An unprecedented number of people currently live outside their countries of birth — an estimated 250 million, including 65 million who were forcibly displaced. Looking ahead, this figure is only expected to increase, as the effects of climate change, political instability, global inequality and joblessness continue to adversely affect populations around the globe.

Over the past few years, various international crises and conflicts have caused enormous movements of people across international borders: the Syrian civil war, unparalleled levels of migration from Sub-Saharan Africa across the Mediterranean, instability and violence in Central America, the Rohingya genocide, the US-backed Saudi intervention in Yemen. Each of these situations has been dealt with on a largely ad-hoc, ‘emergency’ basis. As political polarization across the world deepens, the lack of appropriate international frameworks for cooperation and responsibility-sharing becomes even more apparent.

In response to these changing dynamics, the United Nations has created the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, an “intergovernmental negotiated agreement…to cover all dimensions of international migration in a holistic and comprehensive manner.” The agreement, which took 18 months to negotiate and draft, was adopted at a meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco, Monday. It affirms the need for countries to work together to address the roots and realities of migration and lays out a framework for how to do so. With this week's meeting in mind, here are five things to know about the compact: