Welcome to the United Nations
Background
Migration is a complex, multidimensional and global phenomenon. It impacts, and is impacted by, multiple areas of public policy: labour markets, economic and social development, industry, commerce, social cohesion and urban policy, social services, health, education, law enforcement, foreign policy, trade and humanitarian policy, amongst others. Therefore, migration is critical to all aspects of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In addition to the commitment to ‘leave no one behind’ and reaching the furthest behind first, the 2030 Agenda [para 23] calls for the empowerment of refugees and internally displaced persons and migrants, and establishes that they are among the groups whose needs are reflected in the Agenda. Clearly, therefore the 2030 Agenda cannot be achieved without due consideration of migration, and progress towards the SDGs is itself critical to ensure that mobile populations are not left behind.
Migration is both a development strategy and a development outcome. The universal lens of the SDGs allows us to articulate the nexus between migration and development in all contexts. It is crucially relevant for example, to the SDGs under consideration at this year’s High-level Political Forum (HLPF), including SDG 4 (Quality education), 8 (Decent work and economic growth), 10 (Reduced inequalities), 13 (Climate change), 16 (Peaceful societies, justice and strong institutions) and 17 (Global partnership for sustainable development).
The potential benefits that migration offers for the achievement of the SDGs are immense. However, although the simple act of moving from one place to another can bring huge gains for the individual and societies, these benefits are not guaranteed. Much depends on the conditions of migration and the extent to which all people can access safe and regular migration as a development strategy. While the skilled, middle class and Global North will find it easy to remain mobile, opportunities may further diminish for those with few skills, accessible channels or the financial means to move, limiting the potential to improve human development outcomes for all peoples.
The benefits of migration will also be realized only with strong institutional frameworks, evidence- based policies and programming, and, clear objectives and a long-term developmental perspective. Yet the current state of governance and policy development and the lack of coherence with other policy domains is unfortunately leaving many migrants behind and undermines the potential social and economic benefits that migration could offer. Worse still, the erosion of public confidence in governments’ ability to manage migration – in Europe, North America, and across the globe – has led many political leaders to question the desirability of migration and the validity of long-established international legal frameworks.
When it comes to achieving the migration-related aspects of the SDGs and realizing the potential of migration for development, the message is therefore clear: we have a lot of work to do. Migration and development need to be tackled consistently and proactively with fresh perspectives.
The adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), which finds its roots in the 2030 Agenda, and the creation of the UN Network on Migration creates new impetus to achieve the migration-related aspects of the SDGs.
The GCM recognizes sustainable development among its cross-cutting and interdependent guiding principles and states that “the Global Compact aims to leverage the potential of migration for the achievement of all Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the impact this achievement will have on migration in the future”. It therefore provides a more in-depth roadmap to improve migration governance for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.
