What We DoPublications subscription |
Migration Moves More Than People, New Human Development Report 2009 Shows
Current rating:
Vienna, Austria 5 October –At a time when one in seven people is a migrant, migration should be an integral part of development policy, Jens Wandel, Deputy Regional Director and Bratislava Regional Centre Director of the United Nations Development Programme, said at the launch of the ‘Human Development Report 2009: Overcoming barriers: Human mobility and development.’ The comprehensive report casts new light on global trends in migration, particularly common misperceptions about migration. Video: Human Development Report 2009 ‘Human Development Report 2009: Overcoming barriers: Human mobility and development’ Podcast: Vienna Launch of Human Development Report 2009
With this in mind, Mr. Wandel said migration should be an integral part of the global development agenda. The report shows that migration from one developing economy to another is most common, and that the overwhelming majority of people (740 million) move within their own country. As part of this movement, both destinations and places of origin benefit. Through financial remittances the economies of both local communities and countries of origin can be boosted. In Europe, for example, 30 percent of the economy in Moldova is based on financial remittances. In some cases, remittances also exceed official aid. Through a phenomenon known as social remittances, quality of life in communities of origin also improves. According to the report, fertility rates are reduced significantly while school enrolment rates also increase dramatically. Women, accounting for nearly half of migrants globally, also benefit. “Data suggests migration empowers women, highly educated women have a tendency to migrate and statistically send more money home,” Mr. Wandel said, while adding that a flow of educated people away from certain countries, known as brain drain, tends to be exaggerated. For places that are destination communities, the benefits are also strong. Contrary to popular opinion, migrants do not crowd out locals from the job market, but instead improve employment rates and stimulate investment in new businesses and initiatives. In Europe, migrants can also help boost declining or ageing population rates. The impact on public finances is also shown to be small, despite commonly held beliefs. Given these positive qualities and the inevitability of migration, Mr. Wandel and co-speaker, Rikka Puttonen, from the Anti-Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Unit of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, said ensuring migrants' safety is crucial. “One crucial element in migration is trafficking and exploitation,” Ms. Puttonen said. “This is organized around illegal entry of smuggled migrants, with smugglers taking advantage of the vulnerability of migrants.” In response, governments should address the regulatory and legal frameworks that guide migration, she said, particularly since the current focus in the European Union is on return and deportation, with little being done to deter traffickers or smugglers. “Governments should sign up for legal instruments that protect the legal rights of migrants,” Mr. Wandel added. At the launch, organized by the United Nations Information Service Vienna and the UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe and CIS, both Mr. Wandel and Ms. Puttonen stressed that the consequences of ignoring migration and the rights of migrants could be severe, particularly given the growing gap between rich and poor countries. “It is a shared responsibility for all countries because not a single country was unaffected by the problem of trafficking and smuggling," Ms. Puttonen said. UNIS Vienna Director, Maher Nasser, moderator of the launch, noted that migration affected all countries. He underscored this point when he asked how many in the audience were born in Vienna. Just six of the 40 members of the press and representatives from non-governmental organizations in attendance were natives. “In Europe, it sits in our own backyard in places such as Moldova, which is behind Gabon and just ahead of Equitorial Guinea in the Global Human Development Index,” Mr. Wandel added. He pointed to the social impact of the financial crisis east of the Schengen region in countries like Moldova, Armenia and Ukraine. The severity of the crisis in those regions could significantly increase pressure to migrate, making the recommendations of the report all the more relevant. “The issue is closer than a lot of us are comfortable with,” he said. .jpg)   Human Development Report ‘Human Development Report 2009: Overcoming barriers: Human mobility and development’ is the latest publication in a series of global Human Development Reports, which aim to frame debates on some of the most pressing challenges facing humanity, from climate change to human rights. It is an independent report commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme. Jeni Klugman is the lead author. Human Development Index Also released as part of the 2009 Human Development Report is the latest Human Development Index (HDI), a summary indicator of people’s well-being, combining measures of life expectancy, literacy, school enrolment and GDP per capita. It shows that despite progress in many areas over the last 25 years, the disparities in people’s well-being in rich and poor countries continue to be unacceptably wide. This year’s HDI has been calculated for 182 countries and territories—the widest coverage ever. The estimates, which rely on the most recently available data compiled by the UN and other international partners, are based on 2007 data. * * * For more information on the latest HDI and to access the Human Development Report and the complete press kit, please visit: hdr.undp.org. |
Follow UNDP Europe & CIS on:
|
 |
Copyright © 2009
United Nations Development Programme |
|
In particular, 
