EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT - europarl.europa.eu fileThis study was requested by the European Parliament’s committee on Development and Cooperation. This paper is published in English (DEVE

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Directorate-General for Research

WORKING PAPER

MIGRATIONFROM DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

INTO THE EU

Development Series

DEVE 107 EN

This study was requested by the European Parliament’s committee on Development and Cooperation.

This paper is published in English (DEVE 107 EN) only.

Authors: Dirk TrotzkiRobert Schuman intern Summer 2002

Responsible Official: Adriaan TalsmaDivision for Agriculture, Regional Policy,Transport and DevelopmentTel: (352) 43 00 22639 /22792Fax: (352) 4300-27719E-mail: [email protected]

Manuscript completed in September 2002.

Paper copies can beobtained through: Publications service

Tel.: (352) 43 00-24053/20347Fax.: (352) 43 00-27722E-mail: [email protected]

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Luxembourg, European Parliament, 2002.ISBN:

The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarilyrepresent the official position of the European Parliament.

Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorised, provided the source isacknowledged and the publisher is given prior notice and is sent a copy.

European Communities, 2002

Printed in Luxembourg

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Directorate-General for Research

WORKING PAPER

MIGRATIONFROM DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

INTO THE EU

Development Series

DEVE 107 EN11 - 2002

Migration from developing countries into the EU

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CONTENTS

............................................................................................................................................... Page

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY........................................................................................................... 5

INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... . 11

1. WHO ARE THE MIGRANTS? ........................................................................................... .131.1. Labour migration ............................................................................................................... 13

1.1.1. Entrepreneurial migration ..................................................................................... 141.2. Students .......... ................................................................................................................... 141.3. Asylum seekers ................................................................................................................. 151.4. Refugees ............................................................................................................................ 161.5 Personal data ...................................................................................................................... 17

2. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN....................................................................................................... 18

3. COUNTRY OF DESTINATION ........................................................................................ 20

4. ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION ............................................................................................... 24

5 ROOT CAUSES AND MOTIVES ...................................................................................... 25 5.1. Poverty and a vulnerable economy ................................................................................. 25 5.2. Globalisation ................................................................................................................... 26 5.3. The demographic factor .................................................................................................. 28 5.4. Unemployment ................................................................................................................ 30 5.5. Study abroad ................................................................................................................... 31 5.6. Political factors ............................................................................................................... 32 5.7. Environmental and ecological disasters .......................................................................... 33 5.8. Social networks ............................................................................................................... 34

6. PROBLEMS OF INTEGRATION ..................................................................................... 35

7. BRAIN DRAIN ..................................................................................................................... 38 7.1. Disadvantages for developing countries ......................................................................... 39 7.2. Advantages for developing countries .............................................................................. 41 7.3. Solutions to brain drain ................................................................................................... 42

8. REMITTANCE ..................................................................................................................... 45

9. A LINK BETWEEN MIGRATION POLICY AND DEVELOPMENT POLICY ....... 46

10. WHAT TO DO .................................................................................................................... 47 10.1. Information .................................................................................................................... 47 10.2. Overcoming the wealth gap .......................................................................................... 47 10.3. Cooperation and communication .................................................................................. 48 10.4. Peace establishment and human rights ......................................................................... 50 10.5. EU policy on immigration ............................................................................................. 51

LITERATURE ........................................................................................................................... 57RESOLUTION / STATISTICAL ANNEXES ......................................................................... 59


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1) Migration is unstoppable in a globalised world as long as there is a wealth gapbetween poor and rich countries. Man will always search for better conditions andbetter hope for the future, and under today’s conditions where inequality betweenthe south and the north is increasing, only an increase in migration can beexpected. So far globalisation, in terms of free flow of goods and services aroundthe world, has generally been beneficial for the developed countries. High tariffsand trade restrictions have made it difficult for the developing countries to enterthe global markets and have left them behind. The wealth gap has as a resultincreased. Globalisation has also meant increased mobility. In this perspectiveemigration out of developing countries will go on as long as globalisationcontinues to be unbalanced in terms of economic benefits. Increasing the share ofthe poor in market-based growth requires strategies that range from landredistribution to investment in marketing infrastructure, improved access toeducation and health care, and measures to tackle corruption and poor governance.It may also require policies including protection for smallholder farmers and forsmaller industries, basic labour rights and minimum wage protection. The role ofthe EU in closing the wealth gap is ambiguous. On the one hand, Europe is veryengaged in questions of development. It plays a constructive part on the level ofinternational organisations and meetings to promote a sustainable developmentand is also very helpful in practice. In its cooperation with ACP States, the EUsupports these countries in various ways. It opens up its markets and grants themgood conditions for most of their products, and gives technical assistance. On theother hand, EU policies such as the CAP include serious disadvantages fordeveloping countries. Europe hampers access to its markets for agricultural goodswhere these countries would be competitive under market conditions.Additionally, the EU acts as a competitor on the world markets with subsidisedproducts. The situation of the developing countries could be better if the EU wereable to reform its CAP towards a real market economy, while putting an end tofarm subsidies.

2) The root causes and motives for migration include poverty in developingcountries. As long as there is a gap in wealth and living standards between poorand rich countries, migration will continue. The demographics, which implies agrowing unemployed population in the developing countries is another importantfactor causing migration, as well as political unrest, civil conflicts and systematicpersecution. Environmental and ecological disaster and a wish to study abroad,family reunion and social networks in the receiving countries are additionalelements. Sustainable development, cooperation between sending and receivingcountries, economic growth and peace are all vital factors for any improvement inthe situation regarding migration.


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3) Two basic causes are likely to become increasingly important and should thereforebe addressed separately here. The first phenomenon is the demographicdevelopment of the world. A projection of demographic development says thatworld population will grow from 6.1 billion in 2001 to 9.3 billion in 2050. Thisgrowth will exclusively take place in developing countries and cause manyproblems, among them high population density, poverty and environmentalproblems. The population in the developed countries, however, will at beststagnate, become older and less dynamic. These different developments willconstitute the push and pull factors for increasing migration in the future. Otherfactors likely to be of increasing importance and urgency, will be environmentaland ecological issues. This summer’s extreme weather in many parts of the world,causing floods in some parts and droughts in others, indicates that climate changesare taking place and having serious consequences. The sea level rises, an increasein the global temperature resulting in extreme weather, including heavy storms,droughts and floods are threatening people, particularly in developing countries,because the latter are often situated in exposed regions and are not able to affordthe necessary protection measures. These facts are likely to cause further migrationmovement towards safer places.

4) Migration can be beneficial for all if practised in a balanced way. To achieve thisobjective, and in order to reconcile the conflicting interests of the countries oforigin and of destination, it is necessary to put in place a set of coordinatedpractical measures at national, regional and global levels. A balanced migrationpattern would involve an appropriate number of immigrants to Europe to fill upthe jobs left vacant there, and help ease the pressure from employment seekers inthe sending countries. It would mean education of people, with assistance fromdeveloped countries. At the same time the countries of origin should be mademore attractive to live and work in. Recent experiences of many industrialisedcountries indicate that control measures cannot regulate migration. Orderly andmanaged migration offers a viable alternative to irregular migration and cancounter possible negative consequences. Most important in this respect are theadvantages of professionals who return to their country of origin after training orstudying abroad. Successful return programs have been set up both byinternational organisations such as IOM and by the developing countriesthemselves. Scientific centres to attract skilled people to return home have alsobeen established. A balanced outflow of labour can assist in alleviatingunemployment without necessarily causing negative effects, while in the receivingcountries labour immigration can ease the problem of skilled labour shortage.Furthermore, remittances can be helpful, when the money is spent on investments,thus creating jobs and contribute to develop the country.


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5) Migration can only be sustainable if it benefits both originating and receivingcountries. This has often not been the case, and the consequences of migration aremainly perceived as negative. In the originating countries the brain drain, resultingin a lack of skilled people, weakens economic and social development.Remittances, while helping relatives at home, do not always improve the economicsituation of the region or the country. Brain drain has contributed to Africa’sgrowing marginalisation in the global economy. It constitutes a major problem forthe developing countries. It might even become a more serious problem in thefuture because of the ageing population in many developed countries. There willbe an increasing need for a growing number of highly qualified people, such asengineers and computer scientists in order to ensure technical progress andgrowing productivity, while maintaining high levels of social security. For thecountries of origin this would mean the accelerated loss of their skills resulting ina slower economic and social progress and a widening of the gap with thedeveloped countries. This could again lead to more migration, thereby starting avicious circle.

6) In the receiving countries the lack of integration of immigrants to integrate is oneof the main problems related to migration. Criminality, high unemploymentamong immigrants, ghettoisation and racism are the consequences. So is thegrowth of support for extreme right wing political parties in Europe. Segregationin local communities has led to major riots, such as those in Bradford, Oldham andBurnley in England in 2001. There were clashes between white British and Asianyouths. Among the reasons given was the fact that different communities wereliving "parallel lives" and were ignorant about each other. Other factors were weaklocal leadership, inadequate involvement by national and local government, thelack of a concept of citizenship, lack of identification with the community and,underlying all other causes, the poor living conditions and limited opportunitiesfor young people. To ease trouble resulting from a lack of integration, it isimportant to take measures including language courses and various forms ofpolitical involvement. Long term residents should have the right to vote. If failureto integrate is not tackled, it will only lead to more serious problems.

7) To reach the goal of a beneficial migration it is vital to recognise the link betweendevelopment policy and migration policy. Large cross-border movements are aresponse to the ever-increasing gaps in living standards and incomes betweencountries, and this often means a loss of human capital where it is most needed fordevelopment. Development of poorer countries will clearly ease the immigrationpressure on developed countries. Recognising common interests in migrationmatters, governments are increasingly negotiating strategies which support boththe sustainable development of countries of origin and the labour needs ofrecipient countries. These kinds of negotiated arrangements rely on integratedpolicy approaches that link migration to development cooperation. This has to bemanaged through close cooperation between sending and receiving countries.


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8) One of the most striking problems associated with the study of migration, is thelack of reliable figures and statistics, making it difficult to have a reliable pictureof immigration flows. Most statistics are outdated or tell little about the currentsituation. Scientific data on refugees, asylum seekers, labour migrants or studentswould help to explain the situation and give clearer indications of the best policyto be pursued. The availability reliable and coherent statistics must therefore beimproved.

