Migration
Background to the study
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and its 17 SDGs, particularly SDG 11: “Sustainable Cities and Communities”, the Geneva UN Charter on Sustainable Housing and the New Urban Agenda are key frameworks that promote the right to an adequate standard of living, including adequate housing.
Conclusions and way forward
While evolving migration trends become more complex, migration governance today has several new opportunities available. It has also become clear that investing in development policies alone will not address migration dynamics; these often counter-intuitively increase migration flows. This underlines that dedicated migration policies are needed. At this vital juncture, regular pathways emerge as a key lever to better governing migration and helping it benefit all.
Introduction
La première session de l’IDM 2021, qui s’est tenue du 25 au 27 mai 2021, portait sur le thème « Accélérer l’action intégrée en faveur du développement durable : migration, environnement et changement climatique ». En raison de la pandémie de COVID-19 et des restrictions imposées aux voyages, elle s’est exceptionnellement déroulée en ligne.
Introduction
Regular pathways are essential to realizing the promise of migration and addressing global challenges. Too often migration is viewed as a problem, yet it holds key benefits for individuals, communities and countries alike. In the context of increasing conflicts and economic uncertainty, the scale of the opportunities that human mobility offers as well as the costs of not adequately addressing it are rising. The benefits of well-managed migration are wide-ranging, from helping address climate change and filling labour shortages to managing demographic transitions. To deliver on the promise of migration, people must have more and better opportunities to migrate regularly, safely, with dignity and for their own benefit, as well as that of origin and destination societies – in other words, focus must turn to improving regular migration pathways.
Introducción
La primera sesión del Diálogo Internacional sobre la Migración 2021, celebrada los días 25 a 27 de mayo de 2021, se consagró al tema “Impulsar la acción integrada en materia de desarrollo sostenible: migración, medio ambiente y cambio climático”. Debido a la pandemia ocasionada por la enfermedad coronavírica (COVID-19) y a las consiguientes restricciones de viaje, esta sesión se celebró excepcionalmente en línea.
Conclusions
Le changement climatique et la dégradation de l’environnement sont incontestablement des préoccupations majeures, et leurs incidences sur la migration, la santé, la paix et le développement durable est déjà manifeste dans toutes les régions du monde. Il faut, de toute urgence, agir plus vite et de manière collective et intégrée afin de répondre aux inquiétudes liées à la sécurité humaine et aux droits de l’homme qui résultent des effets néfastes du changement climatique, de la dégradation de l’environnement et des catastrophes.
III. Defining and measuring international migration
International migration is a complex phenomenon that is difficult to conceptualize and measure in a coherent and consistent manner. Many countries lack up-to-date information on migration patterns and trends and on migrants and their basic characteristics. Strengthening the evidence base on international migration would enable more informed policymaking. Accurate, consistent and timely data on international migration and migrants are essential to monitor progress in the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals and the objectives of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
XXI. Facilitating orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people
A growing number of countries have focused on providing options for safe, orderly and regular migration, with more than half of all Governments with available data reporting that they have such policies. A much lower proportion of Governments, however, report having policy measures to protect the human rights of migrants. Further progress is needed given that the respect, protection and fulfilment of migrants’ human rights, regardless of migration status, are essential for ensuring that migrants become active, empowered and well-integrated members of societies.
VIII. International migrants and their distribution by broad age group
Populations of international migrants have a distinctive age pattern that reflects both the timing of migration trajectories and how migrants are defined and counted. Most international migrants are of working age, meaning that they are between the ages of 20 and 64. Children and young people tend to be underrepresented among international migrants, with roughly five migrants of working age for every international migrant under the age of 20. International migrants aged 65 years or older comprise less than one in six migrants globally. Refugees and asylum seekers tend to include large numbers of children and thus to be much younger on average compared to other migrant groups.
IX. Contribution of international migration to population size
International migration contributes both directly and indirectly to changes in population size. Immigrants and their descendants increase the size of a population, while emigration has the opposite effect. In the future, immigration is expected to become the main driver of population growth in many high-income countries, attenuating or counteracting a potential decline in population size due to a negative balance of births and deaths. The impact of international migration on population size in most countries or regions of origin tends to be relatively small, especially for those where the population is growing rapidly.
