The State of Global Human Mobility More than Two Years into the Pandemic

More than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, governments were seeking to safely restart cross-border mobility of all types. But the complex patchwork of travel restrictions and health measures prevented a swift return to pre-pandemic levels of movement, even in the face of major changes in the epidemiological situation, rising vaccination rates, and new therapeutics. And the global picture was uneven, with some regions, such as parts of Asia, still largely closed, and others, such as the European Union, keeping borders shut to unvaccinated travelers, leaving many out.

Since the onset of the public-health crisis, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) tracked the more than 100,000 travel restrictions, border closures, and health-related travel requirements imposed by governments globally at the peak in 2021. How did the situation evolve in the second year of the pandemic? What steps did governments take to restart international travel and migration in safe and efficient ways? How did they adapt as new variants emerge in different places around the world? And as countries created exceptions to mobility restrictions for certain groups of travellers, what did the increasingly complex picture reveal about the inequalities between who can move and who cannot?

This discussion featured experts from international organizations, government, civil society, and the private sector who examined the state of mobility during the second and third years of the pandemic. The conversation accompanied the launch of an IOM-MPI report that draws from the IOM database to sketch the state of mobility across world regions.

Speakers:

Meghan Benton, Director for International Research, MPI and MPI Europe

Elizabeth Collett, Special Advisor for Policy and Strategy to the Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM)

Maurizio Di Lullo, Senior Advisor, Council of the European Union

Ellene Sana, Executive Director, Centre for Migrant Advocacy (CMA)

James Wiltshire, Assistant Director of External Affairs, International Air Transport Association (IATA)

Moderator:

Andrew Selee, President, MPI