Release Date: 2006-04-04
Original Link: http://presszoom.com/story_115692.html
Source: United Nations
The Commission on Population and Development met this morning to continue its general discussion on follow-up actions to the recommendations of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and to begin its general debate on national experience in population matters: international migration and development. (For further information on the Commission’s session, see Press Release POP/942 of 30 March 2006.)
(PressZoom.com) - NOTE: FOLLOWING ARE SUMMARIES OF STATEMENTS MADE TODAY TO THE COMMISSION ON POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT. A COMPLETE SUMMARY OF TODAY’S COMMISSION MEETINGS WILL BE AVAILABLE AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF THE AFTERNOON MEETING AS PRESS RELEASE POP/944.
Background
The Commission on Population and Development met this morning to continue its general discussion on follow-up actions to the recommendations of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and to begin its general debate on national experience in population matters: international migration and development. (For further information on the Commission’s session, see Press Release POP/942 of 30 March 2006.)
Statements
GEORGE TALBOT (Guyana), speaking on behalf of the Rio Group, said migration played an integral role in the evolution of Latin American and Caribbean society, whether in the migratory flows to the region in the colonial period or the present reversal of flows that globalization had occasioned. There were some 25 million migrants in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2005, up from 21 million in 2000, some 13 per cent of the world total. The United States remained the favourite destination, and several Caribbean countries had as many as 20 per cent of their population abroad. Almost half of the migrants from Latin America and the Caribbean did not have proper documentation. For that reason, issues pertaining to international migration and development held special significance for the region.
From the perspective of the region, international migration presented special opportunities and challenges, he said. The Secretary-General’s report underscored the potential net benefit and economic impact of international migration for developed, as well as developing countries. A closer look at remittances was instructive. Based on figures of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the region’s share of total remittances was the largest in the world. For many countries of the region, the level of remittances was considerable, growing rapidly and accounting for at least one tenth of gross domestic product (GDP) and was, therefore, of macroeconomic significance to them. Remittances were the largest of all North-South financial flows and had the great impact on improving the situation of ordinary people and providing relief from poverty.
The ways in which remittances were used, however, could pose serious challenges for public policy, he added. Research at the regional level revealed that the impact of remittances in reducing poverty in the population as a whole was not very significant. A conservative estimate showed that it might take as many as 30 years for a country to recoup through remittances the investment it had made in human resource development. It was clear that remittances could not serve as a reliable replacement for development assistance, investment or strategies to achieve real growth in developing countries. The potential impact of remittances could be improved, however, by reducing the transfer costs of migrant remittances, facilitating their flow, increasing the percentage of remittances that flowed thorough official channels, encouraging opportunities for development-oriented investment in recipient countries and enhancing the capacity to monitor and measure such flows.
He said the Group was convinced that several significant hurdles must be surmounted to facilitate the greater mobility of people while better optimizing the benefits of international migration for development. The most pressing included safeguarding the social, labour and human rights of immigrants regardless of their migratory status, moving from “brain drain” to “brain circulation” and building national capacity to manage migration systems. The magnitude and complexity of international migration made that an arduous endeavour, since, in many instances, a single country served simultaneously as a point of origin, transit and destination. In that context, support for destination developing countries in attending to the increased demand for public services, education, health care and housing was key.
Due to their sometimes tenuous legal, socio-economic and political status, migrants’ human rights were often at risk, he continued. The protection of the well-established migrants’ rights was, therefore, a matter of urgency. The Rio Group supported the strengthening of both multilateral and bilateral arrangements to assure the protection of the rights of all migrants on a systematic basis.
More women were now leaving homes to become migrants, he said. Indeed, women now constituted more than 50 per cent of international migrants. In light of the peculiar place of women in the structure of societies and their key roles in the success of development initiatives and the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals, the increasing trend towards the feminization of international migration was an issue of deep concern for the Group. A related concern was the deep impact of brain drain, which was especially pronounced on smaller economies and on the developmental prospects of countries. The danger was real. For many countries, the continued depletion of their human capital prevented them from reaching a critical mass of human resources necessary to foster long-term economic development. The situation in many countries of the region had resulted in a human resources deficit in the health-care and education systems of some countries.
