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Migration Governance Towards 2030: From Dialogue to Delivery

On the margins of the 38th Session of the IOM Standing Committee on Programmes and Finance, the EU Delegation in Geneva organised a side event marking the entry into application of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum and exploring the future of migration governance towards 2030.

Migration Side Event
© EU Delegation, 2026

 

The event brought together more than 100 participants, including ambassadors, senior UN officials, EU Member States and migration experts, for a cross-regional exchange on how to build predictable, credible and sustainable migration systems. Moderated by George K. Howell, the discussion featured Ambassador Deike Potzel, Mercedes García Pérez of the EEAS, Kim Eling of IOM, Elizabeth Tan of UNHCR, Ambassador Eunice Tembo Luambia of Zambia and Ambassador Carlos Sorreta of the Philippines.

A central message emerged throughout the discussion: no region has a monopoly on good ideas. While migration realities differ across countries and regions, many of the challenges are shared and require cooperation, strong institutions and long-term partnerships. Effective migration governance must therefore go beyond border management and adopt a comprehensive, whole-of-route approach that encompasses legal and labour pathways, protection, effective asylum systems, migration data and cooperation along migration routes.

Against this backdrop, the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum was discussed as a comprehensive framework covering asylum and migration management, legal pathways, international partnerships, action against migrant smuggling and the protection of vulnerable people. The exchange also highlighted the importance of listening to partner countries and identifying shared interests, while ensuring that migration cooperation remains firmly anchored in human rights, transparency and predictability.

Migration Side Event

EU Delegation, 2026

Perspectives from Africa and Asia further enriched the discussion, highlighting refugee inclusion, intra-African mobility and diaspora contributions, as well as labour mobility, bilateral labour agreements and the protection of migrant workers and their families. Zambia emphasised the importance of migration as a driver of development and regional integration, while also drawing attention to challenges faced by countries of origin, including brain drain and the impact on families and communities. The Philippines shared its experience as one of the world's leading examples of well-managed labour migration, demonstrating how regular migration pathways can generate benefits for migrants, countries of origin and countries of destination alike.

A lively exchange with the audience addressed the implementation of international migration commitments, sustainable returns, development cooperation and public perceptions of migration. Throughout the discussion, speakers and participants repeatedly returned to the importance of partnerships, evidence-based policymaking and keeping people at the centre of migration policies.

The event provided a platform for cross-regional dialogue and mutual learning, placing the implementation of the EU Pact within a broader global conversation on migration governance towards 2030 and the need to move from international commitments to effective delivery.