United States - IOM Director General William Lacy Swing is heading the IOM delegation participating in the second UN High Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development (HLD) taking place this week at UN HQ in New York.

“IOM views the 2013 HLD as an important opportunity to review progress since the first HLD and to improve the governance of migration, in particular as regards the protection of the human rights of all migrants; perceptions of migrants and migration; and reflection of migration in national and global development agendas, in a spirit of multilateral cooperation,” said Ambassador Swing.

As the global lead agency on migration, IOM has been asked by its 151 Member States and by the UN General Assembly to participate in and contribute to the HLD, together with UN partner agencies.

IOM proposes six key areas of action to enhance the development outcomes of migration for migrants, their families, countries of origin and countries of destination. They are to:

1. Improve public perceptions of migrants.
2. Factor migration into development planning, at national, regional and global levels, including in the post-2015 development agenda.
3. Protect the human rights of all migrants.
4. Manage migration in crisis situations.
5. Enhance the evidence and knowledge base.
6. Promote policy coherence and institutional development.

Any progress in the migration debate must be based on a renewed commitment to protect the human rights of all migrants. It must also recognize the contribution of migrants and migration to all dimensions of sustainable development, through the inclusion of migration in the post-2015 UN development agenda, as part of a new global partnership for development.

“In a globalized world, we need to think in terms of linkages that connect countries, communities and individuals across borders, rather than in terms of the barriers that divide us. Competition for labour, skills and talent is becoming a global phenomenon, as is the need to manage inequalities, diversity and social cohesion, and to adapt to an increasingly urbanized planet.  We need to recognize that migration is central to these challenges and to their solution,” says Ambassador Swing.

IOM is organizing and participating in the following HLD side events:

• 2 October, 13:15: The Importance of Regional Dynamics to International Migration and Development – co-chaired by Peru and the Russian Federation, with support from IOM and UN Regional Commissions.
• 3 October, 13:15: The Positive Contributions of Migrants and Migrants' Well-Being – co-chaired by Bangladesh and Canada, in collaboration with IOM.
• 4 October, 8:00: Putting Migration on the Development Agenda: How to Integrate Migration into National Development Planning and the Post-2015 Development Agenda – co-chaired by Jamaica and Sweden, in collaboration with IOM and UNDP.
• 4 October, 13:15: The Global Migration Group: Work, Priorities and Future Directions – with a keynote address by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The two-day HLD will consist of a plenary meeting and four consecutive interactive round tables.  For more details, see IOM’s Position Paper on HLD. For more information on the HLD, please visit: http://www.un.org/esa/population/meetings/HLD2013/mainhld2013.html?main

For more information and/or to schedule interviews with IOM representatives, please contact Niurka Piñeiro in New York. Email: npineiro@iom.int or call/text + 1 202 684-0559.