While the potential benefits of brain circulation were now well established, the Group was disappointed that the full benefits of brain circulation and return were not being realized, he said. Without doubt, the promotion of greater mobility and brain circulation was not only in the interests of sending and recipient countries and the migrant but also made good economic sense. To facilitate brain circulation, the Group supported measures including enabling the easy flow of remittances, portability of pensions and other entitlements, maintenance of linkages with the home country, encouraging cultural and language maintenance and considering dual nationality schemes. Governments needed to formulate policies better reflective of the complexity and delicacy of the realities and effects of that phenomenon. It was critical to strengthen the multilateral framework for action in maximizing the benefits and minimizing the adverse impacts of migration. In working to achieve shared objectives to reduce the crippling incoherence of migration policy on development, enhanced coordination and collaboration at all levels should be guided by the principle of shared responsibility.
ANA SILVIA RODRIGUEZ ( Cuba) said that globalization had created huge wealth, but it had also widened the gap between rich and poor and the economic disparities between countries and whole regions. That situation, together with the deterioration of the environment, wars and other phenomena, made an increasing number of people leave their homes. That result required a comprehensive approach, which took into account, not only the causes, but also the complex and positive relationship between migration and economic development. A shared responsibility existed between countries of destination and countries of origin. Also of vital importance was to establish laws that protected and guaranteed the full respect for migrants’ human rights. The international community had so far been unable to capitalize on the opportunities of migration, or to face the challenges that involved. States and other relevant stakeholders, in most cases, lacked the ability to effectively formulate and implement migration policies, and the current ones were fraught with contradictions.
She said that, in many parts of the world, migrants felt rejected, despite the fact that whole sectors of the economy depended on their contributions. States showed a lack of political will to implement the provisions of relevant instruments, and, as a consequence, millions of migrants remained victims of discrimination and abuse of all kinds. After the attacks on the “twin towers” in New York, the world witnessed discriminatory policies against migrants in developed countries, and increased instances of racism and xenophobia, where the rights of migrants and their families were assaulted. The Governments of receiving countries should invest in and promote the integration of migrants into the host societies to enable them to develop their potential and fully contribute to the societies in which they lived. Meanwhile, selective migration practices and policies stimulated a “brain theft”, which affected such sensitive sectors as health and education. While remittances were a source of financing for development, they could not solve regional or national development problems or replace official development assistance (ODA), she stressed.
JOHAN C. VERBEKE ( Belgium) said while it was necessary to realize the benefits which migration had for development, it was also important to address the structural causes of migration, in particular clandestine migration, through such things as poverty reduction, improving employment opportunities and strengthening governance. The responsibility for developing such policies rested in the first place with countries concerned, but the international community should support the efforts of those countries, especially those where migration pressure was unduly strong, to stem the structural causes of migration through, among other things, more coherent trade, agricultural and development policies.
He said his country also underlined the importance of policy coherence for development. In that regard, the European Union decided to promote it in
12 different policy areas, including migration.
Ms. KENNELLY ( United States) said that immigration had made America what it was today. The Secretary-General’s report had estimated that 20 per cent of all migrants lived in the United States. In some countries, the relevance of family reunification had declined, but in the United States, that remained a key priority. The United States, as a country founded on immigration, believed that orderly immigration could have significant impacts on development and benefit impacts on sending and receiving countries and on migrants themselves, but her Government remained extremely concerned about irregular migration. On 19 October 2005, President Bush had signed the Convention on Transnational Organized Crime and its two Protocols against trafficking and smuggling and had encouraged other States in the region to ratify or accede to them as well.
