On Wednesday, 8 June 2016, the Bahá’í International Community and the International Movement ATD Fourth World co-hosted an informal breakfast meeting to consult on “Migration and its impact on the implementation of Agenda 2030.” This meeting was the 34th in a series of monthly gatherings designed to bring together representatives of member states, civil society, and UN agencies to discuss various thematic areas related to sustainable development.

Opening remarks were offered by Her Excellency Mrs. Chulamanee Chartsuwan, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of Thailand to the United Nations. She highlighted the importance of continuing the conversation on migration both bilaterally and multilaterally, in addition to employing a multi-sectoral approach to the issue.

Mr. Bela Hovy, Chief of Migration in the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, spoke next, offering an evidence-based presentation on the impact of migration, explaining that while the negative impacts of migration are often highlighted, the positive contributions made to host countries by migrants are underrepresented.

Finally, Ms. Jimena Leiva Roesch, Policy Analyst from the International Peace Institute, spoke, reminding everyone that “migration is one of the oldest human activities,” and that our current system needs to reflect today’s migration trends and increases. The floor was then opened for a general discussion.

The meeting was moderated by Serik Tokbolat, a representative of the Baha'i International Community. He has offered a number of reflections on the meeting, which are presented as a separate Perspective piece here.

Notes summarizing the discussion can be found here. The PowerPoint presentation made by Mr. Hovy can be downloaded from here, along with a fact sheet on the issue.