Review of migration and development policies and programmes and their impact on economic and social development, and identification of relevant priorities in view of the preparation of the post-2015 development framework

Item 4 of the Provisional Agenda

Members of the Thematic Working Group on International Migration Including Human Trafficking

ESCAP, co-ChairILOIOM, co-ChairOCHA OHCHR UNAIDS UNDP UNESCO UNFPA UNHCR UNIAPUNICEF UNODCUN Women WHOWorld Bank

Outline

• International migration and the United Nations development framework beyond 2015

• Key features of international migration in Asia and the Pacific• Gender aspects• Social impacts• International agreements• Key areas for action and cooperation

International migration and the United Nations development framework beyond 2015

• Migration can be viewed in terms of the contributions to development that it makes in both countries of origin and host countries.

• Migrants can be viewed as the subjects of development: enjoyment of rights, decent work, access to services.

Key features of international migration in Asia and the Pacific

• Largest flows are of temporary migrant workers• Regulated by governments but carried out by

private agencies• Prevalence of irregular migration• Variation in gender dimensions• Many types of migrants: highly-skilled, marriage

migrants, international students, asylum seekers, refugees, displaced persons, stateless

Source: Agunias and Aghazaram, IOM, 2012.

Remittances, selected countries, 2011 (World Bank)

Country Volume US$ million % of GDP

Bangladesh 11,997 9.6

China 62,497 0.8

India 63,663 3.0

Indonesia 6,924 1.0

Nepal 4,070 20.0

Pakistan 12,264 4.8

Philippines 22,974 10.7

Samoa 129 22.5

Thailand 3,994 0.9

Viet Nam 8,600 5.1

Selected initiatives to curb irregular migration

• Malaysia, 6-Programme: registration, amnesty, legalization, enforcement, monitoring and deportation

• Republic of Korea: Employment Permit System• Thailand: registration, memoranda of

understanding, nationality verification

Gender aspects of international migration

Percentage of official deployments Indonesia 64 Philippines 55 Sri Lanka 48 Thailand 18 Bangladesh 5Gender issues: Protection from abuse Stereotyping of occupations High proportion in domestic work Impacts on family

Social impacts of international migration

• Gender roles• International marriage• Migrant children and children of migrants• Separated families• Multi-culturalism• Transnational communities• Nationality issues

Main international agreements on international migration

• ICPD Programme of Action, 1994• ILO Convention Concerning Migration for Employment, 1949 (No. 97)• International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All

Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, 1990 (2003)• ILO Multilateral Framework on Labour Migration: Non-binding

principles and guidelines for a rights-based approach to labour migration, 2006

• ILO Convention Concerning Decent Work for Migrant Workers, 2011 (no. 189)

• ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers, 2007

• Bilateral memoranda of understanding

Key areas for action and cooperation:Strategic approaches

• Prepare a comprehensive migration policy document• Mainstream international migration into

development plans• Adhere to the principles of key international

agreements• Involve stakeholders in policy formulation• Improve sex-disaggregated data collection,

dissemination and analysis• Pursue multilateral approaches

Key areas for action and cooperation:Thematic areas (1)

• Make recruitment of migrant workers more efficient• Improve the skill level of migrant workers being

deployed• Ensure greater protection of migrant workers• Reduce irregular migration• Emphasize gender issues

Key areas for action and cooperation:Thematic areas (2)

• Promote access by all migrants to fundamental economic, social and cultural rights, including health, education and housing

• Incorporate the families of migrants into migration policies• Improve the flow of remittances and their use• Enhance the benefits obtained from return migration, the

diaspora and circular migration• Minimize forced or unplanned migration resulting from

environmental change

Thank you for your kind attention!