International Migration and Development

A/RES/71/237No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 21bInternational migration and development, published in 2017.

What other versions does this mandate have?

18 versions · 1995–2024

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/79/217

2024A/RES/79/217International migration and developmentLatestCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/77/176International migration and developmentCompare with previous version
2020A/RES/75/226International migration and developmentCompare with previous version
2019A/RES/73/241International migration and developmentCompare with previous version
2017A/RES/71/237International migration and developmentCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

6 topics

Conferences Human Rights International Migration Migrant Workers Migrants Migration Policy

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2018.

2018A/73/286International migration and development report of the Secretary-General

Identified automatically from the metadata in each report’s UN Digital Library catalogue record.

What does this mandate say?

39 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General;

Recognizes the positive contribution of migrants to inclusive growth and sustainable development and that international migration is a multidimensional reality of major relevance for the development of countries of origin, transit and destination, which requires coherent and comprehensive responses and balanced approaches, and also recognizes that international migration is a cross-cutting phenomenon that no one State can manage on its own and that calls for global approaches and global solutions, as well as the integration of sustainable development, with due regard for social, economic and environmental dimensions, and should be addressed in a balanced manner through a whole-of-government approach and with respect for human rights;

Also recognizes the need to strengthen synergies between international migration and development at all levels, including the global, regional, national and local levels, as appropriate;

Acknowledges the complexity of migratory flows and that international migration movements also occur within the same geographical regions, and in this context calls for a better understanding of migration patterns across and within regions, regardless of the level of development;

Recognizes the need to give particular attention to addressing the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination faced by migrants, and reaffirms the need to promote and protect effectively the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants, regardless of their migration status, especially those of women and children, and to address international migration through international, regional or bilateral cooperation and dialogue and through a comprehensive and balanced approach, recognizing the roles and responsibilities of countries of origin, transit and destination in promoting and protecting the human rights of all migrants, and avoiding approaches that might aggravate their vulnerability;

Also recognizes the need for international cooperation to ensure safe, orderly and regular migration involving full respect for human rights and the humane treatment of migrants, regardless of their migration status;

Expresses concern about legislation adopted by some States that results in measures and practices that may restrict the human rights and fundamental freedoms of migrants, and reaffirms that, when exercising their sovereign right to enact and implement migratory and border security measures, and when addressing, in a holistic and comprehensive manner, the challenges of irregular migration, States have the duty to comply with their obligations under international law;

Reaffirms that States have the duty to comply with their obligations under international law, including international human rights law, in order to ensure full respect for the human rights of migrants, regardless of their migration status;

Welcomes the decision to launch the process of intergovernmental negotiations leading to an intergovernmental conference on international migration, to be held in 2018, at which a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration will be presented for adoption;

Expresses concern about the large and growing number of migrants, especially women and children, including those unaccompanied or separated from their parents, who find themselves in a vulnerable situation by attempting to cross international borders without the required travel documents, and recognizes the obligation of States to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants, including those of women and children, regardless of their migration status, and the specific needs of migrants in vulnerable situations;

Emphasizes the need to respect and promote international labour standards, as appropriate, and to respect the rights of migrants in their workplaces, including appropriate measures for the protection of women migrant workers in all sectors, including those involved in domestic work;

Recognizes that it is necessary to consider how the migration of highly skilled persons, including in the health, social and engineering sectors, affects the development efforts of developing countries, and emphasizes the need to consider circular migration in this regard;

Also recognizes the importance of enhancing the capacities of low-skilled migrants in order to increase their access to employment opportunities;

Underlines the important role that migrants play as contributors to the development of origin, transit and destination countries, as well as the complex interrelationship between migration and development and the need to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants, regardless of their migration status;

Encourages Member States to consider reducing the costs related to migration, such as the fees paid to recruiters, where applicable, lowering the transfer costs of remittances, enhancing the portability of social security entitlements and other acquired rights and promoting the mutual recognition of the educational and professional qualifications and competencies of migrants;

