News 08 May 2026 Governments Review Migration Priorities in New York

New York, 8 May 2026 - Governments from around the world discussed steps forward on migration challenges and opportunities through 2030, adopting a Progress Declaration at the close of the second International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The declaration, negotiated by United Nations Member States, reaffirms the international community's commitment to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), reviews progress made so far, and outlines priorities for future action. These include labour rights, legal identity for migrants, strengthening safe and regular migration pathways, saving lives and working with States and stakeholders along key migration routes.

"Migration is an inevitable human reality. The question is not whether migration is good or bad. The question is whether we manage it well, and manage it together. As every country today is either a country of origin, transit, or destination - and most times even all three at once," said H.E. Annalena Baerbock, the President of the United Nations General Assembly, who convened the Forum in line with General Assembly resolutions.

"No state can manage migration alone. It requires cooperation, it requires international regulation. And that is precisely the purpose of the Global Compact. This is precisely the purpose of multilateralism."

Held from 5 to 8 May, the IMRF marked the second global review of the GCM, the voluntary 2018 agreement that covers the entire spectrum of migration and is underpinned by ten guiding principles and grounded in international law.

"Every sovereign state has the right to set its own migration priorities. Every migrant has the right to be treated with dignity. This Forum showed that these two truths are not in tension - and that when countries work together, both can be upheld," said Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Coordinator of the UN Network on Migration.

The Forum was preceded, on 4 May, by an informal multi-stakeholder hearing, convening migrants, civil society, diaspora and faith-based organizations, local authorities, the private sector, trade unions, parliamentarians, national human rights institutions, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, academia and the media alongside UN partners and Member States - underscoring the Global Compact for Migration's whole-of-society approach.

This was followed by four days of round tables, policy discussions and a general debate on key migration priorities, informed by consultations at local, national and regional levels.

Ahead of the IMRF, 90 voluntary national reviews were submitted - up 30 per cent since 2022 and spanning all regions - signaling increased government engagement and offering the most comprehensive snapshot yet of implementation.

Commitments are also accelerating: since December 2021, over 450 pledges have been made by governments, UN entities and partners, up from 158 at the first Forum. These include investments to improve labour conditions, expand digital civil registration and strengthen support to countries hosting displaced populations, alongside new contributions to the Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund established by the GCM.

The United Nations Network on Migration - bringing together 39 UN entities under IOM's coordination - supported governments by mobilizing resources, strengthening capacities and advancing national implementation plans.

The next International Migration Review Forum will take place in 2030.

For further information and resources:

Read the Progress Declaration

Read the Global Information Brief

For more information, please visit IOM's Media Centre.