9) Among the areas of origin, Africa occupies the first place. In 1998, more thanthree million of the 6,3 million foreigners in the EU from non EU-countries werefrom Africa. Two million of them originated from North Africa but the fastestgrowing group from sub-Saharan Africa are the migrants from West Africa,numbering 415 000. Asia is the second largest source of migrants coming fromdeveloping countries into Europe, with more than 2 million emigrants in 1998.There has been a sustained increase in labour migration from South Asia and anincreasing number of clandestine migrants. Other areas of origin like Pacific,Caribbean or Central American countries are less important in terms of the totalforeign population in the EU.

The United Kingdom, France and to some extent Germany are the preferredcountries of destination. For people able to choose their country of destination, aformer colonial past, language, culture and established communities ofcompatriots are of primary concern. France hosts more than 50% of the Africansin the EU. In this list of countries Italy comes second ahead of Germany, theUnited Kingdom, the Netherlands and Belgium. Until the mid-1980s people fromAfrica tended to migrate to the former colonial powers. Since then the movementsof African migrants broadened to include countries in Southern Europe as well.People from Asia still prefer the UK as their country of destination. In 1998,552 344 people from Asia lived officially in the United Kingdom coming from,inter alia, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Sri Lanka,Afghanistan and Iran. France comes second with 63 371 people in 1998, mainlyfrom Iran, Iraq and Pakistan. These figures do not include illegal immigrants anddo not provide any insight in how long these people stay.

10) Although reliable statistics are hard to come by, it is obvious that illegalimmigration is a growing problem. Estimations indicate that 3 million illegalimmigrants enter Europe annually, compared to 2 million a decade ago. Firstly, amore restrictive immigration has made it more difficult to enter legally, so that theasylum system became the only legal way. Because of a perceived abuse of thelegal way, more restrictive policies and practices were adopted, making itincreasingly difficult for migrants and asylum seekers to enter legally. This hasresulted in increasing trafficking and smuggling of human beings. Smuggling andhuman trafficking is the world’s fastest growing criminal business. The journeycan be very dangerous and often the migrants are treated badly by the smugglerswhen they arrive at their final destination.


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11) EU actions and policies on asylum and migration issues have been on Europe’sagenda for some time now. Both Article 63 of the EC Treaty and the Tampereconclusions call for a common EU immigration policy. To reach this goal, it isessential to coordinate and to ensure the transparency, within a Communityframework, of actions which at the moment are carried out at Member State level,since they have an effect on other areas of EU policy. Article 63 in the Treaty ofAmsterdam states that the Council shall, within a period of five years after theentry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam (1999), adopt: (1) measures onasylum, (2) measures on refugees and displaced persons, (3) measures onimmigration policy and, (4) measures defining the rights and conditions underwhich nationals of third countries who are legally resident in a Member State mayreside in other Member States. The Treaty of Amsterdam also called for acommon asylum and immigration policy to be drawn up and developed over afive-year period.

12) At the Tampere Summit in October 1999, the Council agreed that "The separatebut closely related issues of asylum and migration call for the development of acommon EU policy". This summit has set the political guidelines and concreteobjectives for the development of a common EU policy within the key areasidentified, including four main elements: partnership with the countries of origin, acommon asylum and migration policy system, fair treatment of third countrynationals and more efficient management of migration flows. The Council askedthe Commission to draw up a sustainable Action Plan. In the "Communication ona Community Immigration Policy", in which the action plan was presented, theCommission states that it believes that channels for legal immigration into theUnion should now be made available for labour migrants. The Member Statesremain responsible for significant issues concerning immigration policy,particularly with respect to the admission of economic migrants and fordeveloping and implementing integration policy, but the Commission intends toplay a full part in its coordination.

13) At the Seville Summit in June 2002, the Council again pointed to "the need todevelop a common European Union policy on the separate, but closely related,issues of asylum and immigration" and expressed its determination "to speed upthe implementation of all aspects of the programme adopted in Tampere for thecreation of an area of freedom, security and justice in the European Union". ThisSummit showed considerable concern for immigration issues, because the latestelection results in several national elections revealed strong gains for populistmovements which campaigned against immigration into their countries. TheSummit’s decisions included three main elements: measures to combatimmigration, gradual introduction of coordinated, integrated management ofexternal borders and integration of immigration policy into the Union’s relationswith third countries. The Summit also decided to speed up legislation to frame acommon policy on asylum and immigration. Although there has been someprogress towards coordination on EU level, a common policy on immigration is


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unlikely to get off the ground, as governments are keen to keep sensitive andthorny immigration issues within their control.

14) Measures by the international community to bring about sustainable development,thereby reducing migration flows have to include promotion of democracy, goodgovernance, capacity building, control of corruption, prevention of politicalconflicts and respect for human rights. The European Union has included a humanrights clause in its bilateral trade and cooperation agreements with third countries.This matter has also been at the centre of discussions about the best means ofensuring peace and security in developing countries, particularly in relation toconflicts in Africa. Budget Chapter B7-7, the "European Initiative for Democracyand Human Rights" (EIDHR) intends to promote democratisation, governance andrule of law, targeting: a strengthening of civil society, human rights education,freedom of expression and independent media, elections, rule of law institutions,governance and conflict prevention.


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INTRODUCTION

More than ever migration is on the political agenda in Europe. There will be, or recentlyhave been, national elections where immigration has been one of the most discussedtopics. At the same time, more immigrants than ever enter Europe and an increasingnumber of them come from developing countries.

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)1, developing countries ingeneral generated close to 55 % of the world’s estimated 130 million migrants by theearly 1990s. Some of these countries also host high percentages of the emigrants. Mostmigration in the world is internal migration, but international migration is growing everyyear. This paper will mainly deal with international migration. In particular it willconcentrate on migration from developing countries into Europe, particularly into thosecountries of Europe which are members of the European Union. Developing countriesinclude the ACP countries, as well as South Asian and Central American countries.

International migration is linked to a variety of elements. These include the growinginequalities in wealth between and within countries, war, conflict and systematicpersecution, discrimination and violence, environmental, natural and man-madedisasters, family reunification and finally, but not least, the search for better economicprospects. Migration both affects and is affected by the development process in thedeveloping countries by being both the cause of a lack of economic development and theeffect of underdevelopment. But migration can also encourage economic developmentand sustainable development is expected to lead to less migration. Migration is a globalphenomenon and has both benefits and costs for receiving countries as well as forcountries of origin.

Over the past decades the nature and context of migration has changed. This is due toseveral factors including changes in geo-political alliances in the post-Cold War era,globalisation and increasing access to global communication and travel. Globalisationhas not only given rise to an increased international flow of trade, capital, information,and services, but has also made it easier for people to move. Governments in both theNorth and South have become more active in trying to limit the movement of peopleinto their territories. But international migration – in particular illegal migration -continues to rise, and indications are that in our globalising world, the pressure formigration will further increase in the years to come.

1 UNFPA, Report by the Secretary-General, 1999, Proposals for key actions for the furtherimplementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population andDevelopment, 25 February. See http://www.unfpa.org/icpd/reports&doc/sg-report.htm


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This paper tries to outline some reasons behind the problem of migration as it standstoday. The countries of origin lose their skilled workers, the immigration policy of hostcountries reduces the flow of remittances permitting families to reunite. Studentseducated abroad are often not educated in subjects suitable for their countries of origin,to mention just some aspects of the problem. Developing countries are thus losing theirability to build new infrastructure, which could have helped them increase employmentand develop economically. The recipient countries on the other hand, do not seem to beable to match the needs of immigrants with the requirements of their economies, andmay experience problems with integration of migrants. This does not mean thatmigration only causes problems, but a balanced migration pattern would involve a levelof immigration commensurate with the requirements of the labour market. Theadvantage of migration for countries of origin include reducing unemployment levels.

It is necessary to look at whom the migrants are, where they go, how .they go and mostimportantly: why they leave their country of origin. It is necessary to look into theconsequences of migration.

A major problem has been to find up to date data and statistics on migration.


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1. WHO ARE THE MIGRANTS?

Who the migrants are says much about the reasons for leaving their home country. TheInternational Organisation for Migration (IOM)2 divides international migrants into twomajor groups: Those who migrate of their own free will, leaving to study, work or joinfamily abroad, and those who flee to escape persecution, conflict, repression or naturaldisasters. A distinction has to be made among the different groups of migrants:Refugees, other asylum seekers, students and labour migrants, the latter being the mostimportant in terms of numbers. This classification determines what should be done in thehome country, and is also relevant when it comes to statistics. A distinction must bemade between legal or illegal migration.

Migration should also be examined in the light of the migrants’ personal situation. Thetendency to emigrate is also influenced by marital status, family status, home ownership,race and ethnic origin.

1.1. Labour migration

Labour migrants are those who, due to poor socio-economic conditions, leave theirhome country hoping for a better life abroad. Some started as internal migrants whowere forced into urban areas by dire socio-economic circumstances, such as unfairdistribution of land, natural disasters, population pressure, and unemployment in therural areas. Others came directly from the urban areas. The migrants who come toEurope were often unemployed or underemployed at home, or they believe that wagesand living conditions in the West would be better.

At the same time it is becoming harder to enter Western Europe, as Europeanimmigration policy becomes increasingly restrictive. However skilled people are stillwelcome, in particular computer engineers, doctors and other highly qualifiedprofessionals. Today the majority of migrants consists of job seekers. There are reasonsto believe that the number of job seeking immigrants will continue to rise as Europe’spopulation ages and declines over the next few decades. Therefore will skills will beneeded. As long as there will be unemployment in developing countries there is noreason to believe the immigration by unskilled people will stop - legal and illegal.

The majority of labour migrants into Europe came from the Democratic Republic ofCongo, Somalia, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique,Iraq, Vietnam, Iran, Philippines, Bangladesh, Thailand, China, Peru, DominicanRepublic, Ecuador, Colombia, Cuba, Brazil and Venezuela. In the UK in 2000, Africannationals formed the second largest group of foreign immigrants. This was a rise ofnearly 50% over 1995. The number of foreign workers entering most EU-countriesincreased over the past few years3.

2 The ACP-EU Courier, No187. July-August 2001.3 OECD, 2001, Trends in International Migration, Stock of foreign labour by nationality.