Recognizes that remittances constitute an important source of private capital, complement domestic savings and wages and can be instrumental in improving the well-being of recipients, and that remittances cannot be equated to other international financial flows, such as foreign direct investment, official development assistance or other public sources of financing for development;

Reaffirms that there is a need to further promote faster, cheaper and safer transfers of migrant remittances in both source and recipient countries, including through the reduction of the transaction costs of migrant remittances to less than 3 per cent and the elimination of remittance corridors with costs higher than 5 per cent by 2030, consistent with target 10.c of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as the need to facilitate interaction between diasporas and their countries of origin;

Notes the adoption of resolution 189/XXXVIII by the Governing Council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, on 16 February 2015, in which the Governing Council proclaimed 16 June as the International Day of Family Remittances and focused attention on the receiving end of family remittances and the need to capitalize on their potential to further help meet the economic, social and environmental challenges confronting developing countries, particularly in rural areas;

Expresses its concern about the impact of financial and economic crises and natural disasters and other drivers on international migration and migrants, and in this regard urges Governments to combat unfair and discriminatory treatment of all migrants, in particular migrant workers and their families;

Recognizes that women and girls account for almost half of all international migrants at the global level, and also recognizes the need to address the special situation and vulnerability of migrant women and girls by, inter alia, incorporating a gender perspective into policies and strengthening national laws, institutions and programmes to combat gender-based violence, including trafficking in persons and discrimination against women and girls;

Reiterates its commitment to preventing and combating trafficking in persons, identifying and protecting victims of trafficking, preventing and combating migrant smuggling, as well as the activities of transnational and national organized crime entities, and protecting migrants from exploitation and other abuses, stresses the need to establish or upgrade, as appropriate, national and regional anti-human-trafficking policies and to reinforce cooperation on prevention, the prosecution of traffickers and the protection of victims of trafficking, and encourages Member States to ratify, accede to and implement relevant international instruments on preventing and combating trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants;

Recognizes that the effective implementation at the national level of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, all of which were adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 55/25 of 15 November 2000, remains a challenge, and therefore stresses that it is important for States parties thereto to continue their efforts in this regard;

Encourages Member States to cooperate on mobility programmes that facilitate safe, orderly and regular migration, including through labour mobility, as well as programmes that allow migrants to integrate fully into society and that facilitate family reunification in accordance with the laws and specific criteria of each Member State, and notes that cooperation on return and readmission forms an important element of international cooperation on migration;

Reaffirms the commitment of Member States to address the drivers that create or exacerbate large movements of migrants, reiterates the need to analyse and respond to the factors, including in countries of origin, which lead or contribute to large movements, and to create conditions that allow communities and individuals to live in peace and prosperity in their homelands, and recognizes that migration should be a choice, not a necessity, and the need to take measures, inter alia, to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

Recognizes the need to improve public perceptions of migrants and migration, welcomes in this regard the efforts undertaken to create greater public awareness of their contributions, also welcomes the global campaign launched by the Secretary-General to counter xenophobia, supports its implementation in cooperation with the United Nations and all relevant stakeholders, in accordance with international law, and reiterates that the campaign will emphasize, inter alia, direct personal contact between host communities and migrants and will highlight the positive contributions made by the latter, as well as our common humanity;

Strongly condemns the acts, manifestations and expressions of racism, discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance against migrants and the stereotypes often applied to them, including on the basis of nationality, religion or belief, urges States to apply and, where needed, reinforce the existing laws when xenophobic or intolerant acts, manifestations or expressions against migrants occur in order to eradicate impunity for those who commit those acts, and in this regard recognizes the need to improve their integration and inclusion, as appropriate, with particular reference to access to education, health care, justice and language training;

Recognizes the importance of coordinated efforts of the international community to assist and support migrants stranded in vulnerable situations and to facilitate, and cooperate on when appropriate, their voluntary return to their country of origin, and calls for practical and action-oriented initiatives aimed at identifying and closing protection gaps;