She commended the analysis in the Secretary-General’s report on world population and monitoring. Migration had become the major driving force for population growth in the developing world. The impact of migration flows on population trends, particularly at a time of population ageing, was of growing prominence on many national agendas. States should work to create conditions in which individuals could continue to seek education and work opportunities both in their own countries and overseas. The United States concurred with the report’s statement that regional dialogues and conferences promoted regional cooperation and coordination, and it agreed that it was the level of informality that facilitated dialogue and information exchange.
The report detailed international initiatives on migration as well, she noted. She strongly agreed that the diaspora were important instruments for promoting development, economic opportunities and social and political change in countries of origin. Countries could develop strategies to channel remittances and promote economic growth, but those policies should be strictly voluntary. States had the sovereign right to determine who could enter their territories, and those decisions should be made at the national level. The United States’ contribution of $3.1 billion for population activities was more than half of all donor contributions in 2005, and she noted an increase in domestic funding for population activities by developing countries across all regions. Her delegation looked forward to productive work and a successful outcome to the session.
BRIAN GRANT ( Canada) said the carefully negotiated principles and goals of the Cairo Programme of Action and the Key Actions for Further Implementation remained relevant and should continue to form the basis from which the Commission worked. The Programme represented a significant step forward in the collective understanding of the links between achieving gender equality, sustainable development, poverty reduction, and population health goals, including sexual and reproductive health and rights. Canada remained committed to the Programme and the need for its implementation as an essential prerequisite for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. At the 2005 World Summit, world leaders had confirmed their commitment to achieving the health-related Goals by 2015, including the ICPD goal of universal access to reproductive health by 2015. Of deep concern was the HIV/AIDS pandemic that continued to take its toll.
He said efforts must also be intensified to challenge gender stereotypes, stigmatization, violence, discriminatory attitudes and gender inequalities and to address poor sexual and reproductive health, which continued to account for nearly one fifth of the global burden of disease. In real terms, that was reflected in unacceptably high rates of maternal mortality and morbidity, sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies. The impact of poor sexual and reproductive health continued to fall hardest on the most disadvantaged groups, especially women and children, and those living in poverty. Particularly important was access to information and services that enabled people to make healthy decisions about their reproductive and sexual lives.
A fundamental component in the ultimate success of achieving the goals of the Programme of Action would be the building of capacities and partnerships at all levels and the active participation of civil society, he added. National Governments had primary responsibility for their citizens’ realization of the right to development. Donors also had a responsibility to coordinate cooperation with one another and with their “non-aid” policies in such areas as trade, investment, health and migration.
LUCA DALL’OGLIO, Permanent Observer of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said the targets set forth in Cairo remained the goals of today. The Commission’s session, however, marked a unique opportunity not only to build on the Programme of Action, but also to present innovative approaches to attain those objectives and to help advance new areas of consensus. The IOM appreciated the significance of the upcoming High-Level Dialogue as the first ever high-level United Nations event entirely devoted to migration and development. The dialogue could offer a unique occasion not only to share best practices on migration management but also to foster cooperation on key migration issues.
He said the IOM was contributing its migration expertise in order to set up a framework for a more coherent discourse on migration policies and a better balanced understanding of migration and migrants. Those initiatives were taking place at various levels. At the regional and global levels, the IOM had already planed several events focused on specific aspects of the high-level dialogue, including labour migration and the development impact of remittances. Over
40 events had been planned together with United Nations partners and other partners in anticipation of the high-level dialogue. While it was a tall agenda, it indicated how topical the subject had become.
BATOOL SHAKOORI, Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), said that body’s interest in international migration had been keeping pace with the growing importance of the issue at both the regional and international levels. In the early 1990s, ECSWA’s work on international migration had been limited to the few unplanned activities that were implemented in the aftermath of the first Gulf War, when the issue of Arab migrant returnees had emerged in the region. Later, international migration had become fully integrated in ESCWA’s work programme. Driven by the realization that the economic, social and cultural benefits must be more effectively acknowledged, ESCWA had increasingly worked to mainstream the developmental aspects of international migration in its work programme. It had increasingly committed itself to working together with Arab countries to strengthen their capacity to develop strategic visions, to adopt new paradigms, and to develop and formulate coherent international migration policies.
