The distinctiveness of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development lies in the recognition that we all have equities in a shared future and global commons—a shared claim to a clean environment, decent work, good health and respect. The calls for the reform of global debt and migration architectures, just like the struggle over the future of trade rules on technology, data, and global taxation, are evidence that structural inequities persist that impede fair outcomes and pathways for all those who claim a stake in a greener, safer, more sustainable future.

UNU-CPR’s work in this area helps to identify the structural barriers that may set some communities or groups back in their progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, and helps to design interventions and programmes that will improve access to services, guarantee basic rights for marginalized peoples, and address the growing socioeconomic inequalities. This works pays particular attention to chronically marginalized and vulnerable populations, including displaced persons, women and youth, and engages with the full range of actors who can deliver on the promise of the 2030 Agenda.

UNU-CPR has a long track record of impact on migration governance. UNU chaired the UN’s Global Migration Group (GMG) – a UN inter-agency group working to support the intergovernmental process leading to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration – in 2017. UNU-CPR supported debates and discussions on international migration within the UN system and by its Member States by providing timely evidence-based policy options and recommendations. A major focus of that work was to engage closely with the UN membership to tackle global migration challenges more effectively, to assist in achieving the compact that was later signed in December 2018. Drawing on substantial internal expertise, as well as by drawing on the UN Migration and UNU Migration Network, UNU-CPR continues to focus on migration and vulnerable populations, particularly on evidence-based approaches at the local and regional levels.

Ongoing Projects

• Child Migrants and their Rights in Context

Recent Projects

• Database of Global Forest Governance Arrangements (2021)
• The Impact of COVID-19 on Humanitarian Access (2021)
• Rule of Law Support to Conflict Prevention and Sustaining Peace: Lessons from the Field (2021)
• Peacebuilding and Authoritarianism: The Unintended Consequences of UN Engagement in Post-Conflict Settings (2021)
• Developing Freedom (2021)
• Surges and Swarms: A Conversation on Responsible Coverage of Migration (2018)