Migration in the Era of Global Change

A thematic book exhibition “Migration in the Era of Global Changes” dedicated to the International Day of Migrants is open in the Official Documents Service Department (room 207) from December 15, 2020 to January 17, 2021.

This Day was proclaimed at the 55th session of the UN General Assembly on December 4, 2000 (Resolution 55/93) and is celebrated annually on December 18. The date was not chosen randomly - on this day, in 1990, the Assembly adopted the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (resolution 45/158). This convention became a comprehensive program for the protection of the rights of migrants (as of June 2020, 55 states have ratified it).

People have been moving from place to place since time immemorial. Some move in search of better jobs, education, economic benefits, or family reunification, while others are forced to flee conflicts, terrorism or human rights violations. The number of people who moving out as a result of climate change consequences, natural disasters, or other environmental factors is growing.

In the modern world, the migration of people rises to an unprecedented scale. In 2000, the number of migrants in the world was about 173 million, and in 2019, it reached 272 million. According to expert estimates, every thirty-fifth inhabitant of the planet is a migrant who lives and works outside their country.

Migration is a global phenomenon, which requires global approaches and global decisions. The United Nations plays an active role in this area, promoting dialogue and interaction between countries and regions, and encouraging the exchange of experiences and the expansion of opportunities for cooperation.

In September 2006, the UN hosted an event called the High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development for the first time. This event was a defining moment in the consideration by UN member states of ways and means to maximize the benefits of international migration for development and minimizing its negative consequences. In October 2013, the second High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development took place. As a result, member states adopted a declaration condemning acts, manifestations and signs of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance against migrants.

On September 19, 2016, the UN General Assembly held a high-level meeting, at which the UN Secretary General's report "In Security and Dignity: Addressing the Displacement of Large Groups of Refugees and Migrants" was presented. Heads of State and High Representatives unanimously approved the most important outcome document, the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, which expresses the political will of world leaders to save lives, protect human rights and share responsibility fairly at the global level. 

Representatives of 164 states approved the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration on December 10, 2018, at the Intergovernmental Conference in Marrakech, Morocco. It provided a unique opportunity to improve migration management, respond to the challenges of modern migration and strengthen the contribution of migrants to sustainable development.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes the positive contribution of migration to sustainable development. Eleven of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals contain targets and indicators that are applicable to migration and mobility. The main principle of the Agenda “Ensuring that no one is left behind” applies to all people, including migrants.

A total of about 100 documents are offered to readers at the exhibition. Most of the exhibition is made up of documents of international organizations (UN, IOM, OSCE, ILO, European Union). These are books, periodicals, mimeographed UN materials in Russian, German and English:

The following thematic sections are on display:

• International migration and migration law
• The scope and dynamics of international migration
• Migration policy and cooperation in the field of migration
• International labour migration
• Migration processes in Belarus

The exhibition will be useful to specialists in international relations, lawyers, political scientists, researchers, teachers, university students, as well as anyone interested in modern theories and migration problems.

Related links:

• High-level meeting to address issues related to the displacement of large groups of refugees and migrants (2016)
• High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development (2013)
• High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development (2006)
• International Migration Report (2019)
• International Labour Migration Database
• Intergovernmental Conference for The Adoption of a Global Migration Treaty
• Global Migration Treaty
• Global agenda issues
• Refugees and migrants
• Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Legal Migration
• New York Declaration on Refugees and Migrants (September 2016)
• Declaration of the High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development (October 2013)
• International Migrants Day

Global Forum on Migration and Development

• Global Forum website
• Eleventh Meeting (Marrakech, Morocco, December 5-7, 2019)
• Tenth Meeting (Berlin, Germany, June 28-30, 2018)
• Ninth Meeting (Bangladesh, 2016)
• Eighth Meeting (Istanbul, Turkey, October 14-16, 2015)
• Seventh Meeting (Stockholm, Sweden, May 14-16, 2014)
• Sixth Meeting (Port Louis, Mauritius, November 21-22, 2012)
• Fifth Meeting (Geneva, Switzerland December 1-2, 2011)
• Fourth Meeting (Puerto Vallarte, Mexico, November 8-11, 2010)
• Third Meeting (Athens, Greece, November 2-5, 2009)
• Second Meeting(Manila, Philippines, October 27-30, 2008)
• First Meeting (Brussels, Belgium, July 9-11, 2007)

The opening hours of the exhibition correspond to the library’s opening hours.
Admission is by the library card or by the ticket of the library's social and cultural center.

For more info: (+375 17) 293 27 34.

Official Documents Service Department