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1.1.1. Entrepreneurial migration

According to a study made at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam4, ethnic entrepreneurialmigration is a variant of labour migration, but instead of queuing for jobs with thelocals, they create jobs for themselves or even employ other people as well. In thisconnection the push factors of more lucrative jobs abroad are a little different, but thereare reasons to believe job opportunities and higher wages still are the main motives foremigration. As with labour migration, entrepreneurs were motivated by a possibility ofimproving their economic circumstances. Examples of this phenomenon are theestablishment of shops and restaurants, which sell exotic products and foods from theowners’ home regions. These people are usually not very highly skilled, sinceentrepreneurial activities do not require high academic qualifications. The consequencesof their migration would be slightly different from other kinds of labour emigrants, asthey 1) do not take jobs from citizens in host countries, 2) do not contribute to the braindrain, and 3) ease the unemployment rate in the countries of origin. Entrepreneurialemigration has in this way the potential to help the situation in developing countries.

1.2. Students

Though not so numerous, students are still important. Students who return to theircountries of origin can lead to increased development, particularly if the education theygot abroad could be of use in their country of origin.

In a globalised world it can be expected that more and more students from developingcountries will study abroad. Failure to return to their countries of origin after graduationmeans a loss of qualified people.

Statistics from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)5,show that 43.1% of the foreign students enrolled in France in 1998 were Africans,11.2% were Asians and Oceanians, and 2.3% were South Americans. In the UK 7.1%were from Africa, 34.2% from Asia and Oceania and 1.2% from South America.Malaysian students came second among non-European foreign students in the UnitedKingdom in 1998. In Germany 9.3% were from Africa, 35.9% from Asia and Oceaniaand 2.3% from South America. Iranian students ranked second among foreign students.Statistics show that of students enrolled in EU countries, 43.9% were Latin Americans,and 67.6% were Africans, but only 19.3% were Asians. For details, see annexe onstudent migration.

4 Doen, Mathen L.N., Gorter, C., Nijkamp, P. and Rietveld, P., 1999, "Ethnic entrepeneurship andmigration: A survey from developing countries", The Current State of Economic Science, Vol. 4, PP.2317-2333.5 OECD, 2001, "Foreign Students in OECD countries, 1998, students from non-OECD countries enrolledin an OECD country", Trends in International Migration.


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1.3. Asylum seekers

The number of asylum seekers continues to rise, mainly due to the immigration policiesof the European countries which leave this as the only legal way for migrants to acquireresidence. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR)6, most of the top ten countries of origin of asylum claims in Europe in 1998were developing countries. Included are Iraq, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Somalia.

Some EU Member States show different patterns of asylum applicants. The UKstatistical yearbook7 shows that, in 2000, almost 18,000 asylum applicants came fromAfrica and 23,000 from Asia. The numbers both from Asia and Africa have been risingover the last five years. According to BBC News8 there was a record number of asylumapplications in the United Kingdom in 2000. The figure rose by 7% compared to 1999and the UK, with 76,040 applications, representing more than 98,000 individuals,received more asylum seekers than any other EU country. The number of asylumapplicants in the UK fell to 86,000 in 2001. About 60% of asylum seekers in 2000applied for asylum "in country", during a visit or while studying. The others were "portapplicants" who applied on immediate arrival. Iraq provided the largest group of asylumseekers in the UK in 2000. The second largest was Sri Lanka, followed (fromdeveloping countries) by Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Ghana and Pakistan. In Germany,statistics for 19999 show that 9,500 asylum seekers came from Africa, while some35,000 came from South Asia. In Germany there had been a small decline in the numberof asylum applicants until the year 2000. In 2001 however, the number rose from 78,500to 88,00010.

Germany and the United Kingdom were the two countries which had the greatestnumber of asylum applications over the last years. However, in terms of asylumapplicants per 1,000 of the population, in 2000 the two countries rank only 9th and 7thin the European Union, behind Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark andSweden. Belgium, the leader, registered 4,17 asylum applicants per 1,000 of thepopulation, whereas the UK and Germany only had 1,57 and 0,96 applicantsrespectively. In total numbers, Belgium had 42,700, Ireland 10,900, the Netherlands43,900, Austria 18,300, Denmark 10,100, Sweden 16,300 and France 38,800. Inprevious years, Italy had the greatest increase in numbers. In 1998 Italy had 11,120applications, compared with 1,860 in 1997. Even though the number of applicationsgrew in all the European countries, except in Germany and Greece, no other countryexperienced such an explosion in the numbers of applications as Italy. When it comes torecognition, Germany recognised 10,940 of the asylum seekers under the 1952Convention in 1999. The United Kingdom recognised 7,080 and Italy recognised 810.

6 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 1999, "Refugees and others of Concern to UNHCR",1999 Statistical Overview.7 UK Home Office 2002, Applications received for asylum, excluding dependants, by nationality, Popularand vital Statistics, United Kingdom.8 BBC News, Intro: Destination UK ,http://news6.thdo.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/uk/2001/destination_uk/default.stm, 16/05/2002.9 Bundesamt für die Annerkennung ausländischer Flüchtlinge, Nürnberg, Asylsuchende nachausgewählten Staatsangehörigkeiten.10 ibid, Asylbewerberanträge im europäischen Vergleich.


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This did not represent a big change from previous years, despite the increased number ofasylum seekers.

According to the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)11, economicconsiderations have, over the last decade, led the Member States of the EU to takeincreasingly restrictive measures to control immigration. The chances of an applicationbeing accepted are diminishing. Migrants therefore seek alternatives, using loopholes inrestriction policies and developing strategies for circumventing these new curbs. Themost noticeable effects are the appearance of transit spaces and increased demand forasylum. Thus, with the transit spaces, international migration from West Africa,between African states (South-South) or between West Africa and the European Union(South-North) now take routes that are at once traditional and original. New itinerariesare traced (South-South-North; South-North-South). The hitherto customary idea, placeof origin to place of settlement, no longer represents the reality of the situation, and theclassical bipolar migration model must be reconsidered. In recent years the number ofAfricans seeking asylum has quadrupled. For those migrating for economic reasons, therequest for asylum has become another strategy for bypassing the measures taken toclose European frontiers following the Schengen agreement.

1.4. Refugees

A refugee is defined as a person outside of his or her country of nationality who isunable or unwilling to return because of persecution or a well-founded fear ofpersecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular socialgroup, or political opinion. As long as we have political instability and wars, this form ofimmigration will not end. In armed conflicts and natural disaster, women and childrenaccount for the vast majority of those at risk – often more than 70 per cent and onoccasion up to 90 per cent. According to the latest figures published by the UNHCR,referring to 1 January 2002, an estimated 19,8 million people were refugees, returneesand persons displaced within their own countries, two million less than the year beforeand 2,5 million less than in 2000. In 1990, UNHCR12 was helping some 15 millionpeople. Then a series of crises erupted in northern Iraq, Rwanda and Africa’s GreatLakes region. Numbers hit an all-time high mid-decade, then tapered off. During mostof the decade, Asia hosted the largest refugee population and only in Europe did thenumber of refugees continue to rise. However, the last two years saw a considerabledecline in numbers for Europe from 7,3 million in 2000 to 5,6 million in 2001 and 4,9million in 2002. On the other hand, the numbers for Asia rose from 7,3 to 8,8 millionbetween 2000 and 2002, particularly due to developments in Afghanistan.

According to the UNHCR 2,608,380 of the world's 11,675,380 refugees had residence inEurope in 1999. Among EU member states, the highest numbers of refugees were inwestern European countries, but Northern Europe also hosted a considerable number.A closer look at the statistics shows that a high number of asylum applicants from

11 Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, 1997, "The first atlas of West African migrations toEurope", Scientific Bulletins, Bulletin No. 34, February,http://www.ird.fr/us/inst/actualites/fiches/1997/f_act_N34_ang.shtml.12 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 2000, Refugees and others of Concern to UNHCR,1999 Statistical Overview.


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Eritrea (280 to Germany, 270 to the Netherlands), Ethiopia (340 to Germany, 210 to theNetherlands, 460 to the UK) and Ghana (280 in Germany, 200 in UK) were grantedrefugee status in 1999 by, in particularly, Germany, the Netherlands, Germany and theUnited Kingdom. The United Kingdom also recognised a number of refugees fromZimbabwe (230). A very high number of asylum applicants from Mali (1 660) and arelatively high number from Congo (300) were recognised as refugees by France.Belgium recognised a consequent number from Rwanda (490), as did France (200).Among Asians, a very high number of applicants from Iraq (3,730 in Germany, 4,550 inthe EU member countries all together), and a relatively high number from Iran (750 inGermany) were recognised as refugees. France granted asylum to an important numberfrom Sri Lanka (660) and a relatively high number from Cambodia (360). Denmark andthe Netherlands respectively granted asylum to 270 and 550 from Afghanistan.

1.5. Personal data

Personal data, such as age, gender, level of education, occupation, marital status, familystatus, home ownership, race, ethnic origin of the migrants all effects the emigrationdynamics. However, statistics on this information are insufficient. What we know best isthe age of the migrants. Statistics from UNHCR on age disparities among those seekingasylum show that the majority of migrants from Africa are between 18-59 years old(37.6%), but the group of migrants aged 5-17 follows closely (33.8). For the group ofmigrants with origin from western Africa, the group of migrants aged 5-17 is actuallythe largest (38.8%). Migrants from South Asia have a clearer majority of migrantsbetween 18-59. The same goes for migrants from South America (70.4% between 18-59) and Caribbean (93.9%). According to the Institut de recherche pour ledéveloppement (IRD)13, more than 60% of West Africans in Europe are young adultsaged between 20 to 39. However there are large disparities in this age structure, and inthe sex ratio. These differences reflect the variety of countries of origin, how long agomigration took place and the immigration policies of the host countries. Still, there arereasons to believe that the greatest number of migrants would be young people, sincethis group is normally the most mobile. This is also the group which will make thegreatest impact on the society they leave and the society to which they migrate, as theymay produce children, and have the ability to work or study.

