As the main United Nations platform on sustainable development, the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) has a central role in providing policy guidance and direction on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, less than ten years out from the deadline to…

The COVID-19 pandemic should be seen as a pivotal opportunity to reset the dial on access to rights for migrant women, and promote their agency and leadership in order to build back better. This was one of IOM, the UN Migration Agency’s key messages when driving the discussion at the…

Sexual violence against women and girls is a silent human rights violation in Somalia. A crime compounded by social taboos, which prevent survivors from seeking help, and one that largely goes unpunished. If a woman reports sexual violence, she is usually blamed and stigmatized for it. And if the woman…

Global conversations on Africa and migration in the past years were often centered around curbing migration flows and addressing irregular migration. However, a closer look of the multi-dimensional reality of flows from and within Africa constitutes a different landscape: crucial, but overlooked, is the huge developmental impact gained from migration. …

“Give us spaces for dialogue” Ixchel Adolfo, a young leader from Guatemala said at the opening of the high-level meeting on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women continuing that “the people who know about our needs are us.” Indeed, a powerful message delivered from a young…

The article was written by Chris Richter, Migration Policy Officer at IOM’s Office to the United Nations Migrant remittances have received extensive attention in global policy discussions because of their potential gains to human development. Besides the immediate benefit to recipients, which can range from meeting essential day-to-day needs to…

The article was written by Chris Richter, Migration Policy Officer at IOM’s Office to the United Nations International efforts to end poverty and hunger, protect the planet from environmental degradation and ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives are at risk of failure. This is the…

In May 2020, IOM and the UN Major Group for Children and Youth (UN MGCY) hosted a consultative webinar on the topic of Voices of Youth on the Move: from ECOSOC to the HLPF. It brought together over a hundred young people from all over the world to address three…

The article was written by Chris Richter, Migration Policy Officer at IOM’s Office to the United Nations Something is brewing. There’s a sense in the air that the decade to 2030 will be a consequential time. Not only because of the devastating pandemic currently upending life around the globe, but…