Migration and the 2030 Agenda: Making Everyone Count

Lack of consideration in follow-up and review

In order to document progress and ob­stacles to the implementation of the SDGs and allow for corresponding discussions at the UN level, a structured review process was set up. The reference point for the prepa­ration of the review documents is the global indicator framework, a comprehensive catalogue of indicators negotiated by the participating states. With the help of the catalogue, the implementation of the 169 targets that specify the content of the SDGs is to be reviewed. This sophisticated procedure, however, entails the risk that groups and aspects not explicitly covered by the indicators will remain statistically invisible. This is precisely what can be ob­served in relation to migrants and refugees.

SDG 11.1, which aims at giving all people access to adequate, safe, and af­ford­able housing, offers an illustration. The target is particularly important for irregular migrants and refugees, who often live in precarious accommodations without access to adequate basic services. However, the corresponding indicator does not take into account the situation of this population group separately. Any migration-specific disadvantages therefore remain hidden be­hind statistical averages. Hence, SDG 11.1 does not create any pressure for govern­ments to improve the housing conditions of migrants and refugees.

In order to fulfil the promise of the 2030 Agenda to leave no one behind, migrant popu­lations need to be systematically included in its follow-up and review. This, in turn, requires the collection of data disaggregated by migratory status, which could be used to analyse current living conditions, design measures for improve­ment, and track changes.

Data needs and potential data sources

Given that the topics of migration and forced displacement have been high up on the political agenda for several years, there have been frequent demands for strengthen­ing the evidence base of related policy deci­sions. The first objective of the Global Com­pact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, for example, is devoted to improving data collection and analysis. In the public debate, the focus is typically on gaining a better understanding of migratory move­ments, whereas for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, socio-economic data on the living conditions of migrant population groups are key. So far, few countries sys­tem­atically collect such data. However, there are a number of data sets that contain relevant information. These differ in their scope and the extent to which they capture different types of information. As a result, they each represent only a partial reality.

Census data can be an important source for measuring the size of the migrant popu­lation as well as its share of the total popula­tion. However, they do not provide detailed information on the reasons for migration or the living standards of migrants. Moreover, refugees are only considered in exceptional cases. The advantage of gaining a nationwide overview is offset by the disadvantage of the large time intervals between sur­veys – census data are usually collected once every 10 years.

Data from national administrative regis­ters are much better suited for recording continuous migratory movements, but they are often not comparable across countries. Another shortcoming is that internally dis­placed persons and irregular migrants are not usually included in administrative regis­ters.

Sample surveys can specifically target migrant populations. They also offer the opportunity to provide information on the causes and consequences of migration and displacement and can provide insights into the living conditions of irregular migrants or internally displaced persons, who other­wise often remain statistically invisible. However, conducting sample surveys in­volves many challenges – such as main­tain­ing anonymity – and the results are usually not representative. Moreover, sample surveys are often not publicly accessible, as they are usually collected by non-state actors.

Barriers to improving data quality and availability

There are a number of initiatives closely linked to the SDG process that aim at improving the quality and availability of development-related data, including the Paris21 and Global Partnership for Sus­tainable Development Data networks and the UN Group on the Data Revolution. At the same time, institutions such as the Global Migration Data Analysis Centre of the International Organization for Migra­tion, the Joint Data Center on Forced Dis­placement of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the World Bank are specifically dedicated to the task of improving the quality and availability of data on migration and dis­placement. However, since these migration-specific data initiatives are not systematically integrated into the overarching SDG pro­cess, their contribution to the review and follow-up of the 2030 Agenda is limited.

In addition to this, three factors make it difficult to improve the quality and availability of migration data. First, most countries lack the human and financial resources to collect and analyse the relevant data. SDG 17.18 addresses this by emphasising the need to support developing coun­tries in building up capacities for data col­lection and analysis. Second, due to the lack of internationally agreed and harmonised migration definitions, migration-related data is difficult to compare across countries. Despite concrete UN recommendations for gradual harmonisation, as of yet there are no internationally valid definitions of the different types of migration. However, as long as migration statistics are not ha­rmonised, the size of the migrant population and changes in their well-being will be difficult to measure. Third, many countries lack the political will to expose the often poor living conditions of migrant popula­tions for fear of reputational damage or international criticism.

Decade of implementation – but how?

Five years after the adoption of the SDGs, the period remaining until 2030 is now touted as the “Decade of Action and Deliv­ery”. In this context, there is a growing recognition that the collection of data dis­aggregated by migratory status is an essen­tial prerequisite for the review and imple­mentation of the 2030 Agenda. However, the technical and administrative efforts required to provide this type of data for all SDG indicators would severely overstretch the resources and capacities of national institutions. The Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators has identified a feasible way out of this dilemma: It recom­mends to focus the efforts of collecting data disaggregated by migratory status on a limited number of SDGs that are of par­ticu­lar relevance to people on the move. The suggested priorities for migrants comprise access to basic state services in education and health care; employment and the pro­tection of workers’ rights; anti-discrimina­tion measures; the containment of xeno­phobic violence; and access to information. For refugees, basic needs and housing; income opportunities and economic in­de­pendence; as well as political and civil rights are at the forefront. Under the cur­rent circumstances, such a focus would be a step in the right direction. However, this should not detract from the long-term goal of collecting data disaggregated by migra­tory status across all SDGs to identify and counteract related disadvantages.

Recommendations for policy‑makers

Socio-economic data disaggregated by migra­tory status are essential to ensure that migrants and refugees are systematically taken into account in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. German policy-makers, in cooperation with their European part­ners, should focus on the following aspects:

Harmonise and disclose migration definitions. Migration data can only be compared across countries and types of migration if the legal and administrative definitions underlying the respective national data collection processes are har­mo­nised. Until such harmonisation is achieved, the definitions used should at least be disclosed to facilitate interpretation of the available data. For new surveys, the definitions and methods recommended by the UN Statistical Commission and the Expert Group on Refugee and Internally Displaced Persons Statistics (EGRIS) should be applied.

Targeted support for data collection. Knowledge of the socio-economic situation of migrant population groups must be increased through targeted data collection. To this end, the personnel and financial capacities of the national statistical author­ities in partner countries should be system­atically strengthened. This is particularly relevant with regard to internally displaced persons and irregular migrants: These make up a large proportion of the migrant popu­lation, but the data available for both groups are clearly insufficient.

Strengthen synergies between data initiatives. The existing initiatives to im­prove the data availability in the area of migration and flight offer cause for hope. It is important to avoid duplication and strengthen synergies. In addition, bridges should be built between the centres for migration-specific data and thematically broader data initiatives that are closely linked to the SDG process, such as Paris21.

Expand migration expertise in the SDG review process. Migration expertise should be more systematically integrated into the SDG review process than has been the case to date in order to take greater account of changes in the living conditions of migrants and refugees in the future. The German gov­ernment could encourage this in various contexts – for example, at the biannual meetings of the Partners for Review net­work and the meetings organised by the UN Depart­ment of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) to prepare the reviews, which take place annually in New York at the High-level Political Forum.