A series of six informal thematic sessions on facilitating safe, orderly and regular migration are being held between April 2017 and November 2017 to gather substantive input and concrete recommendations to inform the development of the global compact on migration.

The Fourth Thematic Session, aimed at establish a Global Compact for safe, orderly, and regular migration was held from July 24-25th at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The theme for this session was the "Contributions of migrants and Diasporas to all dimensions of sustainable development, including remittances and portability of earned benefits". Each panel at the session introduced imperative aspects of migration including topics such as contributions of migrants to sustainable development and remittances.

It is imperative that UN Member States commit to the actions stated in Issue Brief #4, maximizing the benefits and impact of migration especially with contributions to sustainable development and capacity building by means of social and cultural wealth, in addition to economic. Furthermore, remittances for migrants, as assumed, was a subject of contention among Member States. Remittances should be cost effective and not considered as social protection for migrants. Members of migration and diasporas, regardless of gender, should be included in financial inclusion and development within the host country.

Messages to: Angela Reed rsm - MIA Coordinator at the UN - Mercy Global Action