2014 Cities of Migration. An Agenda for Shared Prosperity Berlin, June 4-6, 2014

Ban Kin Moon, UNSG. CPD, 2013

“Migration is a fact of life

in our globalizing world.

Whether it takes place

within countries or across

border, migration can

bring people together”

Development Agenda

International migration has moved to the forefront of the national and international agenda

Five key goals

1. Establish safe, legal channels of

migration;

2. Align migration policies to the demands

of the labour market;

3. Address the problems faced by migrants

who have no legal status;

4. Promote integration into host societies;

5. Facilitate return and circular migration, so

people can go back to their homes at the

right time.

“Migration is the oldest action against poverty”

Galbraith Ms. Shamshad Akhtar UNASG,

2013 • Evidence based on good statistics and diagnostics

are the lynchpin of understanding migration

dynamics as they promote better understanding.

Numbers tell us an important story:

• First, the global migrant stock increased from 1.3

percent in 1990-1995 to 1.8 percent in 2005-2010,

even though population growth overall was slowing

down in this period. (214 millions of people, 2010)

• Second, while international migration is rising, it

remains a relatively uncommon event. More than 9

of every 10 persons in the world are living today in

their country of birth.

Ms. Shamshad Akhtar UNASG, 2013

• Third, as multi-polarity deepens, like aid,

trade and capital flows, migration is no longer

a North-South concern and debate only.

Countries of the South are the origin for

about 70 percent of all international migrants.

Of these roughly half reside in other

developing countries. South-South migration

flows are equivalent to North-South migration

(close to 73 million each) and size of North-

North is also gaining momentum. These

dynamics of migration have implications for

shaping the post 2015 agenda.

Ms. Shamshad Akhtar UNASG, 2013

• Multi-directional flows of migration underscore

the need for global action including both

developed and developing countries not just

as provider of cheap labor but as contributor of

development. Harnessing benefits of migration

is critical.

• It selects those who most want help. It is good

for the country to which they go; it helps break

the equilibrium of poverty in the country from

which they come.

High-level Expert Policy Dialogue on Migration in the

Post 2015 Development Agenda ,Stockholm, 2013

• What is the perversity in the human soul that

causes people to resist so obvious a good?”

Evidence confirms that migration can reduce

poverty. However it cannot be a substitute for

proper national planning and strategies to

address development. So framing the migration

debate solely on this ground perpetuates the

myth that people largely migrate out of despair

and that once a country reduces poverty, the

need for migration disappears.

High-level Expert Policy Dialogue on Migration in the

Post 2015 Development Agenda,Stockholm, 2013

• Migration is driven by needs and

opportunities. Even the most advanced

economies depend crucially on

international migration. Low-skilled

migrants are needed to do the jobs that

natives often shun. Ageing societies are

confronted not only with a shrinking labour

force, but also with an increasing demand

for care workers. Shortages of high-

skilled labourers are projected to worsen

in the coming years

High-level Expert Policy Dialogue on Migration

in the Post 2015 Development Agenda,

Stockholm, 2013

Popular concerns about major negative

impacts on workers or government

budgets are inconsistent with the results

of numerous studies in countries like the

United States, where the effect of

immigration on wages and employment

appears to be small, and where

immigrant contributions in taxes exceed

benefits received over the long run

High-level Expert Policy Dialogue on Migration

in the Post 2015 Development Agenda,

Stockholm, 2013

A similar argument can be made for

remittances in the context of developing

countries. The evidence suggests that

remittances can contribute significantly to

the improvement of human capital. Families

receiving remittances can send their

children to school and find access to health

services. In many countries, remittances

outweigh foreign direct investment and

dwarf official development assistance.

Transfers

Recent World Bank projections suggest

that these could reach $534 billion by

2015. Proper leveraging of remittances,

which are private resources, for

development would be good, but would

require suitable vehicles and instruments

backed by adequate safeguards and

returns to attract flows. Remittances

however cannot substitute development

funding.