Executive summary
Every year, millions of people leave their countries of origin to move abroad. International migrants hail from all regions, with some settling in neighbouring countries and territories, while others cross the globe. For some, the experience of living abroad is of short duration, while for others, it extends over a lifetime. Migrants include some of the most highly educated and successful individuals in the world, as well as people suffering from multiple and intersecting forms of deprivation. The reasons and circumstances that motivate or compel people to migrate are also diverse, with some leaving in search of better work opportunities, to pursue educational goals, to reunite with family or simply for leisure, while others are forced to migrate to escape conflict, violence or persecution.
XVIII. Food security and sustainable agriculture
Hunger and food insecurity remain important drivers of human mobility. In countries of origin, remittances-receiving households tend to be more food-secure compared to households that do not receive remittances from abroad. The remittances or savings accumulated abroad by migrants can be invested to improve the sustainability of food production systems. Promoting sustainable farming and aquaculture as well as other types of rural development can create opportunities and jobs in rural areas, ensuring that people migrate out of choice rather than necessity. Migrants play a key role in agriculture and food systems in countries of destination. Migrants, however, are often at high risk of experiencing food insecurity.
XV. Decent work
In many parts of the world, people migrate because they are unable to build sustainable livelihoods at home. As the number of people living in the poorest regions of the world continues to grow, creating more opportunities for work that is productive and delivers a fair income is critical for addressing some of the adverse drivers and structural factors that motivate or compel people to migrate. Given the demographic realities and development challenges these countries face, however, it is equally important to enhance the availability of pathways for regular migration in a manner that facilitates labour mobility and promote decent work. For host countries that rely heavily on migrant workers, and particularly those with ageing populations, planning for future labour market needs by investing in education and training both in their own countries and in countries from which they may recruit migrant workers in the future is critical to address deficits in the availability of decent work and lessen the negative impact on countries of origin resulting from “brain drain”. Reducing the vulnerability of migrants in the workplace, protecting the rights of migrant workers, facilitating fair and ethical recruitment, and promoting the mutual recognition of skills, qualifications and competences are some additional steps that countries of destination should take to maximize the benefits of labour migration.
XIII. Education
The number of young people who study outside of their country of origin has grown rapidly over the past decades and has helped to foster greater knowledge production and exchange. However, the emigration of highly educated individuals can deprive countries of the skilled labour force needed for achieving the Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. When the skills and qualifications that migrants carry with them are not recognized, this can lead to “brain waste”. Facilitating the recognition of skills, qualifications and competences is critical to minimizing such waste. Many countries have explicit policies to attract migrant workers with high levels of human capital. Complying with ethical recruitment practices and actively investing in the development and training of skilled labour in countries of origin and destination can help ensure that the migration of highly educated individuals does not exacerbate inequality in access to human capital among countries. In host societies, children of migrant families can face economic, social,institutional, and other types of obstacles in accessing education, especially if they have an irregular immigration status. Addressing language and other barriers can improve migrant children’s educational outcomes and promote their integration into host societies.
IV. Where do migrants reside?
Most international migrants reside in high-income countries, with Europe hosting the largest number of migrants globally, followed by Northern America. In recent decades, nearly all regions have seen an increase in the number of migrants residing there. However, while a combination of labour and family migration explain most of the recent increase in the number of migrants living in Europe and Northern America, for Latin America and the Caribbean, Northern Africa and Western Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa, forced migration has been an additional important driver. Most of the world’s international migrants live in a small number of high-income countries, whereas most of the world’s refugees and asylum seekers are hosted by a handful of mainly low-income and middle-income countries.
XX. Legal and normative framework for international migration
Over the past decades, international migration has emerged as a critical policy issue. Conferences, summits and meetings at the United Nations have helped further the dialogue on international migration, building consensus and fostering cooperation between Governments and other stakeholders. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognized the contributions of migrants to inclusive and sustainable growth and called on Member States to strengthen cooperation to ensure safe, orderly and regular migration with full respect for human rights. The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, which is rooted in the 2030 Agenda, and the Global Compact on Refugees have placed international migration squarely at the center of the international agenda.