Inter Press Service - September 29, 2004
Ann De Ron

"Though progress has been made, the European Union does not take the undeniable links between development and migration sufficiently into account," they said in a statement. "What is needed is a more coherent approach of not just development and migration, but also trade, foreign investment and security."

The experts agreed the statement at the migration and development workshop of the conference on 'Europe and the South - a New Era' at The Hague Sep. 27 and 28.

The conference was organised by the Society for International Development (SID) based in Rome with activities and members in 125 countries, along with the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), an independent network of 150 NGOs based in Bonn, and Europe's Forum on International Cooperation (Euforic), an independent forum that hosts debates on development.

The gap between development and migration is a wide one within EU institutions. Migration falls under the European commissioner for justice and home affairs, while development is a separate directorate-general.

Former UN official Prof Bimar Ghosh, director of the New International Regime for Orderly Movements of People (Niromp), an international consultant on trade, migration and development says better policy coherence between migration and trade, aid and foreign investment would solve a paradox.

"On the one hand industrialised countries do not want more migrants, on the other hand they follow a trade policy that makes it more difficult for sending countries to create jobs that might keep people from migrating for economic reasons," he said. "This is illustrated by the spectacular growth of the informal sector in the EU. Currently between 10 and 20 million workers are involved in it, and most of them are illegal immigrant workers."

Ghosh called for "regulated openness" of EU borders and for shared responsibility in sending and receiving migrants. Assistance to countries of origin of (labour) migrants would help decrease disorderly migration, and lead to a win-win situation for both South and North, he said.

In his keynote speech at the conference earlier, Irish minister for development cooperation Tom Kitt said "the issue of migration and development needs to be brought further up the agenda."

Kitt proposed concrete action in two ways. First, "a facilitation of migrant remittances across international borders." This money flow is growing rapidly and "almost amounts to a total of nearly 120 billion euros (148 billion dollars) annually, thus by far exceeding the global overseas development assistance."

This money is the fruit of the work of immigrants and "plays an increasing role in the financing of development efforts, enabling families to receive needed capital for education, housing and small business start-ups and expansion," he said. "However, transaction costs can be high; as much as 10 to 15 percent even for flows to large urban markets."

Kitt said that attracting these remittance flows into formal channels can strengthen financial systems in developing countries and reduce the risk that remittances will be diverted for illegal purposes.

His second proposal was for countries to agree on ethical principles to stem the flow of medical professionals from developing countries, particularly those grappling with the HIV/AIDS pandemic. "It should be recognised that old practices of recruitment without regard to the negative impacts in the country of origin are no longer acceptable," he said.

Kitt too emphasised what has emerged as the key word of the conference: coherence. Coherence is needed because "we are on the one hand devoting considerable resources to combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic and, on the other hand, depriving the affected countries of the indispensable human capacity needed to address it."

Delegates at the migration workshop agreed also on the need for supplementing the humanitarian mandate of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) with development assistance. Only then would durable solutions to refugee crises be possible, they said. Refugees are often kept in limbo in camps for long periods, being kept alive but not offered a life, delegates said.

Anita Bundegaard of the UNHCR, former minister for development cooperation in Denmark said Europe should provide some funding for countries that make efforts to integrate refugees. She said that contrary to the general perception in the West, developing countries carry by far the biggest burden of refugees: two-thirds of all refugees live there, and not in the West.

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