Against that backdrop, ESCWA, in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), assisted countries in the region by organizing workshops and expert group meetings for the policymakers and technical staff of Governments and civil society, she said. In 2007, ESCWA would continue to implement its international migration programme. Among other things, ESCWA would publish the Third Population and Development Report on youth unemployment and international migration in the Arab region. A series of activities to strengthen national capacities in formulating coherent international migration and development policies was planned, and a fundraising process to support capacity-building workshops had already been initiated.
National Experience in International Migration and Development
Keynote speaker, RITA SUSSMUTH, President, Ota University, Berlin, presented a paper entitled, “Developing a Coherent Migration Policy: Germany and the European Union”. It dealt with the following topics: goals to be pursued towards coherent migration policies at the global level, including reducing negative consequences of migration, alleviating desperation, maximizing the potential of migration, recognizing integration as an essential part of migration, and enhancing regional and global governance; increasing coherence of migration policies in the European Union; and the emerging paradigm of migration management in the European Union.
Ms. Sussmuth concluded that, today, Governments strove towards avoiding forming coherent migration policies. They conducted their work in that policy area in “constant contradiction”, yet they must unite behind the basic common principle of maximizing the benefits of migration and reducing its negative effects. Individual, national migration policy goals had much in common, in both sending and receiving countries. Governments must look beyond the surface to understand the causal relationships of migration. The desire to work together and the need to do so was a positive consequence of a horrific and inexcusable German and European failure: racism, persecution and the mass murder of minorities that the German Reich inflicted on its neighbours and on members of its own population.
It was also not long ago that Europeans sought refuge and acceptance after the end of the Second World War outside of Europe and found it, she said. In the spirit that arose from the ashes of that war, participants were here today to discuss and remember the mutual benefits that could be harvested when the world recognized the need of one for another and valued the potential of the global community. “Let us put our political might and collective political will behind developing coherent migration policies regionally and globally -- alleviating the negative consequences of migration and maximizing the human potential that migration can bring about.”
For that endeavour, she offered the following guidelines: migration policies must be made more coherent and clear, with shared goals and a common vision; no State could manage migration alone; the policies must reflect migration flow realities; and addressing migration policies meant addressing integration policies at the same time and as one policy complex.
Following the presentation, a brief discussed ensued, in which the representatives of the Gambia, Pakistan, Canada and the Philippines participated.
The second keynote speaker, PAPA OWUSU-ANKOMAH, Minister of the Interior of Ghana, spoke on the topic, “Emigration from Ghana: A Motor or a Brake for Development”. He said there were an estimated 3 million Ghanaians living outside Ghana, with about one third of them residing in Europe and North America. That group was made up of both skilled and unskilled workers. While actual data on them was not available, nearly all of them had been motivated by the prospects of a better life in whichever country they found themselves. Ghanaian migrants maintained close ties with their home communities, often expressed in both economic and non-economic terms. Regular remittances were used by families and friends to meet daily consumption needs, and in times of major crises, including illness and death in the family.
He said that what was important about those remittances was, not only their volume, but the fact that their level was much more than the foreign aid the country received in 2005, as well as Ghana’s export earnings from cocoa and gold, or total foreign direct investment. They were also about 15 per cent of GDP and more than 40 per cent of total exports. Thus, Ghana had become highly dependent on remittance transfers. Besides remittances, Ghanaian expatriates had contributed in diverse ways to the country’s development. Some highly skilled Ghanaians who had returned had made investments in both the formal and informal sectors of the Ghanaian economy. A number of “returnees” had invested in small businesses on their return, while many, especially in the elite group, had introduced changes in the workplace, building on their experiences abroad. In addition, the transfer of financial, human and social capital might represent a “brain re-gain” that might be promoting development in Ghana.
