From 4–8 May 2026, United Nations Member States and stakeholders convened in New York for the second quadrennial International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) to assess progress on the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), adopted in 2018. Over five days of discussions at UN Headquarters, states, local governments and civil society reviewed advances and remaining challenges through a multi-stakeholder hearing, four thematic roundtables, numerous side events, and the adoption of a Progress Declaration by the UN General Assembly.
The IMRF took place during the 100 Days of Local Multilateralism campaign: a global push by United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) to rebuild the international system around community needs. The campaign weaves a single collective agenda through several high-stakes summits, including the IMRF, the High-Level Political Forum and the New Urban Agenda review, before culminating at the UCLG World Congress in Tangier. Against this backdrop, a delegation of 14 local and regional leaders representing the Global Taskforce joined the Forum to demonstrate how GCM objectives are being translated into concrete local action. The delegation’s participation was facilitated by UCLG and the Local Coalition for Migrants and Refugees. As UN Secretary-General António Guterres noted at the launch of the 2026 GCM Report, “Cities and local authorities have shown leadership and courage - often on the frontlines with limited resources.”
Similarly, at the Forum, the delegation announced more than 50 new local pledges through the Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees, bringing the total number of commitments made since 2022 to 181. Together, these pledges are set to benefit more than 240 million residents and mobilize $90 million in funding. Building on the momentum of the first two reports (launched at the 2022 IMRF and 2023 Global Refugee Forum), these outcomes are documented in the Third Report on Local Action for Migrants and Refugees (2026). The 2026 report offers the following key recommendations:
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Systematically include LRGs in national policy-making;
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Strengthen the link between local action and global commitments;
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Elevate local leadership in global governance spaces;
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Catalyze impact by investing directly in local solutions.
Launched in 2022, the Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees serves as the official mechanism for cities and regions to pledge, implement and report on actions advancing the objectives of the GCM and the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR). It was also recognised by the UN Secretary General in his 2022, 2024, and 2026 Biennial Reports on the Migration Compact. The initiative is led by the Local Coalition for Migrants and Refugees, a partnership between United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and the Mayors Migration Council (MMC), in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Throughout the IMRF, the delegation delivered a consistent message: accelerating progress on migration governance and refugee protection requires stronger multilevel cooperation and direct support for local and regional governments (LRGs). Below are some of the key contributions.
Roundtables
As part of the official agenda of the IMRF to assess progress across all 23 objectives of the GCM, several members of the LRG delegation delivered key interventions during Roundtable 3 on May 5, which focused on Objectives 14, 15, 16, 19, 20 and 22 of the GCM.
New York City Commissioner for International Affairs Ana María Archila stressed that cities are where migrants arrive and where rights are realised through access to local public services. She highlighted her city’s efforts to support newly arrived migrants, including English-language learning programmes and a legal services network to families facing deportation. Similarly, Prefect of Azuay Province Juan Cristóbal Lloret emphasised that effective migration governance must be rooted in territories, supported through multilevel cooperation, and backed by empowered LRGs. In turn, the Fuenlabrada Mayor Javier Ayala Ortega highlighted his city’s commitment to ensuring migrants’ access to basic services, while emphasising the importance of participatory approaches in the design and implementation of local inclusion policies.
The Pledges - From Local Action to Global Impact
On Friday May 8th, the Local Coalition for Migrants and Refugees and the Ghana Ministry of Local Government co-hosted a side event titled From Local Action to Global Impact: Institutionalizing Local Government Leadership in GCM Implementation. Four years after the inaugural IMRF, this session aimed to demonstrate the impact of local pledges, spotlight new commitments for the UN Network on Migration, and showcase concrete examples of structured multi-level governance.
SPOTLIGHT ON THE PLEDGES
The 2026 pledge cycle saw 53 LRGs and partners submit 57 new commitments to the Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees. Three-quarters were first-time participants, and more than half required less than $100,000, highlighting the efficiency of locally led action. Nearly half of the pledges also involved national governments as partners, with Ghana joining Brazil, Germany, and Switzerland in committing to stronger cooperation with cities.
