On 29 October, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Belarus held a workshop on “Migration Management in Practice: Partnership, Review and Reporting” for national partners and members of the United Nations Country Network (UNCNM) on Migration.

A specific target within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is devoted to effective migration management – 10.7, which aims to “facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies”. At the same time, many other goals and targets within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are directly or indirectly linked to migration.

“Human mobility is one of the drivers in achieving the SDGs, and in fact, none of today’s challenges – from climate change to conflicts – can be effectively addressed without considering migration,” noted Mahym Orazmuhammedova, IOM Belarus Chief of Mission.

International experts – Amr Taha, Senior Regional Liaison and Policy Advisor at IOM's Regional Office, and Franz Fischer, Migration Policy Specialist from the Secretariat of the United Nations Network on Migration – discussed with participants the interconnectedness of migration and sustainable development, as well as the implementation of the SDGs and the Global Compact for Migration (GCM). They emphasized the role of the UNCNM in preparing voluntary national reviews on the SDGs and the GCM, which Belarus regularly provides, and introduced opportunities for further integration of migration and GCM objectives into voluntary reviews of the 2030 Agenda.

“Belarus is actively involved in voluntary national reviews at the global and regional levels, which provide an opportunity to assess the progress made, including in the area of migration policy, and we appreciate these efforts on Belarus’ part,” noted Amr Taha.

Workshop participants outlined priority areas in migration and set out plans for future cooperation within the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework. These joint efforts contribute to achieving global and national goals, strengthening social stability, and supporting the development of human potential.

The workshop was conducted within the international technical assistance project “Strengthening the Implementation, Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting of Migration-Related SDGs in Belarus” implemented by IOM in coordination with the Ministry of Interior of Belarus and with financial support of IOM Development Fund.