The Center for Migration Studies and the International Organization for Migration hosted a Conference on International Migration and Development in New York, US, on 17-18 January 2008.

The Conference aimed to continue the dialogue initiated by the High-Level Dialogue on Migration convened by the UN Secretary-General in 2006 and the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) launched in 2007. During the two-day conference, policy-makers, practitioners and experts reviewed the outcomes and achievements of past events to assess the direction of the international debate on migration and development as well as policy and legal implications. In her opening address to the conference, UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro stressed how the debate on migration and development has matured from a sensitive, conflictive issue to a collaborative one between recipients and countries of origin. The meeting will feed into the second GFMD to be held in Manila, the Philippines, from 27-30 October 2008. Greece will host the third GFMD in 2009.
Links to further information
UN News Centre, 17 January 2008
Deputy Secretary General remarks, DSG SM/370, 17 January 2008
Conference website