A/HRC/56/54 hinder migrants’ contributions and, in section VI, highlights practices that support their contributions. In section VII, he discusses strategies to improve the narrative around migration. Lastly, in section VIII, he provides concluding reflections and recommendations. II. Activities of the Special Rapporteur 9. In December 2023, in the context of the commemoration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur delivered the opening remarks at a high-level side event, organized by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), on migrant women human rights defenders. In addition, he spoke at an expert meeting, also organized by UN-Women, on strategies for strengthening the rights of women rights defenders at risk in migration contexts. 10. In January 2024, the Special Rapporteur participated in the fourteenth Global Forum on Migration and Development, which highlighted the important contribution of migration to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. At the fifth annual meeting of the United Nations Network on Migration, he participated as a panellist in a discussion on “Looking forward: strengthening advocacy at global, regional and country levels” under the theme “Protecting migrants’ rights and saving lives”. III. Migrants’ contributions to countries of destination and origin 11. Migration has long been instrumental in driving peace and prosperity. The cross-cultural exchanges and interactions fostered by the flow of individuals across borders have influenced progress and cultural enrichment around the world. Migrants have been at the forefront of innovation and have made notable contributions, securing patents and gaining recognition in the arts and sciences. Their entrepreneurial endeavours have led to the creation of successful start-ups that have grown into multinational corporations.4 12. The Special Rapporteur embraces a comprehensive framework to evaluate migrants’ contributions to society, as outlined in the World Migration Report 2020, encompassing sociocultural enrichment, civic-political engagement and economic benefits.5 A. Migrants’ sociocultural contributions 13. Lives are enriched by the customs, traditions, technologies, skills and knowledge that migrants carry with them across the world. From food to ways of learning, health treatments, sport, music and clothes, migrants improve lives and enrich cultures. 6 14. Migrant athletes enhance sporting competitions and bolster local teams. Their achievements help them to surmount barriers such as discrimination and to transform sporting events into powerful platforms for social campaigns against racism and xenophobia. 7 By achieving international and national success, they champion diversity and inclusiveness, influencing change. Cyprus reports that migrants represent it in international and European sports competitions.8 15. Migrants bring new flavours and cuisines, expanding options and influencing local food cultures. Research shows a strong relationship between the diversity of modern cuisines 4 5 6 7 8 GE.24-07075 See Marie McAuliffe, Adrian Kitimbo and Binod Khadria, “Reflections on migrants’ contributions in an era of increasing disruption and disinformation”, in World Migration Report 2020, McAuliffe and Khadria, eds. (Geneva, International Organization for Migration (IOM), 2019). Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Submission by Cyprus. 3