Established in 2005, this initiative is part of a major undertaking on the issue of remittances and migration by the Special Unit, which seeks to involve the participation of other United Nations entities and private-sector actors. The initiative was launched during the thirteenth session of the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation in New York in 2003 and augmented by the considerable interest both globally and across the United Nations system. The Special Unit is leading global efforts in the creation of a programme aimed at leveraging migrant remittances in order to achieve the MDGs. The majority of the activities under this programme will focus on data and information on international remittances as well as the study and analysis of South-South and domestic (intra-country) remittance flows, the economic and social impact of remittances on development, and good practices in the use of remittances for development outcomes.

Some of the over-arching themes for the programme are as follows: (a) increasing the awareness and effectiveness of the potential impact of remittances on the achievement of the MDGs; (b) improving South-South and triangular sharing of technology and other infrastructure used in cross-border transactions and diaspora connection mechanisms (sharing with the South cutting-edge technologies in remittances, micro-finance, communications and other technologies that a given diaspora uses to maintain a connection to its homeland); (c) increasing access to basic financial services among the world’s poor; (d) educating individuals in both sender and receiver countries in approaches to enable the inexpensive and easy transfer of funds and to open the door to education with respect to other basic financial services (micro-credit, micro-insurance, micro-savings, budgeting and family planning, etc.); and (e) analysing policies to improve the non-financial and social impact of remittances and diasporas (such as the follow-up research and recommendations of the joint study on remittances by UNICEF and the Special Unit).

To date, the key achievements of this programme include a partnership between the Special Unit and UNICEF on a study of the effects of remittances, migration and diaspora on women and children. This has resulted in the delivery of case studies and best practices in experiences with remittances, migration and diaspora for development initially from two regions: Asia and Latin America. Further compilation of case studies and best practices in various regions was set to be completed by the end of 2007, which would then be further vetted by a national stakeholder group and a United Nations agency; however, more funding is required for this to occur.

Additionally, the first brainstorming session of its kind on remittances for development was held on 10 October 2005 at the Rockefeller Foundation Board Room. The session was well attended by UNDP executive management, development experts, industry analysts, private companies, NGOs, academics and migrant worker groups. The event provided an opportunity for UNDP to hear first hand from many specialists and to discuss best models for facilitating the progress of the proposed project, Remittances for Development to Achieve the MDGs.