The overall objective of this workstream is to respond to the mandate contained in para. 76 of the Progress Declaration (PD) to prepare “actionable recommendations on strengthening cooperation on missing migrants and providing humanitarian assistance to migrants in distress, including by collaborating with humanitarian actors, (…), with the aim of preventing loss of life in transit” to be included in the next biennial report of the Secretary-General. This may include developing background documents and tools on which the Secretary-General could draw for his recommendations and/or which could support their operationalization. 

Call for Submissions: Forced Migration Review Issue on ‘Dangerous Journeys: Saving Lives and Responding to Missing Migrants and Refugees’ 

Every day, migrants and refugees embark on perilous journeys, often with devastating outcomes. FMR’s upcoming May 2025 issue will explore how we can save more lives on land and sea, prevent disappearances, and resolve the fate of those missing.

We invite authors to contribute articles on:

• Rescue operations and humanitarian access
• Legal frameworks and the decriminalization of migration
• The role of States
• Search, identification, and family reunification efforts
• Post-rescue support and recovery

🔎 Proposals due: 11 November 2024 | Articles due: 20 January 2025

The launch of the recommendations is scheduled for December 2024.

More information will come.

• Missing and Deceased Migrant Program (MDMP)
• Identification of the deceased migrants from Mauritania, related to a shipwrecked vessel found in the coast of Trinidad and Tobago
• Recommendations on Regional Coordination and Information Exchange Mechanisms in the Search for Missing Persons in the Context of Migration
• Humanitarian Service Points (HSP) for Migrants in Transit
• Asylum and Migration Programme of the Lithuanian Red Cross (LRC)
• Cross-border Assistance and Protection for Populations in Transit through the Darién Gap (Colombia and Panama) and the Costa Rican Borders
• Red Cross of North Macedonia Humanitarian Service Point in Lojane
• Migrant Protection Beta Groups (“Grupos Beta” in Spanish)
• Ocean Viking - Cooperation between SOS MEDITERRANEE and IFRC
• Red Cross Support to People on the Move on the Transatlantic Route
• Migrant Response and Resources Mechanism in Niger
• Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela
• Migrant Response Plan for Horn of Africa and Yemen

i. Conduct a mapping of existing promising practices (including in relation to the implementation of relevant commitments contained in Objective 8 of the GCM) to be hosted on the Migration Network Hub to inform and substantiate more targeted and actionable recommendations.

Timeline: Q1-Q2 2023

ii. Convene a comprehensive consultation process, including by organizing a series of hybrid or virtual consultations at regional or cross-regional (‘route based approach’) levels and to seek feedback on the content and prioritization of possible recommendations.

Timeline: 2023

iii. Carry out additional research, as necessary, to develop the actionable recommendations, following the consultation process.

Timeline: Q3-Q4 2023

iv. Develop a set of draft recommendations for Network and stakeholder feedback.

Timeline: Q4 2023

v. Consolidate feedback and submit a final draft for the SG’s consideration.

Timeline: Q1 2024

vi. Prepare advocacy and communications materials to support the dissemination of the SG’s actionable recommendations, including as part of the Network commitment to speak with “One Voice”.

Timeline: Q1 2024