What is M4D

Why Migration and Sustainable Development (M&SD)

Migrants can help build stronger, more inclusive and resilient communities through the knowledge, networks and skills that they bring to their communities. Shaping our world at every turn, migration is a global phenomenon that touches us all. We are all reliant – for our health, our food, and our economy – on the safe, orderly and regular movement of people.

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Indeed, migrants and displaced people should be able to access their rights and essential services without fear of discrimination, racism or violence - enabling them to escape poverty, support their families and contribute fully to a cohesive and developing society. For example, migrants who move through regular channels and have full identification are more able to access decent work and livelihood opportunities. Better educated migrants, refugees and their families can more effectively reach their full potential as innovators and leaders. Migrant workers empowered to move in a safe, orderly and regular manner are able to meet global labour demand and contribute to sustainable and inclusive economies.

At the same time, global challenges such as COVID-19 and climate change have also demonstrated that when pathways for safe migration are limited, our communities can suffer, putting our global progress towards prosperous and healthy societies (what is often termed “sustainable development”) at risk. Sustainable development means progress for all, not only some, and to do this, we must create equal societies that are inclusive of migrants, regardless of their status.

IOM's Role

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is the leading inter-governmental, UN-related organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. Check out our page on the IOM website.

IOM is a development agency; in fact, it is one of the top 10 international organizations by development assistance expenditure (31% of IOM's 2021 expenses was development assistance, growing from 29% in 2020). IOM joined the UN System in September 2016, and it is also a core member of the UN Development System (UNDS) as evidenced by its membership to the UN Sustainable Development Group.

IOM works to ensure that the UN System's activities maximize migration's potential for sustainable development, including through its role as coordinator and secretariat of the UN Network on Migration (UNNM). The UNNM was established by the UN to ensure timely and coordinated support to Member States to implement, follow-up and review the GCM.

IOM’s contribution to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is elaborated in IOM’s Institutional Strategy on Migration and Sustainable Development (M&SD Strategy).

The Migration and Development Strategy and its Action Plan represent IOM's direct contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals. It supports IOM's active participation in the UNDS and builds on stronger partnerships within and outside the UN system.

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The M&SD Strategy recognizes that migration, when well-managed, can be both an outcome of development and a development. By identifying concrete outcomes, IOM works towards a future of good migration governance that results in sustainable development for all. [Click on the image on the right to see them in detail.]

IOM works to make human mobility a choice by addressing the structural factors that force people to move and by improving safe and regular migration routes; to empower migrants and their families as agents of change by protecting migrants' rights and advocating for long-term solutions for both displaced persons and hosts; and to better regulate migration by promoting coherent migration and development systems and institutions, in line with the GCM and the 2030 Agenda.

M4D Net: Enabling us to Achieve M&SD

IOM’s goal is to work with our Member States and other stakeholders to enhance migrants’ capacities to contribute to sustainable development for all. For this reason, the M4D Net was created over ten years ago to serve as a global hub for migration and sustainable development (M&SD), bringing together migration practitioners and policymakers from around the world.

On the M4D Net, we share and disseminate good practices, achievements and knowledge gained from practical experience leveraging migration for the 2030 Agenda, so that all practitioners can benefit, and migrants can be at the heart of our global progress towards sustainable development.

The M4D Net is a legacy of an earlier site established through the Joint Migration and Development Initiative (JMDI), an inter-agency UN programme spanning over a decade that worked in several countries.

Global Engagement on M&SD