As governments gather in New York for the second International Migration Review Forum (IMRF), the effectiveness of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration is under scrutiny. Adopted in 2018, the compact aims to make migration safer through international cooperation.

The International Organization for Migration's 2025 Global Overview reveals mixed trends in the Middle East and North Africa. While arrivals via the Central Mediterranean remained stable, deaths on the Eastern Mediterranean route nearly doubled. The Western African Atlantic route saw a 62% drop in arrivals, but the probability of dying at sea increased.

Sudan exemplifies how crises reshape mobility: since April 2023, it has become the world's largest displacement crisis, with over 11.5 million internally displaced. Nearly 4 million have returned, but 9 million remain displaced, driving more Sudanese onto dangerous migration routes.

Youth unemployment in the region exceeds 20%, and climate shocks compound conflict and economic stress. Key policy priorities include adapting search and rescue capacities, expanding safe and regular pathways, improving data sharing, and strengthening cooperation.

The forum, involving 130 states, focuses on reducing suffering and deaths. Expanding legal pathways, protecting workers, and dismantling criminal networks are seen as crucial to making migration safer and more beneficial for all.

Source: www.aljazeera.com