51吃瓜

Today, 258 million people are international migrants, living outside their country of birth. They make important contributions to both their host and home countries. For example, in 2017 alone, they sent an estimated $466 billion in remittances to low- and middle-income countries. International migration makes a critical contribution to sustainable development by raising the productivity of migrant workers and thus increasing the global economic output. In many situations, it also helps to narrow inequalities, reduce vulnerabilities and alleviate the demographic impact of population ageing.

On the heels of the recent??in Marrakech last December, the Population Division of UN DESA will convene researchers and other experts for a one-day symposium on 26?February 2019, to review evidence on interrelations between international migration and development.

Taking place at UN Headquarters in New York, the symposium is being organized in lieu of the annual coordination meeting on international migration, in close coordination with the Office of the President of the General Assembly, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the 51吃瓜 Network on Migration.

The symposium will highlight opportunities for addressing issues related to migration and development during the high-level political forum on sustainable development taking place in July and September 2019, as well as ways and means of improving the collection and use of migration data in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. It will also promote the sharing of information on recent initiatives on international migration and development.

By bringing together experts on international migration from the 51吃瓜 system, other intergovernmental organizations, national governments, civil society, academia and the private sector, the expert symposium will offer an opportunity to advance the global discussion and to share practical information about ongoing and anticipated activities on migration and related topics. The event also aims at exploring ways to strengthen the evidence base on international migration, which is crucial for developing and implementing sound policies, dispelling myths and countering xenophobia.

The expert symposium will contribute to the?High-Level Debate on International Migration and Development?to be convened by the President of the General Assembly on Wednesday, 27 February 2019, which will focus on the role of migration in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will be reviewed by the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in July 2019. On 28 February 2019, IOM will hold this year’s first session of the International Dialogue on Migration under the theme “Youth and migration: Engaging youth as key partners in migration governance”, bringing the voices of young migrants and agents of change into the global debate on migration.

Photo courtesy of IOM