To mark International Migrants Day on 18 December, UN Secretary-General António Guterres underlined migrants’ importance and praised their essential contributions to economies and communities across the world. In his message, the UN Secretary-General also called attention to the considerable challenges they face, including widespread prejudice, discriminatory attitudes, violence and human trafficking. Injustices exacerbated by misinformation and hate speech, which fuels divisions and distorts perceptions of migrants.
International commitments
The Secretary-General reiterated that Global Compact for Safe, orderly and regular Migration, which was adopted six years ago, remained an essential tool for protecting migrants at every stage of their journey. He also stressed the importance of the recently adopted Pact for the Future, which reaffirms the commitment of countries to strengthen international cooperation to ensure that migration respects human rights.
Mr Guterres also called on the international community to defend the rights of all migrants and to work towards the creation of safe, humane and inclusive migration systems. He stressed that these efforts must be made not just on 18 December, but every day, to ensure a better future for migrants and host societies.
Global statistics on migration
According to the World Migration Report 2024 of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), international migrants numbered 281 million, representing around 3.6% of the world’s population. At the same time, by 2022, the number of people displaced due to conflict, violence, disasters or other causes has reached an all-time high of 117 million.
