Switzerland - IOM’s two-day high-level Conference on Migrants and Cities (CMC) is underway in Geneva bringing together ministers, mayors and high level officials to debate for the first time in a global policy forum, the complex dynamics of human mobility in cities. The conference aims to assess how migration challenges can be managed and development opportunities maximized.

The CMC takes place in the framework of the International Dialogue on Migration (IDM) – IOM’s main forum for migration policy dialogue. It follows the successful Diaspora Ministerial Conference held in June 2013 when 600 participants, including 60 ministers and high level government representatives debated the potential contribution of the diaspora to development.

In his opening remarks, IOM Director General, Ambassador William Lacy Swing highlighted the fact that urban population is expected to reach almost 70 per cent of the world’s population by 2050, making migration a significant component of cities. As such, migrants play an important role in the global shift to cities and in driving cities’ development.

Urging mayors and other local government authorities, as well as their ministerial counterparts, to identify the best practices and to build bridges between good practices and policies at local and national levels, Ambassador Swing said: “When it comes to migrants, mayors are closer to ground reality than are politicians and parliamentarians. It is the mayors who have to provide the basic needs of migrants: shelter, jobs, security and public services. Mayors must also manage the process of migrant integration into the local society and economy.”

He also called upon local and city governments to use the authority of their offices and make public statements that set the tone for their citizens.

“You can play a significant role in changing the currently toxic tone of public discourse on migration to a more balanced, evidence-based and historically-accurate approach. The power of your public pronouncements can counter widespread, but false and damaging stereotypes of migrants and misleading ‘mythology’ surrounding the public debate on migration,” said Ambassador Swing.

Rather than succumb to these negative perceptions and caustic discourse, mayors and other local authorities can put the spotlight on migrants’ contributions to both host and home communities, he added.

Ambassador Swing also urged the conference to take the opportunity and contribute substantially to the HABITAT III process (United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, to be held at Quito in October 2016).

In opening remarks, Geneva Mayor Esther Adler said the city, which has around 28,000 people working for international organizations and NGOs, is truly an international laboratory, which is trying to eliminate linguistic obstacles for new residents by establishing information offices and providing multicultural resources.

Today (27/10), the second day of the conference sees the launch of IOM’s World Migration Report 2015 – Migrants and Cities: New Partnerships to Manage Urban Mobility. The report explores how migration and migrants are shaping cities and how the life of migrants is in turn shaped by cities, their people, organizations and rules.

For more information please visit http://www.iom.int/conference-migrants-and-cities.

For further information please contact Azzouz Samri at IOM HQ, Tel: + 41 227 179 468, Email: asamri@iom.int or IDM Workshop at idmworkshop@iom.int