization, your participation today can help create a safer, fairer world for migrants - allowing them to be real agents of sustainable development.
I’m excited to hear the many experiences and practices we will exchange over the coming days towards this purpose.
UNDP remains ready to support you all in our collective mission to make migration work for everyone and build a future that leaves no one behind.
Thank you!
ABOUT THE FORUM
https://www.gfmd.org/process/background
Background
The idea of creating a global consultative forum on Migration and Development was proposed by Mr. Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), at the first High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development (HLD) held on 14-15 September 2006 during the UN General Assembly. During the HLD, over 140 Member States discussed the interaction between migration and development, a complex relationship of growing importance in view of the increasing migration flows. Yet there was still a crippling lack of information and data and appropriate institutional structures and resources in many countries to achieve these; and importantly, there was no single, all-encompassing global forum to bring together policy makers on the two critical issues of migration and development. Some good practices were tried in a piecemeal way by governments and international agencies around the world, but these needed to be more widely understood and adapted, and more cooperative frameworks needed to be explored.
Reflecting the progressive acknowledgement of the limits of a strictly national approach to migration questions at a global level, there was widespread recognition and support in the UN at the HLD 2006 for an open and transparent dialogue on migration and development, in an informal, non-binding and state-led framework that would promote practical, evidence-based outcomes and cooperation between governments as well as non-government stakeholders.
From this idea, the GFMD was born, hosting its first Summit meeting in 2007 under the direction of the first GFMD Chair, Belgium. The GFMD has since remained as the largest informal, non-binding, voluntary and government-led process, bringing together expertise from all regions and countries at all stages of economic, social and political development. Since its inception, the GFMD has operated on the basis of a unique participative working method, involving governments and policy makers from a varied background. Policy-makers from a wide range of government agencies participate, including from Ministries and Departments of Immigration, Development, Labor, Foreign Affairs, Gender Equality, Home Affairs, Justice, Interior, Integration and Nationals Abroad.
Consistent with its state-led but not state only nature, the GFMD has also established formal links with other processes such as the GFMD Civil Society Mechanism, the GFMD Business Mechanism, the GFMD Mayors Mechanism and Youth. These institutional links have allowed the inclusion of the voices and expertise of diverse stakeholders, including academia, NGOs, trade unions, the private sector, migrants and diaspora representatives, local and regional governments as well as youth, in GFMD discussions.
Objectives
- To provide policy-makers and high-level policy practitioners a venue to informally discuss relevant policies, practical challenges and opportunities of the migration-development nexus, and to engage with other stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations, experts and migrant organizations in order to foster practical and action-oriented outcomes at national, bilateral and international level;
- To exchange good practices and experiences, which can be duplicated or adapted in other circumstances, in order to maximize the development benefits of migration and migration flows;
- To identify information, policy and institutional gaps necessary to foster synergies and greater policy coherence at national, regional and international levels between the migration and development policy areas;
- To establish partnerships and cooperation between countries, and between countries and other stakeholders on migration and development;
- To structure the international priorities and agenda on migration and development.
