Migrants wait at the migration center in Lampedusa, Sicily, on September 14. Valeria Ferraro (AP)
Halfway to the Agenda 2030 deadline, we are leaving more than half the world behind. Progress on more than half of key poverty, hunger and environment targets is insufficient and 30% are stagnating or declining.
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Now that we have reached the midpoint of progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is necessary to close the migration gap of the 2030 Agenda so that migration is managed globally and not treated as an issue that we must limit. A new migration discourse and framework must ensure the positive effects of migration and thus drive the success of the 2030 Agenda and the transformation towards a new social contract.
The SDG framework recognizes migration as a driver of development. It states that “the goals and objectives for all nations, peoples and sectors of society will be achieved” and that the most vulnerable – women and migrant children – are less protected. However, this scope and discourse is limited and does not adequately represent the complex and multidimensional nature of migration. Only Goals 8.8 (Protecting labor rights and promoting a safe and risk-free working environment for all workers, including migrant workers), 10.7 (Facilitating migration and orderly migration policies) and 10.c (Reducing migrant remittance costs) explicitly mention migrants or migration. In 2020, indicator 10.7.4 was included, the only one that addresses refugees.
The need to recognize climate refugees in international law must be incorporated into the 2030 Agenda and its goals
Who is left behind?
The 2030 Agenda shows insufficient integration of migration. It may reflect the migration tensions of 2015. The agenda must therefore stop portraying migration as a temporary and unplanned circumstance requiring Western management and must be seen as an integral driver of sustainable development and transformation that must be managed at the national level. World.
In the context of climate change, migration management is particularly important. According to the World Bank, more than a billion people now live in low-lying areas that will be at risk from the effects of coastal climate by 2050. The extent to which climate change will amplify demographic movements in the near future depends on global cooperation and coherent mitigation and adaptation actions within various multilateral frameworks.
In 2019, 25.9 million refugees were excluded and left behind under the SDGs. This is because they are excluded from SDG data collection, reporting, monitoring and development plans and because climate refugees are not yet recognized under international law.
The lack of data on refugee well-being is severe. 70% of Syrians in Lebanon live below the national poverty line, compared to 26% of those born and living in the country. In the case of Ethiopia, according to data from the International Rescue Committee, 6% of Eritrean children read fluently by the age of 10, compared to 15% of children born in Ethiopia.
A new migration destination could play a crucial role in multiple dimensions of sustainable development, ensuring that no one is left behind, addressing global challenges and being an engine of development. This would also serve to ensure that the specific needs and vulnerabilities of all types of migrants are explicitly taken into account in national and global development agendas. The need to recognize climate refugees in international law must be included in the agenda and its goals, thereby committing to human rights, equal opportunities and social inclusion regardless of immigration status.
The continued omission of migration from the SDGs will leave many behind tomorrow
Building on the Global Compact on Migration (GMP) would serve as a solid and fundamental framework to improve engagement and accountability, policy coherence, data disaggregation and collection, collaboration and a paradigm shift in the idea of migration as a problem to be addressed.
The Global Compact on Migration and the SDGs already share several concepts on decent work, cooperation, legal status, vulnerability and access to basic services. However, in promoting the Compact as a goal, a global consensus on social protection, reintegration, remittances, contributions, discrimination, human trafficking, pathway development, documentation and identity needs to be more explicitly established. More responsibility is needed in terms of global cooperation and migration commitments. Only 163 countries have signed the PMM, while all 191 members of the United Nations have committed to the SDGs. This means key countries such as the United States, Italy, Israel, Latvia, Poland and Australia will be held accountable for their global migration commitments.
The continued omission of migration from the SDGs will leave many behind tomorrow. The need to move beyond the limited linear notion of classifying countries as origin, destination or transit and their corresponding responsibilities must be translated into global engagement and migration management. A goal that recognizes and implements this change will paint a more realistic picture of migration, in which migration is a complex driver of development rather than a challenge. We face a unique opportunity to commit to defining a realistic path where no one is truly left behind.
Beyond its institutional relevance, a new SDG will contribute to the migration debate and go beyond the idea of migration as a threat to society or a humanitarian challenge. This message is aimed not only at conservatives and their idea of migration as a cultural and economic burden, but also at civil society, NGOs and political parties. To implement this idea, the immigration discourse must be reshaped. This article aims to challenge the victimizing and saving attitudes towards immigrants, even from NGOs and the political left. Looking forward, a migration SDG would be responsible for reconfiguring the migration discourse and its vertical frameworks and creating inclusive dialogues that actively integrate and listen to people.
Rodrigo Autric He is a researcher specializing in sustainable development and governance.
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