Traditionally male migrants have predominated. UNHCR statistics show that the malesare in majority among the migrants from African countries except northern and westernAfrica. The same is true for migrants from the Caribbean (11.2% women), and fromCentral- and South American countries (26.3% and 33.7% women). Asian migrants, onthe other hand, have a majority of female migrants with the exception of South-EastAsians. The OECD has recently found that today more and more women are migrating.The numbers from the OECD proves this by showing that 50.8% of all migrants in 1999were women. Although re-uniting with other family members is still the most commonmotive for female migration, an increasing proportion of women are settling in othercountries for work or because they are refugees. The sharpest rise has been in Portugal,where there was an average 4.3% increase in the proportion of foreign women in inflowseach year between 1992 and 1999. Increases in female immigration have also beenrecorded in the Netherlands, Finland and Switzerland.

13 Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, 1997, op.cit.


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2. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN

According to Eurostat, out of a total of 6.3 million foreigners in Europe in 1998 (notcounting people from the European Union), more than 3 million are from Africa. TheAfrican continent is thus the primary region of origin of immigrants present in theEuropean Union. Whereas the highest numbers come from North Africa (approximately2 million people), West Africa is, according to the IRD14, the most important sub-Saharan area of departure for immigrants into Europe (415,000). In addition,immigration from West Africa is one of the more recent migration trends towards theEuropean Union, the IRD reports. Taken overall, three countries of emigration, Ghana,Nigeria and Senegal, provide 55% of the West African population present in theEuropean Union. Next come Cape Verde and Mali. Fewer migrants originate fromBenin, Niger and Burkina Faso but they are the countries with the strongest flow ofemigration within West Africa itself. Between 1985 and 1993, for Europe there hasbeen simultaneous diversification of both countries of emigration and of immigration.In absolute terms the total number of African migrants to the North remains high, but isstabilising or growing only slowly. However, migration flows from West Africa to theEU are becoming strongest, in particular from recent countries of emigration (Guinea-Bissau and Burkina Faso for example).

The magnitude of Africa’s refugee outflow is related directly to warfare, persecution,poverty and environmental calamities. There have been some changes in the magnitudeand direction of flows in Africa; a relative shift in the major refugee-prone areas ofEthiopia, Uganda, Angola and Mozambique to Zaire, Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi, Chad,Liberia, and, lately, Sierra Leone. This change in course indicates, to some extent, areturn to normalcy in the countries listed first, where, as peaceful conditions areestablished, repatriation and resettlement takes place, as against wars and other forms ofinstability in the latter list. Changes in both volume and direction of labour migration insome developing countries reflect changes in their socio-economic and politicalfortunes, notably in Ghana, Uganda and South Africa.

Asia is the second largest source of migrants from developing countries into Europe,with a little more than 2 million emigrants in 1998, according to Eurostat. The mainSouth Asian countries of origin in 1999 were India, the Philippines and Vietnam,followed by Pakistan, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia andBangladesh15. There has been a sustained increase in labour emigration according tosome sources. Another feature of labour emigration from South Asia is the increasingnumber of clandestine migrants. Although data are often confidential and extremelyhard to obtain, the number of South Asian aliens apprehended as illegal workersrepresented only a small fraction of the total number of immigrant workers. South Asiahas also been prone to large-scale refugee movements.

14 Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, 1997, op.cit.15 OECD, 2001, "Stock of foreign labour by nationality", Trends in International Migration, Paris.


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Only a minor number of migrants come from the Pacific, Caribbean or CentralAmerican countries to Europe. Eurostat shows that about 100,000 came from Oceaniancountries, and 900,000 from the Americas, but these numbers do not exclusively includedeveloping countries within these continents, making the number even smaller.Trinidad and Tobago was the country of origin of most migrants to European countries.Europe also received migrants from Jamaica, Mexico and Haiti. Among South Americancountries significant numbers came from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, theDominican Republic and Peru.


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3. COUNTRY OF DESTINATION

To what parts/countries of the Western Europe most emigrants go reveals somethingabout migration pull factors. According to the Courier16, international migration hasintensified over the last years, with the media referring to the regionalisation andglobalisation of migration. The major destinations are the same: the United States andthe European Union, with countries in southern Europe gradually becoming immigrant-receiving countries. But even if the southern part of Europe is receiving more and moreimmigrants, the desired final destination of most migrants from developing countries,has for long been, and still are, the United Kingdom, France and to some extentGermany. According to the BBC News website17, many asylum seekers do not choosetheir country of asylum. Where they end up can depend on how quickly they flee and bywhat means. But of those that do choose, asylum seekers are most likely to be swayedby the presence of their own community in a country of destination, rather than anybenefits or reception standards, according to UNHCR18. For example, 98% of Maliasylum seekers lodge application in France and 45% of Sri Lanka asylum seekers cometo the UK. This goes together with general tendencies, which show that Asians are likelyto go to Britain while Africans in general tend to go to France.

Other reasons for people going to one country rather than to another, are a formercolonial past, language and culture. The different immigration policies of countries ofdestination may to some extent play a role. In recent years for instance, the entryconditions have been generally eased for skilled people in some European countries, dueto labour shortages. According to the OECD, the main increase in flows within theEuropean Union is a result of this, favouring flows from Asia to Germany and theUnited Kingdom. The social factor plays, however, the determinant role as to wherepeople go, since emigrants tend to go where they already have friends, relatives, or atleast a national community.

France is the country in Europe which hosts the most immigrants from Africa. Most ofthese are from the Northern African countries, but according to INSEE statistics19, sub-Saharan Africans still numbered 283,824 in 1999. With more than 50% of all Africanresidents in the EU, France hosts the most immigrant residents originating from that

16 The Courier, the magazine of ACP-EU development cooperation, Dossier. Migration, No.187, July –August 2001.17 BBC News, Intro: Destination UK,http://news6.thdo.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/uk/2001/destination_uk/default.stm, 16/05/2002.18 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 2000, Refugees and others of Concern to UNHCR,1999 Statistical Overview.19 Statistical yearbook of France 2001.


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continent, according to the IRD20. The main African national group is from Congoaccording to OECD21. The second largest recipient of African migrants is Italy(284,383) which continues its transformation from a country of emigration to one ofimmigration. Senegal is the main country of origin for Africans in Italy. Germany,which hosts the largest number of foreigners in the EU, had 305,595 Africans in 1998.The United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Belgium have African communities ofappreciably similar size. Statistics from Eurostat22 tells that United Kingdom hosted213,837 Africans in 1998. The major group from developing African countries to theUK came from South Africa. At first oriented towards the old colonising countries, inthe mid 1980s the movement of African migrants broadened to aim also for countries inSouthern Europe, until relatively recently countries of emigration.

Immigration from West Africa is, according to IRD23, the fastest growing group ofmigrants. The growth and diversification of immigration from West Africa dividesEurope into two zones: on the one hand France and the United Kingdom where renewalof immigrant populations is stabilising and, on the other, Germany, the SouthernEuropean countries and Scandinavia where immigration movements continue to bestrong. One third of the West Africans (128,198) in the European Union live in Franceand come from places with historical and linguistic links. The EU country with thesecond largest number of resident West Africans is the UK (82,000), coming mainlyfrom Commonwealth countries (Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and the Gambia).Germany and Italy have almost the same number of West African immigrants (74,112and 62,861 respectively). In this way in the heart of Europe a French-speaking Africangroup is developing made up of migrants from Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast as well asfrom Benin, Burkina Faso, and Guinea, who traditionally emigrated to other WestAfrican countries (for example the Burkinans traditionally went to Ivory Coast). InNorthern Europe, an arc of English-speaking Africans is becoming established,composed of Nigerians, Ghanaians, Gambians and, in smaller numbers, Liberians andSierra Leoneans. These populations are spread unequally between the UK, theNetherlands, Denmark and Germany. In the South, along the Mediterranean margins,Italy and Spain are the main host countries. Their West African communities areparticularly diverse (with people from Senegal, Gambia, Nigeria, Ghana and Cape VerdeIslands). West Africans in Portugal originate essentially from Cape Verde (24% of theAfricans in Portugal).

20 Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, 1997, op.cit.21 OECD, 2001, "Stock of foreign labour by nationality", Trends in International Migration.22 Council of Europe, 2000, "Current trends in international Migration": Foreign population in EU andEFTA countries, as of 1 January 1998 (or latest year available), source: EUROSTAT.23 Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, 1997, op.cit.


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The United Kingdom has been, and still is, the largest recipient of migrants from Asia.The Eurostat report "Population by citizenship"24 shows that the United Kingdom hosted552,344 Asians. According to the OECD, the highest number of Asians in the UK in1999 consisted of migrants from India, Pakistan, Philippines and Bangladesh. The BBCNews reports that Iraq, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Iran accounted for the largest groupsentering the UK in 200025. The Asian population in France in 1999 was 63,371,according to statistics from Eurostat. When we look at the statistics from the OECD26

on inflow of foreign population by nationality, the largest Asian groups of immigrantsentering France in 1999 came from China, followed by Sri Lanka. Asians in Germanynumbered 781,034. Denmark received migrants from Iraq, Somalia, Thailand, Iran andPakistan.

As already mentioned, not many migrants come to Europe from the Americas, thePacific or Oceania. Among those who came, however, most went to the UK. Eurostat27

reveals that the United Kingdom hosted 248,874 Americans and 87,959 people fromOceania in 1998. Among the Oceanian, only a small number came from developingcountries. Migrants to the UK from American and Caribbean developing countriesoriginated in Colombia, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Americans in Germanynumbered 194,371 and Oceanians 9,624. A considerable number came from Brazil.Spain received a number from Peru, the Dominican Republic and Argentina. Portugalhas immigrants from Brazil, but apart from these, no European country received anysignificant number of migrants from developing countries other than from Africa andSouth Asia.

Even if these figures do not tell us exactly about the numbers of immigrants fromdeveloping countries, they give us an impression of the trends. It is clear that the greatestnumbers of migrants from developing countries to Europe come from African and Asiancountries (cf. statistics in the Annex of this report). However, these statistics do notinclude illegal immigrants. They also do not give information on the period of time theimmigrants stay.

