Buenos Aires - IOM and UN-Habitat have agreed to work together to identify opportunities and create synergies to promote sustainable urban development initiatives aimed at urban populations including migrants, in Latin American and  Caribbean.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which was signed by the regional representatives of the two agencies, covers a joint agenda of technical cooperation based on the three thematic New Urban Agenda streams: urban planning and design, urban economy and urban legislation.

The document was signed by Diego Beltrand, IOM Regional Director for South America; Marcelo Pisani,  IOM Regional Director for Central America, North America and the Caribbean, and Elkin Velásquez, UN-Habitat Regional Director for Latin America.  

IOM and UN-Habitat will coordinate the implementation of initiatives dealing with the institutional strengthening of the regional governments and other partners to effectively respond to the challenges and opportunities offered by the nexus between migration and resettlement.

This includes the growth of slums and other temporary settlements as a result of displacement to cities, the vulnerability of residents, their lack of representation, and the diversity of social and cultural capital that migrants bring with them to cities.

This MoU comes at a time when migration has become a main component of growing urbanization. It is estimated that the urban population will reach nearly 70 per cent of the world population by the year 2050.

Speaking at the signing, Beltrand highlighted the need to include the topic of human mobility in national and local development agendas: “It is estimated that, by the middle of this century, 4 out of 5 people will be living in towns and cities. This means that urban planning will have to take into consideration migration dynamics and human mobility. These matters, along with integrated risk management, constitute IOM’s main contributions to the new urban agenda,” he said.

Pisani added: “Multiculturalism, a feature of our cities in America, is the result of decades of intense migration activity. IOM, as an intergovernmental agency specializng in migration, is committed to joining efforts with agencies like UN-Habitat to promote and disseminate better practices of equity, inclusion and cultural tolerance in our cities.”

Velásquez noted: “Considering the high urbanization rates and the growing number of cities in the region, human mobility and migration are key matters to support the construction of prosperous and inclusive cities. The joint work of IOM and UN-Habitat aims to bolster the multiplier effect of urban development and migration in various settings, which results in win-win situations. We are aware of the importance of working on the matter of migration and planning with local governments, particularly in regions getting great investments with positive social and environmental impact.”    

Regarding resettlements and migration, the parties will agree to promote and highlight the positive contribution of migration to sustainable development in order to support the adaptation of human resettlement in the region and to encourage social and economic development through migration.

The MoU will also strengthen research and information exchange on the complex impacts of climate change, environmental degradation and migration in the short and long term.

This agreement comes ahead of the High Level Conference on Migrants and Cities (CMC), hosted by IOM in October, which will bring together ministers and mayors to debate, for the first time in a world policy forum, the complex dynamics of human mobility in cities. The World Migration Report 2015, whose central theme is Migrants and Cities, will be presented at the conference.  

For further information please contact Juliana Quintero at IOM Buenos Aires, Tel: +54 113 24 88134, Email: juquintero@iom.int