Making Migration Work for Sustainable Development : Lessons for Practioners

While each country and local context is different, the international community recognises the contribution that human mobility can make to sustainable development through investment, remittances, knowledge transfer, innovation, social networks, labour, entrepreneurship, peace, inclusion and community resilience. However, these benefits are not guaranteed. The barriers that people on the move face in relation to their migratory status and journey can lead to exposure to exploitation, vulnerability and human rights violations. Breaking down these barriers and reducing inequalities for migrants and displaced persons across health, employment, justice,education and other key sectors is crucial to ensure people on the move are empowered and are able to actively participate in and contribute to society. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are committed to achieving this.

Between 2011 and 2023, the IOM-UNDP Joint Global Programme on Making Migration Work for Sustainable Development (M4SD) has pioneered the methodology of mainstreaming migration into development and other sectoral planning in order to enhance policy coherence and maximise the development potential of human mobility.

IOM and UNDP are pleased to share the results and contributions of the M4SD Programme to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as key lessons learned along the way.