The situation between France and the UK has on occasions become tense because ofimmigration pressure on Britain. Britain complains that other European countries,especially France, are not doing enough to stop illegal immigrants crossing the EnglishChannel. The authorities accuse France of loose border controls. One of the main issuesfor discussion has been the Sangatte refugee camp. The British fear that its proximity tothe Channel Tunnel acts as a magnet for asylum seekers determined to reach the UK.Every night attempts are made to get from Sangatte through the Channel Tunnel toEngland. The French government, on the other hand, says the UK is the refugees’destination of choice because its asylum laws are too generous28. Relatively generouswelfare provisions and the English language have, according to BBC News, madeBritain the preferred destination for many asylum seekers, particularly from Asia. As

24 Council of Europe, 2000, "Current trends in international Migration": Foreign population in EU andEFTA countries, as of 1 January 1998 (or latest year available), source: EUROSTAT.25 BBC News, 2002, http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1524000/1524588.stm26 OECD, 2001, Trends in international migration, inflow of foreign population by nationality, Paris.27 Council of Europe, 2000, "Current trends in international Migration": Foreign population in EU andEFTA countries, as of 1 January 1998 (or latest year available), source: EUROSTAT.28 BBC News 4/11/2001, http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1524000/1524588.stm.


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well as improving security at channel ports, and trying to persuade Europeangovernments to take a harder line, Britain is planning to introduce identity cards forasylum applicants and house them in special centres. The UK government also wants tospeed up processing applications. At the other end of the scale, Britain is to encouragegraduates to come to UK to seek work. On the question of the Sangatte refugee camp,the ministers of the interior of France and Great Britain have come to an agreement. TheSangatte centre will close three to six months after the coming into force of new asylumlaws in the UK. Both countries additionally decided on new security arrangements andundertook to contribute to a UNHCR project for the return of Afghan refugees to theirown country. Many of the refugees in Sangatte are from Afghanistan, which is nowconsidered to be a safe country again.


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4. ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

An obvious problem is the lack of reliable statistics on illegal immigrants. Illegalimmigrants do not register, so the data will always be estimates. However, there arereasons to believe that the number of illegal immigrants is rising. The IOM29 estimatesthe upper limit of unauthorised migrants in Europe at 3 million in 1998, compared to justless than 2 million in 1991. There are several reasons for this rise. The globalised worldmakes it easier to travel, and a more restrictive immigration policy makes it moredifficult to migrate legally to Europe. For many people, the only legal way to enter aEuropean country has been via the asylum system. In response to the perceived abuse ofthe asylum system by those not in need of protection from persecution, Westerngovernments began to introduce more restrictive immigration policies and practices,making it increasingly difficult for migrants and asylum seekers to legally enter theirborders. This has forced an increasing number of migrants to use illegal and oftendangerous means of entry via sophisticated trafficking and smuggling. Humansmuggling is a growing business. Many criminals take up human trafficking instead ofdrug trafficking because the former is more profitable and the penalties are smaller.Most illegal immigrants enter through the outer borders of the European Union, whichmay be considered Europe’s weakest spots. Those seeking a better life, the economicmigrants, are likely to be deported while people seeking asylum from persecution athome often end up in refugee camps while their claims are considered. But most willcontinue their journey to the United Kingdom, Germany or France where they believethey will be treated better.

According to a BBC News report30 the "snake-heads" who smuggle Chinese migrantscharge up to $30,000 a person for the overland journey. It is an astronomical sum for afarmer, but the migrants, often poorly educated and illiterate, are lured by extravagantstories of the fantastic riches to be had in the West. Often a whole village will clubtogether to pay for one person’s passage in the hope that some of the wealth will be sentback. When arriving at the final destination the migrants are often treated very badly bythe smugglers. Kidnapping, prostitution of women and children and general abuse isfairly common. Police believe that many smuggling routes pass through Russia and intoWestern Europe via Hungary or the Czech Republic.

29 International Organisation for Migration, 2001, Statement of Schatzer, P., Director External RelationsDepartment and Senior Regional Adviser for Europe, IOM, at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Councilof Europe Conference on Illegal Migration, Paris, 13 December.30 BBC News 2/04/2001, Chinese gangs’ cruel trade, http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asia-pacific/newsid_797000/797489.stm


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5. ROOT CAUSES AND MOTIVES

5.1 Poverty and a vulnerable economy

Widespread poverty in many developing countries has further widened the existing gapin wealth between the South and the North, which again may lead people to search forbetter economic prospects in other parts of the world. In this context migration can beconsidered as both a factor and a consequence of economic and social inequalitiesbetween nations. According to Eurostat, there is significant statistical evidence showinga trend towards increasing immigration from low-income countries. Out of a globalpopulation of 6 billion, 1.5 billion people live on less than US$ 1 per day. Most of thoseliving below the poverty threshold are in South and East Asia (800 million) and Africa;In sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia poverty affects over 40% of the population31.

According to the International Monetary Fund32, the incidence of global poverty fell bythe derisory rate of 0.2 percent a year between 1988 and 1998. Global incomeinequalities are widening. At the end of the 1990s, high-income countries representing14 percent of the world’s population accounted for over three-quarters of world income,roughly the same as at the start of the decade. The world economy ended the 1980s moreunequal than any national economy, and since then it has become even more unequal(the global Gini coefficient33 rose by 3 points between 1988 and 1993 alone)34.

Developing countries record certain similarities concerning features associated witheconomic development, one of which is economic vulnerability. This has been a maincause of increased emigration in the recent past. Structural imbalance makes theseeconomies vulnerable to changes in the world market. Declining terms of trade, risingcosts of imports, acute balance of payment deficits, high external debt burdens, growingimpoverishment and the IMF/World Bank imposed programmes of economicrestructuring, liberalisation and adjustment, have produced additional migratorypressures. As differentials between developing and developed countries have deepened,emigration has become a solution for those seeking opportunity and improvement35.

31 European Parliament, Directorate General for Research, Division for Agriculture, Regional Policy,Transport and Development, 2001, Information Note on Demographic, economic and political issues indeveloping countries, particularly Africa, Luxembourg.32 Watkins, K., IMF, 2002, Finance & Development, Volume 39, Number 1, March,http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2002/03/watkins.htm.33 The Gini coefficient was developed to measure the degree of concentration (inequality) of a variable ofits elements. The Gini coefficient ranges between 0, where there is no concentration (perfect equality), and1 where there is total concentration (perfect inequality). An increase in this coefficient therefore means agrowing inequality, in this case in the world income distribution.34 These figures come from a 1999 World Bank report, "True World Income Distribution, 1988 and 1993",authored by Branko Milanovic of the World Bank Development Research Group.35 Afolayan, A.A. (IOM), 2001, "Issues and Challenges of Emigration Dynamics in DevelopingCountries", International Migration, Vol.39(4) 2001, Blackwell Publishers Ltd., Oxford.


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In the current context of globalisation characterised by economic and financialliberalisation, as well as growing inter-dependence in the environment and socialspheres, the issue of "vulnerability" is becoming increasingly acute36. Many ACP States,particularly those that are small or geographically isolated, are afraid that theireconomies will be adversely affected. Factors increasing the vulnerability of smallstates, especially small islands, include less diversified production, dependence on a fewcommodity exports, limited internal market, diseconomy in scale as well as in publicservices, high transportation costs, and greater exposure to external shocks or globalmarket distortions.

5.2. Globalisation

In the short term globalisation means the freer flow of goods and services around theworld. This has so far not been beneficial to the developing countries. While livingstandards have risen for many as a result of globalisation, more than a billion people livein extreme poverty37. The gap between poor and rich countries has grown, partly due toglobalisation, and the consequent push and pull factors for migration are increasing.At the same time there is not a free flow of workers because of restrictions onimmigration. At the same time increased access to global transport, notably throughcheap air travel and easier access to global communication. So basically there are twoclear links between globalisation and immigration. Firstly, globalisation has meant anincrease of mobility, as globalisation makes travelling easier. Secondly, if globalisationdoes not benefit poor countries, or is unbalanced, emigration out of these countries willgo on.

The closer continents are connected, the more their populations become mutuallydependent. So far, the benefits of globalisation have been unevenly spread.Globalisation is only sustainable if benefits in terms of trade etc. are more equallyspread, e.g. if opportunities for trade access to world markets and investment are moreequitable. Unless globalisation is made benefit the poor more, immigration pressure willcontinue. The challenge is to ensure that more people from the world’s poorest countriesbenefit from the new global economy. In many developing countries, globalisation isexacerbating inequalities at various levels. Income gaps based on access to markets,productive assets and education are widening, acting as a brake on poverty-reductionefforts. To start changing this situation, governments in poorer countries must createconditions at home that would help the poorest people in their communities to find workor markets for their goods. Efficient markets are indispensable for effectivedevelopment. Developing countries must attract foreign investors. Governments mustintroduce policies that allow companies to conduct their business safely and withreasonable returns. Developing countries with effective government, healthydemocracies, proper management of public finances, effective health and educationservices, fair law enforcement and free media, are far more likely to deliver economic

36 Lomé 2000 (7) - Vulnerable ACP States, http://www.ecdpm.org/lome/7vul_gb.htm.37 UK Department for International Development, 2000, Making Globalisation work for the poor, Anintroduction to the UK Government’s White Paper on International Development, December,http://www.globalisation.gov.uk/.


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growth. States which invest in basic infrastructure can help to give poor communitiesaccess to global markets. One of the biggest barriers to development is armed conflict.

Speeding the spread of education and skills will make the single greatest difference tothe way the world’s poorest countries can harness globalisation to eradicate poverty. Atpresent, an estimated 113 million children of primary school age have never gone toschool. A further 150 million have dropped out before achieving basic literacy andnumeracy skills. Investing in girls is the best strategy for developing countries. There isa risk in poor countries that the existing education divide will be compounded by adigital divide. Around 80% of the world’s population have no access to reliabletelecommunications. Also good health is vital component to development. Globalisationmust be managed properly so that it does not become merely the survival of the biggestand the most powerful. This requires global trade rules. If these are fair and transparentfor all, then globalisation can become a road to prosperity for many. The fastest growingdeveloping countries in recent decades have been those promoting exports. Effectivemultilateral trade rules must be applied for open trade to work for the poor38.

In the debate on globalisation it is necessary to analyse why some countries have beenmore successful than others in combining export growth with poverty reduction.Increasing the share of the poor in market-based growth requires strategies that rangefrom land redistribution to investment in marketing infrastructure, improved access toeducation and health care, and measures to tackle corruption and bad governance. It mayalso require policies including protection for smallholder farmers and for smallindustries, basic labour rights and minimum-wage protection.

