The International Day of Family Remittances is a universally-recognized observance adopted by the United Nations General Assembly and celebrated every year on 16 June. The day recognizes the contribution of over 200 million migrants to improve the lives of their 800 million family members back home, and to create a future of hope for their children. Half of these flows go to rural areas, where poverty and hunger are concentrated, and where remittances count the most. The Day also calls upon governments, private sector entities, as well as the civil society, to find ways that can maximize the impact of remittances through individual, and/or collective actions.

United Nations Secretary-General on International Day of Family Remittances 2020, June 16

On the International Day of Family Remittances, and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we recognize the determination of 200 million migrants who regularly send money home, and the 800 million family members living in communities throughout the developing world who depend on those resources.

Last year, remittances to low- and middle-income countries reached a record $554 billion – more than three times the amount of official development assistance and surpassing the level of foreign direct investment.

Yet this year, the World Bank projects that remittances will fall by about 20 per cent, or $110 billion, causing hunger, lost schooling and deteriorating health for tens of millions of families, with an especially heavy impact on women and girls. Several nations and organizations have issued a call to action to "keep remittances flowing", urging policymakers to declare remittance services as essential and facilitate the scaling up of digital remittance channels.

At this time of global crisis, I appeal to people everywhere to support migrants, who are among the engines of the global economy and make crucial contributions to well-being across the world.

I call on all stakeholders to take steps to reduce remittance transfer costs, provide financial services for migrants and their families – particularly in rural areas – and promote financial inclusion for a more secure and stable future. The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration offers one key platform for action.

I am encouraged by wide-ranging support for the global campaign -- #FamilyRemittances: Building resilience in times of crisis.

Let us do our utmost to support millions of families to reach their own goals. In doing so, we will come closer to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, one family at a time.

Forum: International Day of Family Remittances 2020 (IDFR).

Following a record $554 billion sent home by migrants in 2019, The World Bank estimated, in April, that the economic crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting shutdown, would cause the “sharpest decline in remittances in recent history”, and projected a fall of 19.7 per cent. Millions of migrant workers have lost their jobs, pushing dependent families below the poverty line. In order to help migrants, “engines of the global economy”, who make “crucial contributions to well-being across the world”, the UN chief called for a reduction in remittance transfer costs, financial services for migrants and their families – particularly in rural areas – and the promotion of financial inclusion for a more secure and stable future. Such measures are proposed in the UN’s Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, described my Mr. Guterres as a “key platform for action”.

Migrants facing 'socio-economic crisis'.

On 16 June, from 9:30 to 11:30 Eastern Standard Time, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is hosting a virtual observance event for the International Day of Family Remittances: Supporting Remittance Families Build Resilience in Times of Crisis.

The role of remittances in achieving the SDGs

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted in September 2015, is a global commitment to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development by 2030, ensuring that no one is left behind. Its 17 specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) address the major challenges facing the world today. SDG 10.c commits, by 2030, to reduce to less than 3 per cent the transaction costs of migrant remittances and eliminate remittance corridors with costs higher than 5 per cent. Migrant remittances, however, contribute directly and indirectly to several SDGs in addition to 10.c, as outlined in IFAD’s Remittances, investments and the Sustainable Development Goals report.