Unlocking human mobility's development potential within the Global South

This online conference will offer a dynamic platform for fostering a dialogue between national, regional, and international stakeholders on policies to manage South-South migration while capitalising on its potential contributions to the socio-economic well-being of people in developing countries.

To achieve the SDGs by 2030, we must intensify our efforts and enhance collaboration, especially by addressing human mobility within the Global South. Though about half of all international migration takes place between countries in the Global South and the fact that over two-thirds of the world’s forcibly displaced are hosted there, this topic has historically been under-researched and under-funded. It is high time to reconsider this lacuna.

The conference is co-hosted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Migration for Development and Equality Hub (MIDEQ), the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), Statistics Sweden (SCB) and the African Union Commission (AUC). The conference aims to inform the global discourse on international migration and forced displacement, including the Global Compact for Migration (GCM) regional reviews, the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), the International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) and the Global Refugee Forum.

The panels for each day are as follows:

Day 1 - 11 September 2024

• What do we know about human mobility in the Global South?
• How can migrants and forcibly displaced persons be better integrated in the Global South?
• How can access to justice for migrants in the Global South contribute to development?

Day 2 - 12 September 2024

• How can transit migration be addressed with a view for local development?
• How can remittances and the role of diasporas in the Global South be leveraged for development in countries of origin?
• What role can development actors play in supporting the positive contribution of migration to development in the Global South

If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact Jessy Nassar (jn37@soas.ac.uk), Jason Gagnon (jason.gagnon@oecd.org) or Elisabeth Turner (elisabeth.turner@oecd.org).