The World Bank has estimated that cutting farm subsidies and tariffs by 50% wouldbenefit developing countries by US$150 billion a year, roughly 3 times the total ofdevelopment aid given by the West to poor countries. The Common Fisheries Policy(CFP) gives some of the EU’s fishing industry a chance to fish in developing countries’waters, making competition harder and sometimes leading to over-fishing. According tothe World Wildlife Fund, the fishing resources and ecosystems of West Africa were atleast as depleted as those of the North Atlantic, which would undermine thedevelopment and food security of West African countries39. The least developedcountries in particular have to be protected from such policies, as they are not ready forglobal competition.

The European Union provides approximately half of all public aid to the developingcountries and is their main trading partner in many cases. The principal objective ofCommunity development policy is to reduce and, eventually, to eradicate poverty. Thisobjective entails support for sustainable economic, social and environmental

38 UK Department for International Development, 2000, Making Globalisation work for the poor, Anintroduction to the UK Government’s White Paper on International Development, December,http://www.globalisation.gov.uk/.

39 European Report No 2996 from 29/06/02: EU/Africa: WWF calls on EU to prevent a collapse in fishstocks.


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development, promotion of the gradual integration of the developing countries into theworld economy and a determination to combat inequality40.

5.3. The demographic factor

Two main demographic characteristics of developing countries are pertinent asdeterminants of emigration dynamics: High population growth and high populationdensity. These characteristics tend to promote high emigration flows. High populationgrowth is a function of higher fertility levels in the face of declining mortality. Rapidrates of population growth in some regions, population decline in others, migration intosome regions and out of others, and other critical demographic trends including ageingand urbanisation, are impacting social, economic and political parameters in almost alldeveloping countries which put pressure on labour markets. At the same time thedeveloped world has a shortage of labour, in particular skilled labour.

Death and birth rates in general have declined over the past several decades. Global lifeexpectancy has now increased to an average of 66 years (up from 46 in 1950), andoutside the areas worst affected by HIV/AIDS people are healthier throughout the lifecycle than at any time in history41. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists42,one of the reasons why populations have been growing so fast is improved medicine,sanitation, and nutrition which have produced a major decline in death rates. Thisdecline started in Europe and North America in the 1800s. Throughout the 20th century,it has occurred in developing countries with astonishing speed. Between 1940 and 1960,falling death rates in Egypt caused average life expectancy to jump by twenty years.The UNFPA43 reports that HIV/AIDS will result in 15.5 million more deaths than wouldotherwise be expected in the 45 most-affected countries in the next five years, a higherfigure than previously projected. By 2015, life expectancy in those countries will be 60,five years lower than it would have been in the absence of AIDS. Nevertheless,population growth is expected to continue because of continued high fertility. Even inBotswana, where HIV prevalence is 36 per cent, a 37 per cent population increase isprojected by 2050.

According to the World Bank Group44, birth rates have also been falling, although not asquickly as the death rate. Most Western countries now have such low birth rates thattheir populations are approaching stability or decline. Many developing countries havealso achieved low birth rates, most notably in East Asia. In Mexico and parts of South-

40 European Commission, 2000, "Development, The European Community’s Development Policy",Statement by the Council and the Commission http://europa.eu.int/comm/development/lex/en/council20001110_en.htm.41 UNFPA, http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2001/english/ch01.html#1b.42 Union of Concerned Scientists, 2000, Frequently Asked Questions about Population Growth, Union ofConcerned Scientists, http://www.ucsusa.org/environment/pop.faq.html.43 United Nations, Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2001, WorldPopulation Prospects, The 2000 Revision: Highlights.44 The World Bank Group, 2000, Population Growth Rate,http://www.worldbank.org/depweb/english/modules/social/pgr/.


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East Asia, fertility has fallen very sharply over the past generation, creating the"demographic bonus" of a large generation of 15-24 year-olds ready to enter theworkforce, without the pressure of an equally large generation of children behind them.Fertility in developing countries as a whole has dropped to just under three children perwoman, about half what it was in 1969, and the expectation is that it will fall further, to2.17 children per woman by 2045-2050. Still, in the rest of the countries in South Asiaand Africa, birth rates remain quite high. Poverty, low levels of education, and weakfamily planning programmes have kept the average number of children born to eachwoman over six. But even here, there has been some progress. For countries that have alarge proportion of their population in their childbearing years their populations willcontinue to grow rapidly for some time, even if these young people bear significantlyfewer children than their parents. The situation will not stabilise until the younger groupages beyond their childbearing years. In low-income countries more than a third of thepopulation is under the age of 15, while in high-income countries this percentage is lessthan a fifth.

Estimates predict that the world population will grow by 50 per cent, from 6.1 billion inmid-2001 to 9.3 billion by 2050. The 49 least-developed countries will nearly triple insize, from 668 million to 1.86 billion people, according to the United Nations PopulationDivision’s World Population Prospects: The 2000 Revision45. These latest estimates andprojections by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and SocialAffairs of the UN indicate that world population is now growing by 1.3 per cent, or77 million people per year. Six countries account for half of this growth: India (with 21per cent of the total increase), China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Indonesia. Allof the projected growth will take place in today’s developing countries, which by 2050will account for over 85 per cent of world population. Total population in developedcountries will remain at around 1.2 billion. But population will decline in 39 low-fertility countries, most sharply in Eastern Europe. Populations in both developed anddeveloping countries will be older in 2050 than today. Rapid population growth ratescan make it difficult for countries to raise standards of living and protect theenvironment because the more people there are, the greater the need for food, healthcare, education, houses, land, jobs, and energy. This again may lead to migration.

According to the UNFPA46, virtually all population growth in the next decades will beconcentrated in the urban areas of the world. Urban growth has outpaced employmentand services and is often accompanied by poverty, yet cities offer opportunities forsocial change and economic development. As of 2000, 2.9 billion people are living inurban areas, comprising 47 per cent of the world population. By 2030, 4.9 billion areexpected to live in urban areas, or 60 per cent of the world population. Most of thispopulation increase will be absorbed by the urban areas of less developed regions, whiletheir rural populations will grow very slowly. By 2007, the number of urban dwellers isalso expected to exceed the number of rural dwellers for the first time in history. Rapidurban growth on today’s scale strains the capacity of local and national governments toprovide even the most basic of services such as water, electricity and sewerage. Theenvironment, natural resources, social cohesion and individual rights are at risk. Squattersettlements and over-crowded slums are home to tens of millions, like the favelas that

45 UNFPA, http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2001/english/ch01.html#1b.46 UNFPA, 2001, Urbanisation and migration, http://www.unfpa.org/modules/briefkit/07.htm.


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cling to the hillsides of Rio de Janeiro and the tombs used as homes by tens of thousandsin Cairo’s "City of the Dead". In some developing countries, notably in Africa, thisgrowth reflects rural crisis rather than urban-based development. But cities also speed upsocial transformation, opening new avenues for human development, especially forwomen. Cities can give women greater access to schooling, to reproductive healthservices including family planning and sexual health, and to work with fair wages. LatinAmerica and the Caribbean are highly urbanised today and will be even more so in thefuture, as will be Europe. Asia and Africa are considerably less urbanised today, butrapid rates of urbanisation are anticipated.

5.4. Unemployment

Because of the population growth in most developing countries, the pressure on thelabour market is growing. Although high total fertility rates, declining child mortalityand longer expected living age, more women in work, urbanisation, population growthand youthful population structure would not directly lead to migration, these populationprocesses and their outcome pose great pressure on, and challenges to employmentcreation, development in the region, unemployment and poverty which can in the endcause labour migration. According to UNFPA, international labour migration hasbecome the preferred option for many young people in developing countriescharacterised by high rates of unemployment and underemployment.

As pointed out by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation(UNESCO)47, the higher income level in countries with developed market economies ascompared to that of the developing countries is certainly one of the reasons formigration. But often it is not a single reason but, in the majority of cases, economicreasons are mainly responsible for the loss of skilled people which this kind of migrationcauses. Globalisation has also had an impact on the possibilities of labour migration.Under the conditions of increasing internationalisation of science and technology,enormous improvements of communication and transport, and a generally favourableinternational climate, the international mobility of highly qualified personnel has beenenhanced. The fact that persons with higher education have in most cases a goodcommand of one or more foreign languages is another encouraging factor.

At the same time sustained economic growth in most OECD countries and thedevelopment of the information economy has during the last few years, led to aconsiderable increase in migration of human resources in science and technology,according to the OECD48. Some developed countries have relaxed their immigrationlaws to attract qualified and highly qualified foreigners to sectors where there are labourshortages. A survey made by the OECD49 shows that migration involving qualified andhighly qualified workers rose sharply between 1999 and 2000. This was helped by betteremployment prospects and the easing of entry conditions in the richer countries to match

47 Kaempf, S., and Singh, S., UNESCO Executive Board,. 1987, The brain drain problem: Its causes,consequences, remedies and the role of UNESCO in this regard,http://shikshanic.nic.in/cd50years/z/8T/EU/8TEU0101.htm.48 OECD, 2001, Trends in International Migration, SOPEMI.49 ibid.


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labour shortages in some high-technology industries. Instead of granting initialtemporary work permits only for one year, as in the past, some OECD countries,particularly in Europe, have been issuing them for up to five years and generally makingthem renewable. In the near future this is likely to become more and more the case, asthe western world is facing an ageing population, and will be short of certain skills. Sofar scientists, engineers and computer programmers in particular have been required. Inaddition to a general increase in economic prosperity, one of the main factors behind therecent increase in worker migration has been the development of informationtechnology, a sector where in 2000 there was a shortage of around 2 million techniciansin Europe, according to estimates cited by the OECD. It is likely that other occupationalgroups will join in later, as new and different skills are requested due to lack of qualifiedpersonnel, in particular in the healthcare sector.

Government migration policies in countries of origin have also often facilitatedemigration. The policies of many South Asian countries, for example, include promotionof employment of labour outside country with the help of colourful brochures (in SriLanka and Bangladesh), devaluation of the rupee in Sri Lanka, reduced restrictions onthe issuing of passports and minimising manpower export controls in Pakistan;relaxation of exchange control and ability of overseas’ workers to open foreign currencyaccounts; and the launching of market promotion campaigns in Sri Lanka.

5.5. Study abroad

A growing number of foreign students are now being enrolled in the universities ofindustrial nations. Also an increasing number of professionals are undergoing medicalinternship and other forms of training. The increasing number of students migratingfrom developing countries to Western Europe to study is mainly because educationabroad is considered better and gives more status. Also, the globalised world makes iteasier to go abroad, and normally foreign students are welcome in European universities.The problem is, however, that the students often decide to stay abroad after finishingtheir education. There is a large spectrum of reasons for this, ranging from a lack ofinformation about employment possibilities in the home countries to family ties in therespective countries of study. Also these students are often trained in a manner that aftergraduation makes smooth integration in their home countries very difficult. One canraise here the question of the effectiveness of study abroad as well as the educationalopportunities granted in the framework of international organisations. Beside these, theprestige value of foreign education, and good prospects and promotion facilities, aresocial determinants of brain drain. The search for good working conditions, latestinformation and contact with expertise are further psychological determinants of braindrain. The most important pull-factor is the demand for highly qualified personnel in therecipient countries.


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5.6. Political factors

Continuing civil conflict and human rights violation, war and systematic persecution,discrimination and violence is, and will probably continue to be, an importantdeterminant for migration. Political crises that have left many developing countriesunable to harness and manage adequately their resources so that a number of people seemigration as the only way out of their difficulties. This factor serves as a trigger forgreater emigration, for example from Somalia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Burundi and Zairein Africa, from Pakistan and Sri Lanka in South Asia and from Cuba and Haiti in LatinAmerica and the Caribbean. Even though economic crises are the major determinant ofemigration in these regions, political instability often threatens economic conditions,thus making emigration more compelling. The political landscape of many countries inthese regions has been very unstable, unpredictable and changeable. Civil war in manyAfrican countries has led to significant population mobility. Emigration in the face ofpolitical instabilities results in refugees. In May 2002 more than 3,000 new refugeesfleeing recent clashes between government troops and rebel forces left Liberia forGuinea, according to Guinean officials. The new arrivals were be mainly women, theelderly and children. More than 11,000 Liberian refugees have crossed into Guinea sinceLURD50 launched its attacks on Liberian government positions.

The list of other nations where political unrest has led to migration is long. In 2000,7,080 Iraqi nationals applied for asylum in the United Kingdom. At 9% of the totalnumber of applications in that year they were the largest national group to apply forasylum. Iraqis are more successful than other nationalities when applying for asylum inthe UK. According to Amnesty International, human rights violations in Iraq are takingplace "systematically". The majority of the victims are Shi’a Muslims from SouthernIraq and Kurds from the north. Also in 2000, more than 6,000 Sri Lankans applied forasylum in the UK, comprising 6% of UK asylum applications. For nearly two decadesSri Lanka was scarred by a bitter civil war between the mainly Hindu Tamils, an ethnicminority and the mainly Buddhist Sinhalese. Somalis are good representatives ofAfricans which fled from persecution. In 2001 there were 4,795 applications for asylumin the UK from Somali nationals. They made up 6% of the total number of applicants.Somalia has been without a central government since 1991. Warlords, supported byheavily armed militias, rule various parts of the country. The resulting fightingcombined with famine and disease has led to the death of up to one million people overthe past 10 years. Throughout 2000 there were periodic outbreaks of fighting betweenclan or faction militias in the south of the country. There have been cases of kidnapping,detention and torture. The minorities who have suffered most from militia attacksinclude urban coastal peoples (Benadiri or Rer Hamar), Bantu agriculturists frequentlysubjected to forced labour, artisan groups (Midgan, Tumal, Yibir) and fishing people(Bajuni)51.

50 Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd).51 BBC News, Destination UK,http://news6.thdo.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/uk/2001/destination_uk/default.stm.


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5.7. Environmental and ecological disasters

Environmental, natural and man-made disasters and lack of access to natural resources isanother determinant for migration. In South Asia, floods, cyclones and in some areasdrought and desertification have both directly and indirectly lead to internal andinternational migration. Also Africa has been touched by major environmental andecological disasters, mainly droughts. In 2000, Ethiopia experienced one of its mostsevere droughts since the infamous famine of 1984. While environmental degradationhas not been a major direct cause of emigration from Latin America and the Caribbean,land shortage, lack of viable resource base and depleted soil fertility influence volumeand direction of internal and external migration.

Environmental conditions contribute significantly to communicable diseases, whichaccount for about 20-25 per cent of deaths annually worldwide, caused by uncleanwater, air pollution and changes in land use. Irrigation or dam construction, for example,can encourage waterborne diseases. Schistosomiasis established itself in Egypt andSudan after the building of the Aswan dam. The clearing of tropical forest createshardpan on which rainwater can collect and mosquitoes can breed. Malaria results inover 1 million deaths each year and accounts for some 300 million new clinical caseseach year; it causes 10 per cent of the total deaths in sub-Saharan Africa (UNFPA52).

If we are in fact facing climate change in the coming decades, environmental conditionswill become an increasingly important reason for migration. Vulnerable states,particularly small island developing states (SIDS), face a wide range of environmentalrisks, such as natural disasters, vulnerability to sea-level rise, marine pollution, andecological fragility53. Scientific research indicates that even a very small increase inglobal temperature may lead to an increase in extreme weather events such as strongerstorms and hurricanes, worse droughts and floods, changes or shifts in seasons, milderwinters and wetter summers54. Even a small increase in global temperature will lead tothermal expansion of the oceans which will cause rises in sea levels that may threatenlow-lying coastal areas and river deltas. Climate change is in particular likely to impactseriously on Africa. Increased intensity of droughts, floods and changes to growingseasons may have significant implications for soil productivity, water supply, foodsecurity, and in turn human welfare and poverty, as well as deleterious and, in manycases, irreversible impacts on biological diversity. A change in climate can result inmore adverse socio-economic impacts in Africa than in other parts of the world. This isdue to several factors related to the vulnerability of society and the sensitivity of theenvironment. Countries in Africa tend to have a much higher share of their economydependent on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture than is the case on othercontinents.

52 UNFPA, http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2001/english/ch05.html.53 Lomé 2000 (7) - Vulnerable ACP States, http://www.ecdpm.org/lome/7vul_gb.htm.54 The World Market Group, 1998, Climate Change and Sub-Saharan Africa: issues and opportunities,No.120, October , http://www.worldbank.org/afr/findings/english/find120.htm.


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On 29 May 2002, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the WorldFood Programme (WFP) warned that at least 10 million people in four southern Africancountries, namely Malawi, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Swaziland, were threatened bypotential famine. Subsequent reports on the situation in Mozambique and Zambia showsay that another 2,8 million people are in urgent need of food. Millions of people are onthe brink of starvation. They will face grave food shortages as early as June which willcontinue up to the next main harvest in April 2003. Two successive years of poorharvests caused by natural calamities, coupled with economic crises and disruption offarming activities in places, have slashed food production and availability across theregion, resulting in one of southern Africa’s worst agricultural disasters in a decade.Almost 10 million people in the famine-threatened countries need immediate emergencyfood assistance. The longest dry spell experienced in Zimbabwe in 20 years has madethe food situation especially dire. “The combination of poor production from 2000/01, asevere reduction in this year’s agricultural production, a contraction in agricultural wagelabour opportunities and rising prices have made a substantial percentage of thechronically poor and hungry households food insecure for a portion of the year”, thereport said. All of the countries affected in the region are experiencing a combination ofproblems, including growing unemployment and lack of foreign exchange, which againcan lead to further migration55.

5.8. Social networks

The wish to join family or Diaspora communities is a clear pull factor for choosing acountry of destination. Social networks facilitate emigration from all the regionsincluded in this study. For example, emigrants from Sahel usually move to countrieswhere networks of information pertaining to settlement, adjustment and employmentprospects have been established. Social networks evolved over the years have led to theconcentration of emigrants of the same nationality in certain destinations (e.g. Maliansin France). The emigration of Malians is said to be part of a family strategy of reducingrisks in which successive generations of emigrants were supported by predecessors. ForSouth Asia, informal networks also serve a key role in encouraging emigration andhelping it become a self-perpetuating phenomenon. Many emigrants from India moveeither with help from friends or relatives. Their emigration flows have therefore becomechain migration.

55 The World Food Programme,http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/ECONOMIC/giews/english/alertes/sptoc.htm.


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6. PROBLEMS OF INTEGRATION

The list of problems that comes with an unbalanced migration is long. One of the mostvisible problems in the host countries is the lack of integration of immigrants. This lackagain causes other problems.

A number of immigrants have come too seek jobs in western countries. Some of themare highly qualified, and their skills are required by the receiving country. However,educated immigrants, in particular Africans, attracted to countries in Europe by theprospects of earning higher wages are often faced with disappointment and frustrationon arrival due to red tape and immigration laws. There are Africans with PhDs, degrees,diplomas and certificates currently in developed countries who are being excluded fromperforming the jobs they are trained or qualified for, and doing manual, lowly-paid workinstead. Acknowledging its need for migrant labour, the UK is currently consideringrelaxing its existing labour laws, with the idea of introducing a work permit system tohelp deal with skills shortages56. A study from Denmark57 shows the same tendencies.The unemployment rates for immigrants and refugees to Denmark from most countriesoutside Western Europe and North America have been considerably higher than thelevel for native born workers during recent decades. High unemployment rates amongimmigrants in many countries clearly reflect problems regarding the integration ofimmigrants. For some of the immigrant groups the problem is more pronounced than forothers. For example, immigrants from Africa have employment rates very close to20 per cent in Denmark. This empirical observation reflects high unemployment rates aswell as low participation rates for these groups. Another problem concerns wage levelsof immigrants who actually get a job. The question here is whether skills areremunerated at lower rates for immigrants than for native workers. Slow labour marketintegration is unfortunate, not only for the individual immigrant but also for society as awhole. The fact that immigrants represent a potentially valuable stock of human capitalmeans that poor integration and assimilation is a waste of resources, especially asunfavourable demographic developments are foreseen due to low birth rates combinedwith a rise in the number of elderly people. Fast and effective labour market integrationof immigrants would be an obvious way to counteract the adverse consequence of arising dependency ratio.

