Decentring knowledge

This ongoing series from The New Humanitarian explores the humanitarian implications of South-South migration. Although South-South migration flows are larger than the numbers of people heading South to North – with all the inherent risks of undocumented travel – these cross-border, intra-regional journeys tend to be neglected by governments and aid agencies.

On 11–12 September 2024, the OECD Development Centre, MIDEQ, the University of Coventry, IRD, the African Union Commission, and Statistics Sweden co-hosted an international policy conference on “Unlocking Human Mobility’s Development Potential within the Global South.” Bringing together 265 participants from 65 countries, the conference examined the scale, dynamics, and policy implications of South–South migration and displacement—phenomena that remain under-researched, under-funded, and marginal in global policy debates, despite nearly half of migrants from the Global South moving within the South and most forcibly displaced people being hosted by neighbouring developing countries. Discussions highlighted the inadequacy of rigid migration categories, power asymmetries in knowledge production, and persistent data gaps. Sessions addressed integration, access to justice, transit migration, remittances and diaspora engagement, and the role of development actors. Case studies from Africa, Latin America, and Asia showed that migration in the Global South is often circular, embedded in livelihoods, and shaped by social networks, yet constrained by legal precarity, weak service access, and securitised policy approaches. Participants called for reframing migration as a development strategy; strengthening South-based research and data systems; mainstreaming migration into national development planning; supporting inclusive labour markets and local governance; improving access to justice; and leveraging both financial and social remittances. Overall, the conference argued for a paradigm shift that places South–South migration at the centre of development agendas, recognising migrants as rights-holders and agents of resilience, growth, and transformation. This policy brief was authored by Jason Gagnon (OECD Development Centre), Veronika Frydrich (OECD Development Centre) and Jessy Nassar (SOAS University of London)