Migrants

• “Migrants are instrumental for the

development of both sending and receiving

countries. Many professional, technical and

service circuits would not function without the

human, economic and cultural capital that

migrants bring to their countries of

destination. In parallel, communities of origin

benefit from migrant remittances, which

account for a significant share of the GDP of

many developing countries”. OIM,2013

Migrants

• “Increasing acknowledgement is given to

contributions of diaspora groups and

transnational communities: mobile populations

facilitate trade, investment, skills transfers and

cultural linkages between countries. Human

mobility helps to reduce the extent and

magnitude of poverty, by assuring employment

for a growing world population and favoring

valuable use of development resources

complementary to aid budgets”. OIM,2013

Migration

• In addition, migration helps improve school

attendance rates, empowers women, and

facilitates mitigation of health-related issues,

such as child mortality rates. Increasingly

relevant is the leverage of migration for

resilience-building and prepared response to

emerging global risks, such as natural disasters

or slow-onset effects of climate change. As a

result, if well managed and appropriately

factored into development planning, migration is

an enabler of sustainable development”. OIM,

2013.

UNFPA

• Migration figures prominently in

UNFPA ‘led consultation on

population dynamics in the post-2015

development agenda. The Dhaka

Declaration, has six recommendations

related to migration and human

mobility

• Dr Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director, CPD,

2013

Dhaka’s

Recommendations1. safe and orderly migration;

2. protection and assistance for migrants;

3. integration of migration into national

development policies, strategies and

programmes;

4. matching of skills and Jobs and labour supply

and demand’ low –cost transfer of savings an

investment incentives;

5. migration as a possible adaptation strategy to

address climate change;

6. and the migrants' human rights.

Dr Babatunde Osotimehin,

UNFPA, E.D.• Migration also figures prominently in the International

Conference on Population and Development (ICPD)

Beyond 2014 operation review.

• International migration affects the size of the

population as well as their composition by age and

sex, and emigration reduces the rate of population

growth in some origin countries, while intensifying

population decrease in other. Although immigration

can play a role in mitigation population decline o

slowing population ageing in destination countries, it

cannot in most circumstances reverse those trends.

Female Migration

The face of migration is changing : women and girls

now represent about half of all international

migrants- an in some regions of the world , they

outnumber their male counterparts. Many women

migrant on their own as heads of households, to

secure a livelihood. Others leave their homes in

search of more open societies, to get out of a bad

marriage, or to escape all forms of discrimination

and gender based violence, political conflicts and

cultural constraint. Like other migrants, women

contribute to he well –being of their households,

through remittances that benefit the family.

Youth migration

• More than 12 per cent of international

migrants are 15-24 years old. Despite their

significant numbers, young migrants barely

register in debates and policies on migration.

• Efforts should include access to education,

decent work and health services, including

reproductive health services, in other that

they may achieve their full potential and

contribute to inclusive social and economic

development.

Human rights of migrants

• Migrants are not numbers, their are

human beings endowed with

inalienable human rights .

• Respecting and promotion their

rights, including their reproductive

rights as well as theirs contribution to

development- has to be high on the

agenda of policy makes.

Human rights: Priority actions

• Promotion the ratification and effective

implementation of all core international human

and labour rights instruments

• Calling for national action plans to promote

awareness of migrant realities and to fight

xenophobia and discrimination against migrants

• Implementing the many existing frameworks to

enhance migrants ‘s access to social protection

and services, such as their access to sexual and

reproductive health services, including family

planning services especially for women and girls.

International Conference on

Population and Development (ICPD)

Chapter Ten of the

Programme of Action of the

ICPD1994 remains the most

comprehensive negotiated

text on international

migration to date.

Post -2015 Development

Agenda• The contribution of migration to the

development of both sending and

destination countries has to be recognized

and integrated into national developments

plans and poverty reduction strategies.

• Policies that build on the positive aspects

and reduce negative consequences of

migration should be taken up in the Post-

2015 agenda

Post -2015 Development

Agenda• This includes analyzing and

tacking the root causes of

migration, facilitating the use of

remittance to reduce poverty and

contribute to communities'

development; and encouraging

diasporas to become even bigger

partners in development.

Post -2015 Development

Agenda• The question is how, what form and to

what extent? Given the scale and

impact of internal migration on national

labour markets, poverty reduction, family

cohesion, and development in general,

there is merit in integrating it explicitly in

the future UN development agenda,

especially in connection to the

sustainable development of urban and

rural areas, as emphasized in the

document of Rio+20

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