New York – IOM, the UN Migration Agency, participates in the 2018 High-level Political Forum (HLPF), which is underway from 9-18 July, by co-organizing three events to address the migration related aspects of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the UN Headquarters in New York.  

Under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the HLPF is the principal UN body mandated to review implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs. Each year, the HLPF reviews several SDGs and discusses progress towards the 2030 Agenda under an overarching theme.  

This year, the theme of the HLPF “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies” and the SDGs in review are of relevance to migration: SDG 6 (clean water and safe sanitation), SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy), SDG 11 (inclusive and sustainable cities), SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production), SDG 15 (life on land) and SDG 17 (partnerships for the global goals).  

The first event “Vanishing Waters and Drying Lands: Impacts on Migration” will take place on 9 July at 6:30 pm and will focus on two dimensions of the migration, environment and climate change nexus, bringing together two of the SDGs under discussion at the 2018 HLPF: water (SDG6) and land (SDG15). Furthermore, it will identify the linkages between water, land and migration and explore potential policy responses under the SDGs framework.  

In partnership with the Permanent Mission of the Federal Government of Somalia to the UN, IOM is co-organizing the event with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Geneva Water Hub, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the United Nations University- Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), and UN-Water. 

The second event "Migration Governance in the GCC: Towards Inclusive, Safe and Resilient Societies” will take place on 16 July and will feature an interactive discussion as well as presentations from a high-level panel. Co-hosted by the Philippines and Bahrain Permanent Missions at the UN, and Migrant Forum of Asia, the event will examine some of the areas where the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) and the SDGs intersect, from the perspectives of a sending country (the Philippines), a receiving country (Bahrain), a United Nations Agency (the IOM), and an NGO (Migrant Forum of Asia).  

In addition, IOM is one of the partners of the Launch of the Global Plan of Action for Sustainable Energy Solutions in Situations of Displacement (GPA), taking place in the margins of the HLPF on 11 July. Today, over 130 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance due to conflict, natural disasters, and other complex global challenges.  For many of these people, access to energy sources is critical for survival. In this context, the GPA was initiated in January 2018. It is a non-binding framework that entails concrete recommendations for accelerated progress towards the vision of safe access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy services for all displaced people by 2030. 

The HLPF brings more than a thousand government, business and civil society leaders to highlight the efforts they are taking to achieve the SDGs. This year, 47 countries, both developed and developing, will be presenting their voluntary national reviews (VNRs). Civil society, the private sector, academia and other stakeholders will attend and provide major inputs at a 3-day ministerial meeting from 16-18 July.  

As part of its commitment to assist Member States achieve the migration objectives of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs for a dignified and humane migration, IOM provided an input to the 2018 HLPF which can be accessed here. 

The meeting will adopt a ministerial declaration which aims to commit ministers from around the world to leaving no one behind in implementing the SDGs. 

Read more about the HLPF, IOM side events, the SDGs in the review this year and how they relate to migration: https://unofficeny.iom.int/hlpf  

For more information, please contact the IOM Office in New York: 

Mr. Chris Richter Tel: +1 917 767 0863, Email: crichter@iom.int  

Ms. Mariam Traore Chazalnoel, Tel: +1 929 343 6001, Email: mchazalnoel@iom.int