Information from the NGO Committee on Migration

The United Nations Department of Information (DPI) has issued a request to NGOs to propose themes for the annual DPI Conference to be held at UN Headquarters in New York in September 2012.

The NGO Committee on Migration is proposing MIGRATION as the topic of the conference and has written a rationale for the proposal (see below) . The more NGOs sign on to the proposal the greater the possibility that it will be accepted.

We are therefore requesting your support for the proposal. Please circulate this information among your own networks and sign on yourselves. Indicate your support for this theme by sending your organization’s full official name in an e-mail to Eva Richter at me2richter@aol.com by August 22.

Proposal:

To: The NGO DPI Executive Committee

Re: Suggestion for theme of the DPI Conference 2012

Date: 20 August 2011

Dear Conference Planners,

The NGO Committee on Migration (see list of signatories below) recommends Migration as the theme of the DPI Conference to be held at UN headquarters in New York in 2012.

• There are over 214 million migrants in the world today, over half of them women.  Discussions of migration have become an essential component of the development agenda of the United Nations, and the topic has been given particular importance by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. An increasing number of UN member states, including the United States, have participated in the annual (since 2007) Global Forum on Migration and Development and are currently planning for the meeting in December 2011 in Switzerland. The ongoing activities of the Global Migration Group (GMG), a consortium of sixteen UN agencies with interest in this theme attest to the importance of the issue. On 18 May 2011 the GMG, under the leadership of UNICEF, held a Symposium on young migrants, and on 19 May 2011 the UN held an Informal Thematic Debate on migration and development under the auspices of the President of the General Assembly. The outcome of the discussion will inform the Second High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development, which will take place at United  Nations Headquarters in 2013.
• The concern of NGOs in these discussions has been how to maximize the developmental benefits of migration for all and above all, to promote the human development aspect of migration and protect the rights of migrants, as provided by the International Convention on the Protection of the Human Rights of All Migrant Workers and their Families. In contrast to discussions that talk about “human capital” and labor flows, many NGOs aim to provide a human rights-based “people-centered migration perspective”.  They emphasize the need for international discussion of the relationship between gender, family, migration and development in order to ensure the human development of migrants, the protection of human rights, and finally, realization of the MDGs.

• Migration is a cross-cutting issue with important economic, political, social, and humanitarian implications and consequences. The economic implications of migration include discussions of the major push factors of migration, the need for migrant labor, the control and consequences of labor mobility, and the impact of remittances by migrants to families in their countries of origin. Migration has significantly changed the political climate and balance in many countries unprepared for an influx of both skilled and unskilled workers from abroad , but receiving countries frequently lack experience or knowledge of how to integrate these newcomers into the country’s social and political processes.  While there is increasing appreciation for the contributions migrants make both to the receiving countries and the countries of origin, legislation concerning migrants, much of it exclusionary and discriminatory, has been passed, and, in response to the migration phenomenon, new political coalitions, many of them unfriendly to migrants, have been formed. Socially, migrants have faced discrimination both upon entry into a foreign country and upon return to their native land. Knowledge of the language, customs and requirements (social, professional, legal) of the country to which they migrate is essential in creating a smooth transition and productive outcome, both for the individual migrant and for the society he or she enters. Discussion has turned on providing adequate information, training, and legal advice for migrants at both their points of origin and destination, so that migrants may be successfully integrated into the receiving societies.
• Migration is of particular concern in the area of human rights, as migrants, many of them women who leave their homes in search of jobs that will enable them to send money home to support their families, become domestic workers and find themselves unbearably exploited by their employers. Many women, men and children too, are trafficked, becoming victims of unspeakable violence and exploitation. Many are victims of conflict in their countries of origin.
• Migrants need protection in transit, crossing borders, and in countries of destination. They need a safe and secure means to support themselves and their families, through migration if necessary, and finally through development in their home countries, so that migration can become a true choice and not a necessity.

Discussion by the NGO community can go a long way towards clarifying the issues, suggesting solutions, and implementing existing frameworks and constructive strategies. For all these reasons, we recommend that the DPI Conference of 2012 center on the theme of migration.