The second International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) will take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 5-8 May 2026. It consists of four interactive multi-stakeholder round tables, a policy debate, and a plenary, preceded by an informal interactive multi-stakeholder hearing, hosted by the President of the UN General Assembly (PGA) on 4 May.  It will result in an inter-governmentally agreed Progress Declaration. The round tables will offer space for discussion covering all 23 objectives of the Global Compact with the aim of reviewing the progress made in its implementation at all levels, bearing in mind that the Global Compact is based on a set of cross-cutting and interdependent guiding principles. You can check the full programme here.

Policy Debate 

The Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), as Coordinator of the Network, will facilitate the policy debate focusing on challenges in the implementation of the Global Compact, including the links with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the capacity-building mechanism and contemporary and emerging issues related to migration.  The policy debate will also consider possible guidance for the United Nations system to strengthen its efforts in improving system-wide effectiveness and coherence and in supporting Member States in implementing the Global Compact, upon the request of Member States, based on their national policies and priorities.

Accurate, disaggregated migration data is the backbone of evidence-based policymaking — yet the systems that produce it are under growing threat. As international funding shrinks, national censuses, regional observatories, and global data platforms are becoming increasingly under-resourced, risking a reversal of a decade of hard-won progress in migration data collection. This 75-minute side event, held on the margins of the 2nd International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) at UN Headquarters in New York, brings together a high-level group of Member States, UN entities, academia, civil society, and data actors to confront this challenge head-on.

Co-organised by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), and delivered in partnership with IOM, ILO, PDD, FCDO, and IGAD, the event will combine a policy paper presentation, a multi-stakeholder panel discussion, and an open Q&A session.

Discussions will focus on the scale of emerging data gaps, the risks they pose to GCM implementation — particularly under Objective 1 — and what structural changes are needed to sustain migration data systems in an era of fiscal pressure. Speakers will also explore pathways for strengthened collaboration between governments, UN agencies, and private actors to protect this critical global public good.

Agenda

Opening Remarks

• Hannah Conrad, Head of Division, Displacement and Migration — BMZ
• FCDO Representative (TBD) — Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, UK

Policy Paper Presentation

• Dr. Anne Koch, Researcher — German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP)

Panel Discussion

• Atle Solberg (Moderator), Head of Secretariat — Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD)
• Muhammad Rizki, Director, Department of Data, Insight and Policy — IOM
• Paul Tacon, Labour Migration Specialist — ILO
• Dr. Maya Schmaljohann, Senior Policy Officer, Displacement and Migration — BMZ
• Charles Ogolla, Head of Statistics Unit — IGAD

Closing / Key Messages

• Atle Solberg, Head of Secretariat — Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD)

The ID4Africa 2026 Conference will take place at the Parc des Expositions d’Abidjan, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from May 12 to 15, 2026, hosted in collaboration with the Ivorian government and the national civil registration and identity agency (ONECI). The AGM brings together African government officials, development agencies, industry innovators, and civil society to explore strategies for building robust and inclusive identity ecosystems. You can check the full programme here.

On Day 4 (14:30 – 17:00), a session will explore how government-led digital foundational ID systems can responsibly include refugees, stateless persons, and individuals at risk of statelessness as part of national efforts toward universal legal identity and durable solutions. Drawing on African country experiences, it will examine how protection-sensitive legal, governance, and data-sharing frameworks enable the issuance of trusted legal ID credentials with lifelong unique identifiers, unlocking access to public and digital services while safeguarding rights. The discussion will also touch upon pathways for transitioning from humanitarian registration systems to national ID ecosystems, as well as approaches to preventing and reducing statelessness through integrated civil registration and referral mechanisms.

The 2026 AGM theme will mark a clear shift: from a narrow focus on Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to the broader vision of Digital Public Ecosystems (DPEs). This transition recognizes that sustainable digital transformation rests on the interplay of human, legal, institutional and sectoral dimensions, supported by technical systems. By embracing an ecosystem approach, we acknowledge the diversity of assets, ensure interoperability across boundaries and establish collective governance that fosters trust and resilience.