Key issues associated with remittances included how to reduce transaction costs, how to transfer earnings from abroad and channel them into poverty reduction and modernization, legal reforms to reverse impediments to remittance flows and how to prevent money-laundering activities, he said.
On the issue of manpower, he said that emigrants fell into three broad categories, namely, unskilled manpower, students, and skilled manpower. The loss of critical migrant skills could be seen as a “brake to development”, especially since such skills tended to be in essential areas such as health and education. The huge number of migrants worldwide and their engagement with the home country meant that the Government had to promote an outreach policy to the community living abroad. That would build confidence between the diaspora and the State, enhance links between the two and ensure joint development. In order to derive the optimum benefits from emigration, therefore, his Government had taken a number of initiatives that directly or indirectly should ensure the attainment of that goal. He highlighted some of those in such areas as citizenship legislation, political participation in national affairs, and combating the brain drain.
He said that a study of the brain drain by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated that, by 1990, 15 per cent of Ghanaians with tertiary education had migrated to the United States and another 10 per cent to other OECD countries. In contrast, less than 10 per cent of Ghanaians with secondary education were found to have moved to OECD countries. Other data showed that more than 70 per cent of Ghanaian migrants in the United States in 1990 had completed tertiary level, and less than 1 per cent had only primary-level education or no education at all. The Ghana public sector health service had suffered significant losses of health workers through external migration to the United States, United Kingdom and South Africa, as well as to the Arabian Gulf. It was believed that there were more Ghanaian doctors working outside Ghana than inside the country.
Similarly, the attrition of nurses had reached significant proportions over the past five years, he said. In the past decade, Ghana was estimated to have lost 50 per cent of its professional nurses to the United Kingdom, United States and Canada. The situation in the education sector was also alarming, especially at the tertiary level where the shortage of academic, professional and research staff had left some of the universities with inexperienced and insufficient staff with low morale. Some courses were taught by staff without the requisite expertise, and staff members were forced to handle increasing numbers of students. Essentially, the tertiary institutions were not able to produce the types of students most critically needed to support the country’s development.
He said that several initiatives were being taken to reduce the large numbers of professionals leaving Ghana. The Government was working to improve the conditions of service of doctors and health workers and other professionals in the education sector and to provide a conducive environment as the first line of defence against the brain drain. There had been increases in basic salaries and allowances, and incentive schemes such as housing and means of transport to encourage staff and potential staff. A feasibility study had led to a pilot project on diaspora involvement in the context of human resource development in the health sector. The project was enabling Ghanaian health professionals residing in the Netherlands and other European Union countries to transfer skills, knowledge and other resources to the health sector in Ghana through short assignments. As an additional sustainable aspect of mitigating the brain drain, health professionals from Ghana had the opportunity to do specialized training in hospitals in the Netherlands.
In order for Ghana to make migration a motor rather than a brake to its development, several actions required international support, he said. Assistance was needed in a number of areas, including: collection of up-to-date information on migration; capacity-building of specific institutions involved in migration-related programmes; information exchanges on migration issues; exchange of personnel engaged in migration activities; and development of arrangements with various countries for managed migration of both skilled and unskilled Ghanaians.
Speakers in the discussion that followed were from Botswana and Canada.
Statements
WANG GUOQIANG, Vice-Minister of National Population and Family Planning Commission of China, noted that as a direct outcome of globalization, international population migration had an important impact -- both positive and negative -- on socio-economic development in both host and source countries. With accelerated economic globalization, cross-border population migration would further increase in quantity and scope. China agreed with the Secretary-General that international population migration was a global issue that must be included in the global development agenda. It was both an opportunity and a challenge for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. He also agreed that the United Nations should hold high-level talks to promote international cooperation in addressing the issue.
