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Migration
Djibouti occupies a strategic position along the Eastern Route, serving as a key transit point for migrants seeking opportunities in the Gulf. Migration flows through Djibouti are rising sharply, driven by regional conflict, economic pressures, and increasingly organized smuggling networks along the Eastern Route linking the Horn of Africa to the Arabian Peninsula. Migration along the Eastern Route remains extremely dangerous. In 2025 alone, at least 140 migrants have died and 33 others have been reported missing along migration routes in Djibouti. Migrants often travel long distances through remote and harsh terrain, facing hunger, dehydration, illness, and violence. Limited monitoring and insecurity along parts of the route further heighten the risks faced by migrants.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), together with its partners, has been working with communities in border municipalities across the Amazon to strengthen resilience and better understand the impacts of recurring floods.
In southern Mauritania, visually impaired activist Zeine Moustapha is helping young people make informed migration choices through community awareness campaigns focused on the risks of irregular migration and local opportunities.
Through migration from Cameroon to Quebec, Steve Biko transformed childhood imagination, cultural displacement, and lived experience into a comedic voice that bridges identities, cultures, and shared humanity.
By investing in rural development, jobs and value chains, IFAD helps turn migration from a necessity into a choice by creating stable, home-grown opportunities where people live.
Clara’s journey from Patagonia, Argentina, to Ireland shows how music can shape migration and create belonging. Drawn to Irish traditional music during her youth, she followed her passion across continents, finding community and purpose in Ireland’s vibrant trad scene. While integrating into Irish culture, Clara maintains her Argentinian roots, blending Latin American styles into her performances and teaching guitar to local children. Her story illustrates how migration allows culture to travel, evolve, and connect people. By sharing her heritage and embracing new traditions, Clara exemplifies how music can bridge worlds, build community, and make a new place feel like home.
Migration is shaping our world in profound and lasting ways. From driving economic growth and innovation to strengthening communities and sustaining development, human mobility is a defining force of the 21st century. International Migrants Day 2025 (18 December) celebrates migrants for their economic contributions, resilience, skills, and stories, recognizing the strength, leadership, and courage they bring to societies everywhere. On this day, let us stand together to protect the rights of every migrant and ensure that migration is safe, dignified, and empowering for all.
Giselle and José, from Venezuela, met in Mucajaí, a small town in northern Brazil, where they bonded over high school and quadrilha rehearsals. José shares that dancing the quadrilha eased his loneliness and helped him feel at home in Brazil. The quadrilha junina, a lively folk dance filled with colorful costumes and joy, plays a central role in Brazil’s mid-year festivities, attracting thousands in Roraima, where they now live. Amid a wave of over 700,000 Venezuelan migrants in Brazil, many have benefited from Operation Welcome, a government initiative launched in 2018 with IOM’s support, which offers humanitarian support and relocation opportunities for rebuilding lives.
The comic strip from UN Human Rights, ‘A pathway to compassion,’ tells the story of Elizabeth and her struggle due to her insecure migration status and the power of solidarity. Illustrated by Magda Castría – Argentinian artist, feminist and activist – the comic is a reminder of how everyone can be part of demanding fairer systems and rules around migration. Elizabeth's community wanted to help her and others like her and demanded a fair migration system where everyone has a chance to live safely and securely.
Investing in the future of communities that are most likely to migrate to other countries is more effective than spending money on reinforcing border security according to Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Ms. Pope was speaking on the sidelines of the UN’s Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development Sevilla, Spain. The Conference was a crucial opportunity to push for financial reforms and boost investment in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 17 global goals adopted by all UN Member States to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure healthy lives for all by 2030, including Goal 10.7 on the orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people.
UN News’ Matt Wells spoke to Ms. Pope and began by asking her how sustainable development is linked to migration issues.
In April 2023, conflict erupted in Sudan, displacing nearly 15 million people and creating the world's largest internal displacement crisis. Despite the profound devastation and dire humanitarian needs—where over 25 million people face hunger and funding is critically low—Sudanese people continue to display resilience and strength. They maintain their hopes and dreams amid their struggles for dignity, peace, and the possibility of returning home. The narrative emphasizes the importance of recognizing their humanity and the urgent need for global support to alleviate their suffering. Even in darkness, the people of Sudan persist in their search for light.
What was once a vibrant Afghan community has become a ghost town, with hundreds of families forced to leave behind their homes, land, crops, livestock and dreams.
Malaysia is one of the most diverse countries on the Asian continent, a diversity that is rooted in a rich history of migration. It comprises some three million documented and two to four million undocumented migrants, as well as 188,000 refugees. Dari Dapur (or Stories from the Kitchen, in English) is the Malaysian subset of UN Human Rights’ global #StandUp4Migrants narrative change initiative. According to rigorous research commissioned by UN Human Rights, on which the Dari Dapur campaign was designed, most Malaysians see the benefits migration brings to the economy and society. However, some said they are daunted by the complexity of issues around integration and culture that it raises.
A group of 30 Venezuelan migrants traveled 120 kilometers m from Chile's capital, Santiago to El Olivar, a neighborhood consumed by the flames on the outskirts of Viña del Mar, to help those who lost everything in a disastrous forest fire. They brought food, water, products for newborns, and personal hygiene supplies. They mobilized professionals like doctors, social workers, and psychologists to assist the affected. Raúl Semprún, a Venezuelan journalist, and founder of Crónicas de Chile organized the operation as a way to give back to the country that welcomed them as a second home.