GLOBAL FORUM FOR MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT
Learn how the Mayors Migration Council is mainstreaming city access at the Global Forum for Migration and Development.
Background
In 2018, the MMC launched the Mayors Mechanism of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) with the UN Agency on Migration (IOM) and the largest global city network, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG).
The Mayors Mechanism creates a formal access point for cities to the GFMD, an annual process where national governments debate frontline migration challenges.
Carolina Cosse, Former Mayor of Montevideo, UruguayWe will demonstrate how local public services, our policies, actions, and commitments make a difference. We will continue to advocate for localization as a tool to make global agendas actionable
Our Progress
In 2020, the Mayors Mechanism brought 80 representatives from over 50 cities to the 12th GFMD, hosted by the Government of Ecuador, marking the first time cities had substantial access to a State-led process on migration.
In 2021, we fully mainstreamed cities into the 13th GFMD, hosted by the Government of the UAE, bringing more than 90 city representatives to a multi-day virtual summit and securing cities’ speaking roles in 50 percent of the sessions.
As a result, cities influenced the agenda of the 14th GFMD, hosted by the Government of France in 2024, making sure city priorities like access to healthcare regardless of migration status, climate migration, and multilevel governance are up for discussion and innovation.
Given the Mayors Mechanism’s success, the MMC, UCLG, and IOM agreed to scale this collaborative approach to the UN reviews of the Global Compacts.
In 2024, over 28 local and regional government representatives from 23 cities, regions, and city networks from across the globe, joined the 14th GFMD, in Geneva, Switzerland. Out of the 28 representatives, 19 spoke in the Summit’s sessions as panelists, each elevating our Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees. As a key milestone, The GFMD Mayors Mechanism hosted a networking meeting on Localizing Global Migration Goals to Accelerate the 2030 Agenda. Opened by Amy Pope, Director General (DG) of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the session facilitated a dialogue between the governments of Colombia, Ecuador, France and the United States, and local government leaders from Barranquilla, Djinany, Paris, Tlaxcala and Quezon.
Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM)Cities are where the action happens. When we talk about migration and displacement, we’re actually talking about cities.
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