Facilitated by the Director of the Coalition, Sophie van Haasen, the event opened with comments from Vittoria Zanuso, Executive Director of the MMC, and Albert Lladó, Head of Policy at UCLG.
During the session, several participants from the delegation spoke from the local perspective, including Javier Ayala Ortega, the Mayor of Fuenlabrada, who touched on the importance of participatory and proactive approaches and Juan Cristóbal Lloret Valdivieso, the Prefect of the Azuay Province, who described Azuay’s pact to guarantee the rights of people on the move. In addition, Chicago's Deputy Mayor Beatriz Ponce de León highlighted Chicago’s pledge to remain a welcoming city by centering humanitarianism, belonging, and social justice in policymaking. Ababacar Ndao, President of the Departmental Council of Dagana, also emphasised the importance of uniting border communities by prioritising participatory consultation with all stakeholders. Regina Nunes, the first lady of São Paulo, described the successes of the city’s food security programme, which is one of the world's largest.
In addition to local representatives, Jennifer Acquah, the Principal Planning Officer at Ghana’s national Ministry of Local Government noted that counties and cities remain at the frontline of integration, underlining the key role of migration governance in Ghana’s new development plan. Similarly, Victor Semple, the Director of the Department of Migration in Brazil, highlighted the country’s new National Policy on Migration, Refuge, and Statelessness, which explicitly recognises that LRGs are key players in migration management and integration.
The side event closed with an intervention from Frantz Celestin, IOM Regional Director for East, Horn, and Southern Africa. He noted that global agendas must deliver for communities, and that these pledges reflect LRGs’ practical commitment to action and results. At the conclusion of the session, the Call to Local Action pledges were formally handed over to the UN Network on Migration.
Key Side Events, from local financing to migrant health
Throughout the week, the delegation participated in several high-level side events, bridging the gap between municipal reality and global migration policy.
On May 5, a side event co-hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the IOM convened stakeholders to discuss migrant health and access to basic services. The discussion focused on lessons learned at national and sub-national levels. During the session, Javier Ayala Ortega, Mayor of Fuenlabrada, emphasised that global migration commitments are ultimately delivered in local territories, where migrant rights are realised through public services. He highlighted the need to build public services with citizens, placing participatory approaches as a core policy tool in migration governance.
The delegation also joined the side event, “Safe, Inclusive, and Sustainable Cities in the Age of Migration – Towards WUF13,” hosted by the Government of Azerbaijan. Centered on integrating migration into urban planning, housing, and service delivery, the session featured insights from Canada and Bangladesh, alongside representatives from UN-Habitat and the IIED. Beatriz Ponce de León, Chicago’s Deputy Mayor for Immigrant, Migrant, and Refugee Rights, shared her city's success in partnering with the state to create an efficient sheltering system, noting that joined-up governance is the backbone of effective migration management. Albert Lladó, Head of Policy at UCLG, reinforced this by calling for a renewed multilateral system specifically designed to deliver tangible results for all.
On Thursday, May 7, the Local Coalition for Migrants and Refugees, in partnership with the Civil Society Action Committee, hosted a closed-door event: “Unlocking Local Finance: Funding Migration Inclusion in an Age of Austerity.” This session brought together donors and financial institutions to address the urgent need for financial instruments that bridge local needs with global funds. A primary conclusion was the necessity of integrating cities directly into the governance of global financial mechanisms to ensure inclusive urban futures.
Policy debate and Plenary Meetings
On Wednesday 6, a Policy Debate took place, which focussed on how best to operationalise a route-based approach to migration to strengthen implementation of the GCM for the benefit of all. Several Member States, including Nigeria, Spain, Colombia, Ecuador and Kenya highlighted the key role of local governments in carrying out this route-based cooperation and underlined the need to further empower them to strengthen their capacities.
From Thursday 7 to Friday 8, the four plenary sessions brought together Member States and stakeholders to deliver official national and institutional statements. These interventions provided an opportunity to reflect on progress in implementing the GCM, share priorities and commitments, and outline concrete actions moving forward. During the fourth plenary session, the 2026 Progress Declaration of the second IMRF was adopted by consensus.