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Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development marks a significant watershed in history.

This new, highly ambitious agenda will guide and galvanize our efforts to achieve sustainable development over the next 15 years. The 2030 Agenda grants us all a framework through which we transform our political commitments into successful action – a framework that will maintain pressure on us and tell us how well – or how poorly – we are doing.

The ambitious nature of the new agenda is reflected in its scope and universality.  The 2030 agenda is also epitomized by its inclusion of a number of significant and critical issues on which the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were silent.

Issues like migration.

For the first time, the global development framework highlights the positive contribution of migrants for inclusive growth and sustainable development. It recognizes the need to enhance migrants’ development outcomes, and to ensure that they are included.

This is a great achievement – one that IOM strongly applauds.

The challenge now is to give effect to this new agenda, and I dare say there are few policy areas more challenging than that of migration.  Migration cuts across virtually every areas of public policy – a phenomenon that attracts diverse --and often divisive – opinions.

Working  together through a revitalized global partnership, we can live up to the commitments now adopted, including to facilitate orderly, safe, regular and dignified  migration and mobility of people.

For IOM, the way to do this lies in implementing what I call a “high road scenario” on migration. This could encompass many different policy interventions, but is focused on best practice measures to improve migrant and host population wellbeing through safe, orderly, dignified and humane migration – the very core of target 10.7. Such an approach could include measures to:

• Lower the cost of migration;
• Promote portability of social security benefits and rights;
• Enhance the recognition of skills and educational qualifications;
• Provide access to health services and education for migrants;
• De-criminalize irregular migrants;
• Tackle discrimination and xenophobia; or
• Provide additional legal avenues for people to migrate.

These are just a few examples of what governments can do to address the challenges facing migrants and host communities, but there are many more.

We must recognise that today’s challenges are best met through partnership and joint action. This is especially true in the field of migration, which by definition requires responses that transcend any one country.

IOM stands ready to assist governments to develop and implement such policies in the pursuit of the 2030 Agenda and a world free of poverty. We are developing a Migration Governance Index to help monitor and build capacity in planning and implementation of governments’ migration policies, and IOM has a unique capacity to gather migration policy data from its Member States which could facilitate monitoring of the new agenda.  Our 480 offices on all continents, 65 years of experience, and our newly opened Global Migration Data Centre in Berlin are all at your disposal as partners.

Only by working together – through a new global partnership – can we achieve the SDGs.

Together, we can make a difference. We are here to help.