The UN Member States and UN entities announced the creation of a new funding instrument to support efforts towards safe, orderly and regular migration.
“The Migration Fund can provide the impetus for all of us to take the next step; to bring the Migration Compact to life, to move us closer to realizing the SDGs, and to effect positive change in the field of migration,” said Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General, at the launch held at the UNICEF HQ in New York.
António Vitorino, Director General of the International Organization for Migration and chair of the UN Network on Migration compared the positive impacts of safe and regular migration – migrants make up 3.4 percent of the world population and contribute 10 percent of global GDP, with 85 percent of their earnings contributed to their host countries – with the ‘tremendous human and economic losses’ when migration is poorly managed.
According to UN figures, since 2014, over 32,000 migrants worldwide have lost their lives or gone missing along migratory routes. Many have fallen victim to trafficking, arbitrary detention and exploitative or forced labour. Many more are unaccounted for. Migration governance is “one of the most urgent and profound tests of international cooperation in our time”.
The Migration MPTF was called for by the Global Compact on Migration (GCM), adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2018. Its aim is to provide financing for innovative programmes designed to support States’ migration priorities, ensure the better protection of migrants, foster cooperation, and further the promotion of migration governance that benefits all.
The Fund is now open for contributions, with a target of USD 25 million for its first year of operations and expected to grow. Under the aegis of a representative Steering Committee comprising States, the UN system, and a broad range of partners, the Fund will facilitate the exchange of best practices and evidence-based migration policies.
As a collective endeavour, the Fund has the potential to be an important means by which to realise collective commitments towards a world in which no one is left behind.
Original source: IOM
Published on 17 July 2019
