The International Forum on Migration Statistics (IFMS) is a unique, global platform devoted to improving data on migration in all its dimensions. The first meeting of the IFMS, organized by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) in Paris, France, from 15 to 16 January 2018, featured 240 speakers and over 350 participants from 90 countries, representing national statistical offices, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and academia.1
The second edition of the IFMS was hosted by the African Union (AU) and the Egyptian Government, which currently chairs the AU, from 20-21 January 2020, in Cairo, Egypt. The Forum was supported by a programme committee of scientific experts, drawn from all major regions in the world, as well as a local organising committee to help with logistics.
Like the IFMS in 2018, IFMS 2020 provided a place for sharing innovative approaches to filling data gaps in the measurement of migration and migration-related topics, such local integration and development impacts. Given that migrants often face limited access to healthcare, education, justice, labour protections and other services, the IFMS 2020 specifically addressed disaggregation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets by migratory status (SDG 17.16).
Further, IFMS 2020 organised for the first time, a dedicated day on migration data capacity building. The day focused on data challenges and solutions across Africa and offered representatives from national statistics offices the opportunity to network and to attend training sessions that assess data needs in the context of measuring migration-related dimensions of the Agenda 2030, the GCM and the GCR.
