Global Forum for Migration and Development (GFMD)
About the GFMD
At the 2006 High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development, UN Member States agreed to create the Global Forum for Migration and Development (GFMD), which reflected the growing need for a global consultative forum on migration and development. The GFMD is an informal, non-binding, state-led dialogue to promote the exchange of practices and foster cooperation among governments. With time, it has become increasingly open as a dialogue space engaging multiple stakeholders, including civil society, business, local governments, youth and academia. It has been critical in paving the way for other global frameworks such as the UN Migration Compact and the Migrants in Countries in Crisis Initiative.
About the GFMD Mayors Mechanism
Until 2018, local governments were invited to the GFMD on an ad hoc basis. In the 2017 GFMD Summit in Berlin, local governments that participated in the Fourth Mayoral Forum on Human Mobility, Migration and Development in Berlin, were invited to share their perspectives in the Summit. This marked an important ‘rapprochement’ between local governments and the GFMD.
In 2018, and in response to the growing recognition of the importance of cities in addressing migration governance challenges, the GFMD Steering Group agreed to formally link local governments to the GFMD, alongside civil society, the private sector and youth. Since then, they have been firmly recognised as key stakeholders in international deliberations on migration and are considered an integral part of the state-led GFMD.
The Mayors Mechanism is co-steered by the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), the Mayors Migration Council (MMC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). It forms part of the Coalition activities but is referred to as Mayors Mechanism in line with GFMD terminology.
Further Information
GFMD 2024 - 2025 Colombia
GFMD 2023 - 2024 France
GFMD 2020 - 2021 UAE
Past Mayoral Fora on Migration and Development
GFMD Documents