UN Headquarters, New York, Feb 26-28, 2019 – UN-Habitat has stressed the importance of local governments for integrating migrants and enhancing their access to housing, services and employment during a series of event on the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration adopted in December 2018.
The events in New York included an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on Migration and Development, organized by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affa
irs, a high-level debate and the IOM International Dialogue on Migration, which focused on youth and migration. The UN-Habitat team, at the International Dialogue on Migration, highlighted that integration of migrants, and especially youth, takes place in cities and introduced the agency’s work on One Stop Youth Centres, youth councils as platforms for participation in urban processes and training programmes for youth
More than 60 per cent of migrants, and an even higher percentage of Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees, move to cities. The Global Compact on Migration acknowledges the role of local authorities and urban stakeholders as many of its 23 objectives can only be achieved in collaboration with local actors. For supporting the local implementation of the Global Compact on Migration and other frameworks, such as the Global Compact for Refugees, UN-Habitat, in cooperation with partners and buildings up on prior and ongoing projects will focus on:
o Building the capacity of local authorities and city leaders on inclusive urban planning and design; governance structures for integration of migrants at city level and on innovative approaches to increase access to adequate and affordable housing and social services for all;
o Supporting local authorities for data collection – by applying tested methodologies including city and neighbourhood profiling and the City Prosperity Initiative (CPI);
o Enhancing the dialogue across government levels and the inclusions of all relevant urban stakeholders in decision-making processes for a successful integration of migrants in cities;
o Supporting sharing of experiences and knowledge of city-leaders at national, regional and global level.