Conclusions

It is important to understand migration and displacement, and how they are changing globally, given their relevance to States, local communities and individuals. Human migration and displacement may be age-old phenomena that stretch back to the earliest periods of human history, but their manifestations and impacts have changed over time as the world has become more globalized and we increasingly experience major global transformations in geopolitical, environmental and technological domains.⁴⁷

As every new day passes, we have more data and information on migration and displacement globally at our disposal; yet the very nature of migration in an interconnected world means that its dynamics can be difficult to capture in statistical terms. Differences in definitions, conceptualizations and cultural constructs, as well as unexpected events that pose new and unforeseen challenges can hamper our collective understandings of how migration is changing. That said, we witnessed entirely new data sets emerge quickly during COVID-19, including from IOM and other United Nations agencies, large technology companies and academic institutions.

We are also seeing how the increasing digitalization of migration and mobility – the lifeblood of which is data – is being increasingly utilized as part of ongoing efforts to develop big new data sets for capturing movements and anticipating and preparing solutions. Reducing global inequality is also supported by data collection and analysis. The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration emphasizes a commitment to improving international cooperation on migration, as well as collecting migration data and undertaking research and analysis so that we may better understand trends and evolving patterns and processes, to support the development of evidence-based responses. The long-term data clearly show that the implementation of the Global Compact is an urgent and overdue priority, as global mobility inequality has deepened over the last 25 years (see Chapter 4 of this report).

The global data also show that displacement caused by conflict, generalized violence and other factors continues to trend upward to new highs. Intractable, unresolved, recurring and newly reignited conflicts and violence have led to an increase in the number of refugees around the world. While a handful of countries continue to provide solutions for refugees, overall these have been profoundly and persistently insufficient in addressing global needs and we have seen the proportion of refugees resettled drop over time. In addition, there are estimated to be more people displaced internally than ever before. The harsh reality is that we continue to read about the “new high” in global displacement (since the commencement of robust data collection) every time annual aggregated global data are released year after year. The United Nations Action Agenda on internal displacement provides a critically needed platform for highlighting and responding to this issue, which is underpinned by a combination of complex factors.