COVID-19 Impact on Mobility: Migration Triggers, Govt Response & the Future of Border Management
Channel: IOM - UN Migration
Date: 18/10/2021

This panel will focus on the impact of COVID-19 on cross-border human mobility. For a second year, instability prevails, and the emergence of new COVID-19 variants has led to adapted travel restrictions and continued disruptions to global mobility. 
The management of borders throughout the pandemic has highlighted some of the existing shortcomings within national immigration systems, including their lack of resilience. States had to develop conditional entry requirements and continuously modify immigration procedures to adapt to shifting health imperatives. 
Most recently, the use of digital health certificates and their impact for people on the move constitute one of the main challenges to address. Simultaneously, health-related measures under development need comprehensive safeguards and data privacy standards to ensure inclusive access to regular migration pathways while avoiding widening the global mobility divide. 
The current obstacles surrounding human mobility can be expected to alter migration management in the long- term, serving as a critical turning point in relation to health and global mobility. 
The panel seeks to show the importance of rethinking approaches to data on human mobility and the necessity for international coordination of travel requirements and measures.

Moderator: 
Amy Pope, IOM Deputy Director General for Management and Reform

Presenter: 
Nuno Nunes, Global Displacement Tracking Matrix Coordinator, presentation on rethinking of approaches to data on human mobility in the context of COVID-19.

Speakers:
* Sarah Lou Ysmael Arriola, Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippines
* Jessica Bither, Senior Expert Migration, Global Issues, Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH
* Henrik Nielsen, Director in charge of International and Horizontal Affairs, DG Home, European Commission
* Dr. Ninglan Wang, Unit head, Points of Entry and Border Health Unit, Country Readiness Strengthening Department, WHO