Over the past decade, China’s Government had made earnest efforts to deliver its commitments as to the ICPD Programme of Action and the Millennium Goals, he said. In implementing population and family planning programmes, China adhered to the principle of human development and provided safe and effective family planning and reproductive health services. As a result, the momentum of population growth had been brought under control, and the population reproduction pattern had undergone a historic change with a low level of fertility. Although China’s population growth had achieved a low fertility level, due to a huge population base, the total number would still continue to grow by 8 to 10 million annually in the coming decades. China still faced many obstacles and a huge challenge in stabilizing the low ferity and eventually achieving the goals set by the ICPD Programme of Action and the Millennium Development Goals. The population issues China faced included accelerated population ageing, sex ratio imbalance at birth, poor education and health conditions of the population and the migration of large numbers of surplus rural labour force, among others.
He said China’s Government would stick to its State policy of family planning and its commitments made at the ICPD and the Millennium Summit, and address the population issues in line with the principle of full human development and sustainable development. A China with a growing economy, a stable society, a contented population and a peaceful foreign policy was emerging. Exchanges between the Chinese people and the outside world had expanded dramatically. From 1978 to 2004, the total number of Chinese people who had studied abroad had reached some 814,884 of whom 197,884 had returned. In 2005, China had exported some 274,000 labourers. By the end of 2005, the total number of Chinese labourers had reached 565,000 with contractual value standing at $21.76 billion. Expanded ties and communications with the international communities had promoted not only international exchanges, but had also deepened mutual understanding and friendship between the peoples of China and other countries.
Despite the remarkable achievements in economic development, China remained the largest developing country in the world with a large population and an
uneven, underdeveloped economy. Of China’s total population of 1.3 billion, over 500 million were rural labourers. Currently, 140 million surplus rural labourers had moved to cities. The only solution for China was to promote coordinated development between urban and rural areas and in the eastern, central and western regions. To achieve common development and prosperity, all States should strengthen economic, technical and cultural exchanges and cooperation on the basis of mutual benefit. In addressing cross-border migration issues, all countries should observe the principle of equality and cooperation. The international community should strengthen coordination in order to minimize the negative effects of population migration and promote economic globalization towards the goal of common prosperity. China would do its best to cement ties with the international community in the areas of economy, culture, education, technology and safeguard the legitimate rights of Chinese citizens and legal persons abroad.
KEREN LEIGH DAVIES ( Australia) noted that over 40 per cent of Australia’s population was born overseas. Australia had benefited from migration with its resulting combination of cultures, talents and experiences. Stressing the need for coherent migration policies, she added that if both migrants and States were to reap the benefits of migration, it was necessary for States to be active in migration management. In that regard, Australia planned, among other things, levels and types of migration. Managing migration allowed Governments to choose people in humanitarian need that might not otherwise fit into the categories of migration. Australia also emphasized the importance of consultation within the community, as public support for migration was essential if it were to contribute to societal development. Efforts to manage migration included settlement assistance, including assistance to enter the labour market and the integration of migrants into society, while recognizing that migrants ultimately were settled by their community.
The model of managed migration had worked to meet her country’s needs, she added. Country needs varied, however. Regardless of a country’s place on the migration spectrum, the key to benefits was a coherent and managed approach. The Pacific Islands economies of Tonga and Samoa had some of the highest remittance flows in the world. Governments in sending and receiving countries had a role in ensuring that transfers were made directly and at reasonable costs. While remittances were not a panacea, they were an important source of development finance. They could also contribute to development in other ways. Diasporas acted as a bridge between countries, encouraging cooperation in the areas of trade and education.
The basis of Australia’s initiatives was managed migration, she concluded. The key was to develop State capacity in that regard. The IOM was best suited to help countries do that, as no other international organization had the same breadth and depth in migration matters. By definition, migration was an issue that crossed borders. Australia strongly supported regional processes, which were the best way for States to make inroads on issues of common interest. The cornerstone of reaping the benefits of migration was managing the process of migration.