United Nations officials and international ministers met in New York this week to strengthen global cooperation on safe and orderly migration.
The gathering addresses the critical need to protect migrant workers' rights and manage irregular migration as displacement increases worldwide. Failure to coordinate these efforts often leads to systemic human rights abuses and instability in receiving and sending nations.
The Second International Migration Review Forum took place from May 4 to 8, 2026 [1], at the UN General Assembly building in the U.S. During a keynote speech on May 7, 2026 [2], UN Secretary-General António Guterres addressed the assembly.
"We have collectively failed to manage migration and the consequences are being felt worldwide," Guterres said.
Representatives from South Asia played a central role in the debate. Ariful Haque Choudhury, the Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister of Bangladesh, emphasized the need for systemic changes to protect those traveling for work.
"Bangladesh calls for stronger international cooperation to curb irregular migration and ensure the protection of migrant workers’ rights," Choudhury said.
India also sent a high-level delegation to the forum, led by Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh. Singh said that India intended to share best practices to improve the migration process.
"India will actively participate and share best practices at the International Migration Review Forum to promote safe and orderly migration," Singh said.
The forum focused on creating a unified framework to reduce the risks associated with irregular migration, a challenge that affects both the economic stability of developing nations and the security of destination countries.
“"We have collectively failed to manage migration and the consequences are being felt worldwide."”
The emphasis on cooperation from major labor-sending nations like Bangladesh and India suggests a shift toward multilateral accountability. By framing migration as a collective failure rather than a series of isolated national crises, the UN is attempting to move toward a global standard for migrant protections that transcends individual border policies.
