ICMC-coordinated side event at Human Rights Council advocates for migration issues to be placed on the Post-2015 Development Agenda

GENEVA, 5 March 2014 (ICMC) - Migration significantly contributed to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by raising incomes, funding investment in education and health care, supporting the creation of businesses and jobs; contributing to the transfer of knowledge, skills and ideas, and promoting investments and trade flows between countries of origin, transit and destination.

The current 8 MDGs, however, are set to expire in 2015 and are silent on migration issues. For this reason ICMC coordinated an important meeting on the second day of the annual session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva to advocate for the inclusion of migrants and diaspora and their issues in the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

With an estimated 232 million international migrants and over 1 billion others counting on the remittances of friends and family abroad, migration is a central component of current population dynamics and a proven enabler for development at the global level.

As Johan Ketelers, Secretary General of ICMC, stated at the meeting, "If migration is to be part of the millennium goals it cannot be set in terms of numbers but rather in justice, equity, shared responsibilities and a moral understanding of human solidarity…it is about how do we create a win win win situation: for the people moving, for the people left behind and for welcoming communities."

No country can manage international migration effectively alone. Rather human mobility requires effective cooperation and cohesion on a local, national, regional and international level. To achieve this level of coordination, migrants and diaspora must not only be reflected but centrally engaged on the global post-2015 development agenda.

To read the speeches from Mr. Johan Ketelers, Secretary General, and Mr. John Bingham, Head of policy, click on the links below. 

Side event Migration and Development - KETELERS.pdf (540.92 KB)

Human Rights Council HLP 4 March 14 - BINGHAM.pdf (331.99 KB)