UNITAR and its Partners Encourage Greater Access, Visibility and Voice for Cities

UNITAR and its Partners Encourage Greater Access, Visibility and Voice for Cities 22 October 2014, Geneva, Switzerland - At the preparatory meeting of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), a state-led initiative to advance understanding and cooperation on migration and development, UNITAR's Assistant Secretary-General, Ms. Sally Fegan-Wyles, presented on why greater access, visibility and voice should be afforded to sub-national levels of government within the preparatory process and during the forthcoming GFMD entitled "Strengthening Partnerships: Human Mobility for Sustainable Development" that will take place in Istanbul Turkey in October 2015 (see statement below).

Cities will have an impact on all 3 thematic work streams proposed in the GFMD Roundtables: how cities govern migration and mobility has a direct impact on the well-being of migrants. Municipal leadership is a necessary criterion for improving public perceptions of migrants and for combating xenophobia. Indeed, public perceptions are shaped in part by how cities broach diversity in their daily functions ranging from legal protection, education, public order, economic development, health and urban planning. (More information)

Cities and localities are also considered agents of change in the context of the emerging post-2015 development agenda. On 16-17 October in New York, UNITAR Organized a Workshop on Realizing Post-2015 Aspirations for Migrants and Migration, presenting a first analysis on the areas where local governments’ input remains essential.

And, in terms of identifying creative solutions to new and emerging migration-related issues, local governments around the world have called for and in some instances, are implementing innovative approaches and solutions, for example on: identification documents for all city residents (more information), protections for unaccompanied minors (including alternatives to detention), and policy planning on the reintegration of returning combatants.

The Joint Migration and Development Initiative (JMDI), the World Bank KNOMAD Project and UNITAR’s Human Mobility Programme are working with cities and regions in the field of human mobility to strengthen local governance, and to secure access, visibility and voice in inter-governmental deliberations.

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