Reaffirms the commitment of Member States to protect the safety, dignity and human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants, regardless of their migration status, at all times, and to cooperate closely to facilitate and ensure safe, orderly and regular migration, including return and readmission, taking into account national legislation;

Also reaffirms the commitment of Member States to safeguard the rights of, protect the interests of and assist migrant communities abroad, including through consular protection, assistance and cooperation, in accordance with relevant international law, further reaffirms that everyone has the right to leave any country, including his or her own, and to return to his or her country, recalls at the same time that each State has a sovereign right to determine whom to admit to its territory, subject to that State’s international obligations, also recalls that States must readmit their returning nationals and ensure that they are duly received without undue delay, following confirmation of their nationalities in accordance with national legislation, and recognizes the need to take measures to inform migrants about the various processes relating to their arrival and stay in countries of transit, destination and return;

Emphasizes the need for reliable, accurate, disaggregated, nationally relevant and internationally comparable statistical data and indicators on international migration, including, when possible, on the contributions of migrants to development in countries of origin, transit and destination, in order to facilitate the design of evidence-based policymaking and decision-making in all relevant aspects of sustainable development, and in this regard invites the entities of the United Nations system and other relevant international organizations and multilateral institutions, in accordance with their mandates and as appropriate, to assist Member States in their capacity-building efforts in this matter;

Calls upon all relevant bodies, agencies, funds, programmes and related organizations of the United Nations, including the International Organization for Migration and other members of the Global Migration Group, and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on International Migration and Development, as well as other relevant intergovernmental, regional and subregional organizations, within their respective mandates, to strengthen their collaboration and cooperation and enhance their engagement with Member States, the private sector and civil society to better and more fully address the issue of international migration and development, in order to adopt a coherent, comprehensive and coordinated approach;

Requests the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on International Migration and Development to continue to facilitate the linkages between the United Nations and the Global Forum on Migration and Development, promote collaboration between the Global Forum process and the Global Migration Group, including the International Organization for Migration, and continue to advocate for the principles reflected in the Declaration of the High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development;

Stresses the need to deepen the interaction between Governments and civil society in order to find responses to the challenges and the opportunities posed by international migration, to recognize the contribution of civil society, including non-governmental organizations, to promoting the well-being of migrants and their integration into society, especially when in conditions of extreme vulnerability, and to strengthen the support of the international community for the efforts of such organizations;

Decides to hold the third High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development in the first half of 2019, early enough to inform the high-level political forum on sustainable development which will review the Goals and targets relevant to migration of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and also decides to hold the High-level Dialogues during every fourth session of the General Assembly, beginning with the seventy-third session, at United Nations Headquarters, to review the follow-up to the outcomes of the previous High-level Dialogues, advance the discussion on the multidimensional aspects of international migration and development, assess progress towards the achievement of the migration-related Goals and targets, including migration-related commitments of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, taking into account other migration- and development-related processes;

Also decides that the modalities for the third High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development will be decided upon at its seventy-third session, and recommends a review, no later than at the eighty-fifth session of the General Assembly, of the organizational arrangements for future high-level dialogues, taking into account the alignment with all relevant United Nations processes;

Invites the regional commissions, in collaboration with other relevant entities and related organizations of the United Nations, including the International Organization for Migration, in accordance with their respective mandates, to continue to examine the regional aspects of international migration and development and to provide inputs to the report of the Secretary-General on international migration and development to be submitted to the General Assembly at its seventy-third session;

Calls upon the relevant organizations of the United Nations system, within their respective mandates and resources, to ensure that no one is left behind and no country is left behind in the implementation of the present resolution;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly, at its seventy-third session, a report on the implementation of the present resolution that also looks further into the integration of the migration perspective at the national, regional and international levels, including information on best practices and recommendations to address the difficulties that migrants face and to bolster their contribution to development;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-third session, under the item entitled “Globalization and interdependence”, the sub-item entitled “International migration and development”, unless otherwise agreed.

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Who created this mandate?

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What does this mandate say?

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