UN Sustainable Development Goals and the “Refugee Gap”: Leaving Refugees Behind?

Abstract

The Global Indicator Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) identifies seventeen goals with related targets and indicators of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and only one target includes an explicit reference to migration processes and policies. Under Goal 10 “Reduce inequality within and among countries,” target 10.7 concerns the facilitation of “orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration, and mobility of people, which includes the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies” that should be measured through four related indicators, three of which are potentially relevant to refugees. After exploring what the International Rescue Committee defines as “refugee gap” concerning SDGs (2019) in their report “Missing Persons: Refugees Left Out and Left Behind in SDGs,” this article reconfigures this gap as a multidimensional concept, and seeks to provide insights on which further steps could be undertaken to bridge it. The main analytical threads identified in this process include: 1) the partial availability of data concerning refugees” progress towards SDGs due to current data disaggregation policies and practices; 2) the limited presence of refugees in voluntary reporting activities by States; and 3) the conceptual framework behind target 10.7, as well as the methodology used to measure progress of three (out of four) indicators toward this target. The focus on target 10.7 and related indicators is aimed at checking their ability to provide information on how refugees’ access to fundamental rights and well-being are taken into account in the assessment of so-called “well managed migration policies.” From a methodological point of view, our analysis has also been supported by semi-structured interviews with the main experts on the issue, having key roles both in the conceptualization of the SDG refugee gap and in the definition and proposal of three selected indicators. To conclude, this article will ask whether and to what extent the refugee gap is still present despite the inclusion of a new refugee dedicated indicator in 2020 and despite the UNHCR’s advocacy efforts to include the forcibly displaced dimension in disaggregation policies. Moreover, it will investigate how such a gap can potentially be closed and whether the definition of “well-managed migration policies” is sufficiently comprehensive, is able to involve refugees in the assessment of progress towards SDGs and is consistent with the SDGs-linked principle of “leaving no one behind.”

Can SDG 10.7 Transform the World by 2030?

“…In terms of the progress made by Goal 10.7 up to now, there are four indicators used to measure it; however, these indicators are argued by different authors to be conceptually unclear and difficult to measure, and therefore insufficient to improve the migration framework, and more specifically, refugees and forcibly displaced people’s conditions (Denaro & Giuffré, 2022). First of all, 10.7.2 refers to the ‘Number of countries with migration policies that facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people’; in 2021, 62.3% of 183 countries with data demonstrating having a wide range of policies to facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, reported to have policy measures for 80% or more of the 30 sub-categories under the six domains of the indicator (UNDESA, 2022).…”

“…First of all, 10.7.2 refers to the ‘Number of countries with migration policies that facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people’; in 2021, 62.3% of 183 countries with data demonstrating having a wide range of policies to facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, reported to have policy measures for 80% or more of the 30 sub-categories under the six domains of the indicator (UNDESA, 2022). These figures might seem positive, as they are fairly high percentages; however, these type of data are not regularly produced by all countries, and what is more important, as highlighted by the United Nations Statistic Division ((UNSTAT), cited in Denaro and Giuffré, 2022), some of the indicators mentioned above are not conceptually clear, which really produces a significant gap in terms of migration policies.…”

“…Nonetheless, as argued by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) (2019, p. 1) in their report Missing Persons: Refugees Left out and Left Behind in the SDGs and throughout this paper, migrants and especially refugees are largely ignored across the SDGs, rendering them to be neglected and in serious need. Denaro and Giuffré (2022) reveal that out of 42 countries that submitted Voluntary National Reporting (VNR) to outline the progress in achieving SDGs in 2019, only 13 referred to the well-being of refugees, and such reports lacked data to measure their progress. Given the statistics, it is not surprising that the IRC claims refugees are 'invisible in all SDGs Reports' (2019, p. 1).…”

Tailoring the perioperative surgical home for children in refugee families

“…SDG 3 is dedicated to health, setting targets such as ending preventable deaths of newborns and children, and achieving universal health coverage for all 13,14. SDG 10 aims to reduce inequality within and among countries, with an indicator focusing on migration of people 13,15…”

“…13,14 SDG 10 aims to reduce inequality within and among countries, with an indicator focusing on migration of people. 13,15 Translating core principles of the United Nations into realworld health care settings, the Society of Social Pediatrics and Child Health (ISSOP) Budapest Declaration-On the Rights, Health and Well-Being of Children and Youth on the Move provides a practical guide for physicians caring for refugee patients. ISSOP recognizes the realities of health systems, such that even the well-established ones are "fragmented with many barriers to optimal care."…”