Leaving no one behind: How useful is Agenda 2030 in responding to the challenges of migration?
Alberto Cimadamore, Scientific Director, CROP
During the past decades, the eradication of (extreme) poverty has gained importance in international discourse on development, leading to commitments such as the United Nations Decades for the Eradication of Poverty, the Millennium Declaration, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and most recently, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The 17 SDGs of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development contain a more ambitious promise than the previous MDGs: to “leave no one behind”, which in this context means “eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions”. This has been identified as “the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development”[1].
Migration has made headlines and attracted international attention in recent years. Yet Agenda 2030 and the SDGs seem to deal with the issue only marginally or indirectly. Migration, migrants and migratory status are mentioned in relation to vulnerable groups to be empowered (point 23 of the Agenda 2030 Declaration); inclusive quality education for all levels (point 25); the positive contribution of migrants for inclusive growth and sustainable development (point 29) and protection of labour rights (target 8.8 of the SDGs). There is also mention of the facilitation of orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including the implementation of planned and well managed migration policies (target 10.7), and of the reduction of transaction costs for migrant remittances (target 10.c).
The ambitious goals and targets of Agenda 2030, however, provide the basis for a plan to eradicate poverty, protect the planet from degradation, free societies from violence, and foster inclusive and sustainable societies. In so doing they address some of the major drivers of international migrations as well as problems arising from them. The question that naturally arises is: Can those responsible for the achievement of the goals and targets of Agenda 2030 fulfil their promises?
Based on the analysis of previous (less ambitious) initiatives[2], a short answer would be: Probably not — if the international community (states, international organizations (IOs)) continues with business as usual; and if commitments are not properly monitored and enforced.
Nonetheless, Agenda 2030 presents a comprehensive set of universal and transformative goals and targets with the potential to positively affect the drivers of the international movement of people and the challenges they pose. It follows that the achievement of key SDGs would attend to the plight of migrants by dealing with both the causes and challenges of migration.
Keeping the transformative promise voiced by Agenda 2030 and previous initiatives will require the concerted action of states and IOs (particularly those in the economic sphere, such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Trade Organization (WTO)). Together they hold the keys to properly deal with the causes and solutions to the challenges facing humanity. Making them accountable is, therefore, crucial to success.
Monitoring needs to be substantially improved based on lessons extracted from the MDGs experience. In this regard, universities’ involvement in the measuring and evaluation process can increase the level of transparency, accuracy and independence from national governments and international bodies responsible and accountable for achieving the SDGs.
In this context, the contribution of social science is regarded as a necessary component to maximize the transformative potential of Agenda 2030 towards a more just world in which the current challenges and drivers of migration are addressed.
[1] United Nations (2015) Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development A/RES/70/1
[2] See: Cimadamore A., Kohler, G. and Pogge, T. 2016. “Poverty and the Millennium Development Goals: A critical look forward” in Cimadamore et al.(Eds.) Poverty & the Millennium Development Goals: A critical assessment and a look forward. London: Zed Books.
Alberto D. Cimadamore is Scientific Director of CROP (Comparative Research Programme on Poverty), an ISSC programme based at the University of Bergen, Norway. Alberto is Professor of Theory of International Relations at the University of Buenos Aires and Researcher of the National Council of Scientific and Technological Research of Argentina (currently on leave).He obtained his PhD in International Relations at the University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles. His publications are focused on the political economy of poverty, development and regional integration.
This piece is published as an output of the ‘On the Move’ conference held in Oslo, Norway, at the end of October 2016, and was submitted in January 2017.
