UNITAR Organizes Workshop on Realizing Post-2015 Aspirations for Migrants and Migration
16 - 17 October 2014, New York, U.S.A. - At the United Nations Headquarters in New York, UNITAR and the Global Migration Group (GMG) of which UNITAR is a member, organized a technical meeting on “realizing post-2015 aspirations for migrants and migration”. With the Final Report of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as its first reference for possible migration targets and indicators within the new development agenda after 2015 (replacing the Millennium Development Goals), UNITAR presented a first analysis on the areas where local governments’ input remains essential (see presentation below).
The influence and impact of city government policies and practices is translating into a place at the table in inter-governmental policy discussions on migration and development. Last October, during the second UN General Assembly High-level Dialogue on Migration and Development (HLD), at a meeting co-organized by UNITAR dedicated to local government, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) on Migration, Peter Sutherland emphasised that: “local authorities should play a greater role in designing and implementing policies that amplify the development impacts of migration.”
As stated in the “Declaration of Barcelona,” the Outcome Document resulting from the first annual Mayoral Forum on Mobility, Migration and Development launched last June by UNITAR and the City of Barcelona, with the European Commission, the World Bank’s KNOMAD project, JMDI, and in partnership with IOM and UNU: Cities call for “a voice and role in shaping migration policies. Requesting the international community to pay attention to local policies of integration and to take into account cities as key actors in discussions and decision-making processes on the design of migration policies”.
In acknowledging the influence and impact of local government, it can be observed that cities are an important outlet for creative and innovative approaches to new emerging migration challenges. Cities seek to play a determinative role in shaping effective integration and urban policies. As the international community seeks to define what the new benchmarks will be to measure society’s progress in reaching sustainable development, cities are already leveraging a more mobile world to reach these ends.
UNITAR and its partners will host the second Mayoral Forum on Mobility, Migration and Development in Quito in 2015.
Related links
Presentation: How Cities are already leveraging a more mobile world (PDF, 240 KB)
Photo: Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan (centre) makes a surprise visit at meeting on migration, human rights and the post-2015 process. Columbia University, New York City, 17 October 2014