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A. KEY BOTTLENECKS LINKED TO COVID-19, MOBILITY, AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND 11 ACCELERATION POINTS TO SUPPORT COVID-19 RECOVERY AND ACHIEVE THE SDGS THROUGH MIGRATION
In its 2021 submission to the HLPF, IOM highlighted the important role that well-governed migration can play to mitigate the negative impacts of COVID-19, stimulate strong socio-economic recovery, and build more inclusive societies that protect human rights and are better prepared to address future crises. Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, this message remains as relevant as before.
As outlined in IOM’s World Migration Report 2022, the pandemic reversed hard-won development gains and altered human mobility dynamics around the world, with continued disruptions to travel and mobility from ongoing border restrictions and increased displacement as just two examples among many. In addition, with the global climate crisis unfolding in plain sight and climate-related disaster events increasing, forced migration and displacement are becoming more frequent and are further threatening recovery from the pandemic. At the same time, migrants’ important contributions to the COVID-19 pandemic response – which have been rightly recognized and celebrated in many countries – are a reminder of the positive role of migration for sustainable development.
States can and should build on the now large base of evidence and understanding of the interconnections between migration, displacement, and sustainable development, and proactively and coherently integrate them into policy strategies and international cooperation efforts. The first International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) taking place in May 2022 to take stock of the status of implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) is an opportunity for the international community to reinforce the role of the GCM and the power of multilateralism to leverage migration for accelerating response and recovery efforts and keep the achievement of the SDGs in sight. As outlined in the Secretary General’s Report on the implementation of the GCM, “the need for a cooperative framework on migration has never been more apparent, and the foresight of Member States and stakeholders in developing the GCM has never been more evident”.
Strengthening the positive impact of human mobility on societies and sustainable development can also help to advance key priority areas of the UN Common Agenda and support the role of human mobility as a global public good for a renewed global social contract. This means understanding migration and displacement in the broader context of challenges to the social contract – such as inadequate health systems; gaps in social protection; structural inequalities rooted in racism, discrimination and xenophobia; or environmental degradation4 – and reinforcing the role of migration to build stronger communities, thereby ensuring that the future of human mobility is embedded in multilateral and national frameworks for the years to come.
IOM is working tirelessly to support a swift recovery from the pandemic through direct assistance and programming for migrants, displaced populations, and the communities they live in, as well as providing technical advice to governments to advance integrated approaches for sustainable development and migration governance. In 2020 and 2021, IOM proposed 11 actions5 to the HLPF that can accelerate sustainable development and advance COVID-19 recovery. These actions, underpinned by its Institutional strategy on Migration and Sustainable Development6, apply an integrated approach to migration, recovery and sustainable development, and build on the opportunities the GCM objectives can bring for the achievement of the SDGs individually and as a whole. They directly support the SDGs under review for this year’s HLPF.
