Introduction

The United Nations High-Level Dialogue (HLD) on International Migration and Development took place on 14 and 15 September 2006 at UN Headquarters in New York. The first high-level UN event devoted entirely to the topic of migration and development, the HLD brought together ministers from UN member states and representatives from UN agencies, intergovernmental organizations, NGOs, civil society and the private sector. The two-day dialogue was structured as four plenary meetings and four thematic roundtables.

Roundtable themes:

1. The effects of international migration on economic and social development;
2. Measures to ensure respect for and protection of the human rights of all migrants, and to prevent and combat smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons;
3. The multidimensional aspects of international migration and development, including remittances;
4. Promoting the building of partnerships and capacity-building and the sharing of best practices at all levels, including the bilateral and regional levels, for the benefit of countries and migrants alike.
   

Participants at the HLD were also given the opportunity to debate the structure and nature of a permanent global consultative forum. As suggested by the United Nations Secretary-General in his report on International Migration and Development, the set up of such forum would help to bring “all the pieces of the migration and development puzzle” together through an exchange of  views on migration-related issues as well as best practices of migration policymaking and initiatives which have proved to be beneficial for development.       

For more information on the UN High-Level Dialogue, its preparatory events and outcomes, please click here. More details on the activities of IOM, the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the European Union in support of the HLD can be found by clicking on their respective tabs.