A “Wake-up Call” on the Importance of Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration for Prosperous Societies
Well managed migration can serve as an accelerator to bring us back on track to reach the Global Goals in the time of COVID-19
Migration is both a development accelerator and a development outcome. When well governed, it has the potential to improve wider development trajectories in communities where migrants are from or where they are. International migrants made up 3.5 percent of the world’s population in 2019, contributing nearly 10 percent of global GDP. Yet the benefits of migration are not measurable in monetary terms alone. The knowledge, support, networks, and skills that migrants transfer between societies are building blocks for more prosperous societies. Shaping our world at every turn, migration is a global phenomenon that touches us all.
COVID-19 has made this even more clear but in a paradoxical manner. In recent months, the pandemic has served as a “wake-up call” on the importance of safe, orderly, and regular migration. Many migrants have found themselves on the frontlines of the response, with several countries most affected by the pandemic dependent on foreign-born workers for healthcare provision. In response to labour market needs in other key sectors such as agriculture, countries like Germany have set up an online platform to recruit seasonal workers and Argentina and Peru are developing expedited procedures for the recognition of the professional qualifications of Venezuelan refugees and migrants. The pandemic has exposed our reliance on migration for our health, our food, and our economy.
However, on the other hand, often disjointed mobility restrictions enforced around the world to control the transmission of COVID-19 have lost sight of essential elements for effective migration governance. As of 7 September, 219 countries cumulatively have over 87,950 different travel restrictions in place. These new restrictions — and the economic downturn — are depriving many migrants of their livelihoods. This is having direct knock-on effects on the wider world economy, with disruptions to global value chains, crippling several sectors of work — only exacerbating existing inequalities and vulnerabilities experienced by migrants and their communities worldwide. The development potential of migration is at risk if its potential is not facilitated.
The world is at a crossroads. Without multilateral responses to migration management in the wake of a pandemic, the conditions for migration to be a central enabler of sustainable development are compromised. This is the paradox that we need to overcome, together. By re-centering our attention on effective migration governance models and multilateral cooperation, we can work together to counter some of the immediate and potentially long-term impacts of the pandemic and accelerate progress towards our shared vision for a better future: the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
To accelerate progress and ‘recover better’, safe, orderly and regular migration must be viewed as part of the solution. Well governed migration can help us build stronger, more inclusive and resilient communities. As highlighted in the UN Secretary General’s policy brief, this means exploring options for safe and regular pathways, facilitating the recognition and accreditation of migrants’ qualifications, and reducing transaction costs for remittances. Inherently, this requires cooperation across borders.
We already have a solid basis to set the right course. Over the last 75 years, countries around the world have joined together under the auspices of the UN to collectively address some of the most challenging issues of our time and guide the way towards the future we want. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its SDGs serves as the guidepost. The 2030 Agenda recognizes that migrants make positive contributions to sustainable development and that migration requires coherent and comprehensive responses. And many SDG targets can only be achieved if migration and migrants are considered.
Anchored in the 2030 Agenda, the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) provides an important framework through which governments and other stakeholders can strengthen migration governance. Importantly, its 23 objectives address migration from a 360-degree perspective, underscoring its relevance to numerous areas of sustainable development. The current pandemic presents us with an opportunity to reaffirm these commitments and take action to enact effective responses. Strong international cooperation is needed now more than ever.
In sum, we need to bring back the recognition of the centrality of migration for joint prosperity to accelerate progress towards improved development outcomes in the ‘Decade of Action’ in order to achieve the SDGs by 2030. Together, we can work towards a better future for all and achieve the promise of leaving no one behind — a promise that is ever more important as we respond and recover from the pandemic. But, to do so, we need to move past the paradox and re-root our way forward firmly within the global frameworks of the 2030 Agenda and GCM.
By Cécile Riallant, Head — Migration and Sustainable Development Unit, IOM.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