In addition to the labour market problems of immigrants, during the last three decadesthere has been an increased concentration of people with social problems, in Denmark aswell as in most other European countries. Socially exposed areas, with high immigrantpopulations, often called ghettos, cause social problems. A key issue for research onintegration and welfare is the extent to which the increased concentration of socially

56 Selassie, G., World Markets Research Centre, with Weiss., Th., International Organisation forMigration (IOM), "The Brain Drain - Africa’s Achilles Heel", 2001http://www.worldmarketsanalysis.com/InFocus2002/articles/africa_braindrain.html.57 The Social and Labour Market Integration of Immigrants, Graduate School for "Integration, Productionand Welfare" http://www.grad-inprowe.dk/Economics/kap3-Soc-lab-market.htm.


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disadvantaged groups in certain neighbourhoods have negative consequences forchildren growing up in this environment. Social segregation in the housing market canhave both positive and negative consequences for people living in socially deprivedareas. Especially for immigrants the advantages could be that the feeling of unity andidentity within the group is strengthened because of a common cultural heritage and thatlocal ethnic labour markets might develop creating jobs in, for example, retailing andservices. Especially in the first phase of the immigrants’ assimilation process theseadvantages of ‘ghettoization’ could be important because they create a jumping-offground for socio-economic progress and integration. However, the continuedconcentration of socially disadvantaged groups and ethnic minorities in certainresidential areas also has a number of disadvantages. Firstly, the conditions in theghettos are bad in many ways, especially for children and young people. The socialenvironment in the schools may be affected by the fact that a large proportion of thepupils are from ethnic minorities or socially exposed families, and crime might be morewidespread than in society at large. Secondly, the local social network (family,neighbours, friends, and more formal local institutions like clubs, organisations, etc),which is important for the creation of attitudes and evaluation of options, may becharacterised by a lack of middle-class role models. In combination with the badconditions, this implies that people in the ghettos make other choices and do not succeedin education and work as well as people outside the ghettos. Thirdly, immigrants livingin segregated neighbourhoods generally do not learn the language of their new countryvery quickly, which can represent a substantial disadvantage in the labour market. Socialisolation in ghettos also fortifies prejudice and discrimination in the labour and housingmarkets. Fourthly, ghettoization can affect the rest of the society, e.g. in the form ofincreased expenses for crime prevention and protection58.

Additional problems can include cultural and religious clashes. Germany faces difficultintegration problems because of the large numbers of foreigners who have immigrated ina short period of time. Lack of integration can lead to a lack of understanding andcultural division. The growth of right wing extremists is a result of this. This was largelythe basis for the racial tensions which turned into fierce rioting between young Asians,police and right-wing extremists in the UK, notably in Bradford, Oldham and Burnley,during the summer of 2001.

Reports59 have urged government action to bring together Britain's "shockingly" dividedcommunities. The Home Office said in their report that people in Britain were leading"parallel" and "polarised" lives where people from different backgrounds did not mix,and that "segregation, albeit self-segregation (...) will lead to more serious problems if itis not tackled". The reports show that too many British towns and cities lack any senseof civic identity or shared values. Young people in particular are alienated from much ofthe society around them, including the leadership of their communities. It is important to"recognise and celebrate diversity at the same time as developing the bonds that anycommunity needs." It is crucial to identify "shared values and common citizenship" tohelp bind diverse ethnic communities.

58 The Social and Labour Market Integration of Immigrants, Graduate School for "Integration, Productionand Welfare" http://www.grad-inprowe.dk/Economics/kap3-Soc-lab-market.htm.59 BBC News, 11 December, 2001, 16:25 GMT: Race ’segregation’ caused riotshttp://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/england/newsid_1702000/1702799.stm.


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Due to failed integration of immigrants from less developed countries, and an increasingnumber of second generation immigrants from these countries, there is a need to focuson integration across generations. Second generation immigrants are defined asimmigrants who are born in the country they live in. Recent public statistics onimmigrants show large differences between first and second generation immigrants.An obvious reason is the difference in language proficiency, but still there are largedifferences between the educational attainment and unemployment experience of secondgeneration immigrants, depending on the region from which the parents emigrated.There is a striking difference in their educational distribution compared with ethnicEuropean youth. The main determinants are found in the intergenerational transmissionprocess. The parents of second generation immigrants have less human capital and theimmigrants show as low intergenerational mobility as young ethnics. Therefore, the totaleffect is slow integration across generations, and consequently slow convergence in theeducational distributions can be expected60.

60 CLS Working Papers Series, 2002, Rapport 02. 23 s., http://www.nyt-om-arbejdsliv.dk/n-96.asp.


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7. BRAIN DRAIN

The most serious negative consequence of emigration for the countries of origin is theloss of skilled human resources and the intensification of the brain drain. Developingcountries also face difficulties in taking advantage of the positive consequences ofmigration through effectively using the potential contribution that expatriate nationalscan make to the economic development of their countries of origin.

The large disparities in wealth and income of nations are the underlying factors behindthe phenomenon of brain drain. Immigration policy also plays an important part inpromoting brain drain. The forces pulling highly skilled manpower to industrialisedcountries are selectively controlled and are subject to the immigration laws of the hostcountries. The pull acts selectively on individuals possessing desired skills andcompetence. The pull forces are reinforced by employment in well-paid jobs with goodcareer opportunities. The associated high standards of living, scientific excellence, andthe possibility of upward mobility all contribute to the pull. All major brain draindestination countries have highly developed legislation with respect to human rights,social justice and intellectual property. At the same time Western countries have becomeincreasingly dependent on migrant workers to fill their labour shortfall as theirpopulations age. In the UK alone, up to 1.2m migrants, will be needed in the next fewyears to replace workers who retire61.

Manpower is migrating to places where work is available. This not only at nationallevel, but to an increasing extent also at international level. In market economies goodsand services, including labour, flow there where they can expect the highest level ofpayment. Sometimes the families left behind in the country of origin can receiveremittances. Moreover, the most countries gain surplus value from the immigrants’ work.During recent decades the flow of highly skilled persons has become an essential featureof international migration. Migration rates of highly qualified personnel fromdeveloping countries remain high and in general these countries receive littlecompensation for the losses they incur. This has lasting effects on economic life in manycountries all over the world.

Brain drain occurs mainly in two forms, direct outward migration, and the permanentloss of graduates trained abroad. Medical personnel are the most important group luredaway from developing countries, engineers and scientists are the second ranking group.

61 World Markets Research Centre, with the co-operation of Thomas Weiss from the InternationalOrganisation for Migration (IOM), Gus Selassie "The Brain Drain - Africa’s Achilles Heel.", 2001,http://www.worldmarketsanalysis.com/InFocus2002/articles/africa_braindrain.html


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7.1. Disadvantages for developing countries

Brain drain has several negative consequences. Most obviously, human resources areflowing out of economies where they can make the greatest contribution, into alreadywell developed economies with large numbers of highly trained scientific andadministrative personnel. Developing countries lose their skilled personnel, leading toreduced potential for economic development. This migration of highly qualifiedpersonnel, in particular from less developed societies, widens the gap between poor andrich countries. If the best educated leave their country, economic development iscompromised, which in turn leads to more migration, creating a vicious circle. Frommany developing countries highly qualified persons who were in employment emigrateto better paid work. The majority of doctors, engineers and scientists who emigrate do soduring the most productive years of their life. If they return, their productive years willhave been lost to their home countries.

According to the UNESCO62, several developing countries devote nearly one percent oftheir gross national product to higher education and technical training. An important partof this investment is wasted. The funds spent on educating an "intellectual elite" whichemigrates can be regarded from a national point of view as wasted. Most developingcountries have had to cover the costs of training highly qualified personnel. Throughbrain drain those expenses are lost to the developing countries.

Studies from Africa show that Africa’s ongoing development efforts will continue to beundermined as long as the current phenomenon of human capital flight63. The trend,which sees thousands of highly skilled professionals leave the continent every year foropportunities in the developed world, has the twin effects of poor African economieslosing their best human capital, while spending precious money on educating andtraining replacements. The need to reverse this ongoing problem, as well as build andeffectively utilise capacities, is now widely acknowledged as a major challenge forAfrican development in the 21st century. The brain drain is in itself not a newphenomenon, but has risen sharply in recent years. Between 1960 and 1975 an estimated27,000 highly qualified Africans left the continent for the West, according to a study bythe International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and the UN’s EconomicCommission for Africa (ECA)64. This number increased to approximately 40,000between 1975 and 1984, and then almost doubled by 1987, representing 30% of thehighly skilled manpower stock. Africa lost 60,000 professionals (doctors, university

62 Kaempf, S., and Singh, S., UNESCO Executive Board, The brain drain problem: Its causes,consequences, remedies and the role of UNESCO in this regard,http://shikshanic.nic.in/cd50years/z/8T/EU/8TEU0101.htm.63 Selassie, G., World Markets Research Centre, with Weiss, Th., International Organisation for Migration(IOM), 2001,, "The Brain Drain - Africa’s Achilles Heel":http://www.worldmarketsanalysis.com/InFocus2002/articles/africa_braindrain.html.64 ibid.


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lecturers, engineers, etc) between 1985 and 1990, and has been losing an average of20,000 annually ever since. Another study by the World Bank reported that some 70,000highly qualified African scholars and experts leave their home countries every year inorder to work abroad, often in more developed countries. This figure does not includethe sizeable number of students who leave the continent to study overseas. Driven byconsiderable disparity in working conditions between Africa and countries ofemigration, the brain drain cripples Africa’s economies and diminishes human resources.Many of these highly skilled emigrants never return home due to the lack of motivationand opportunities for doing so. In order to replace those that have left the continent forgreener pastures, Africa spends an estimated US$4bn annually on recruiting some100,000 skilled expatriates.

The brain drain has also contributed to Africa’s growing marginalisation in the globaleconomy. According to the IOM65, there are currently just 20,000 scientists andengineers in Africa (or 3.6% of the world’s scientific population), servicing a populationof about 600 million. Africa would need at least 1 million scientists and engineers tosustain the continent’s development prospects. At least one-third of science andtechnology professionals from developing countries are currently working in Europe, theUS, Canada and Australia. It has been claimed that the shortage of a highly qualifiedmiddle class encourages poor governance, human rights abuses, corruption andundemocratic political systems. Many African governments still continue to prosecutetheir political opponents, who often tend to be educated, for their political views.

One of the worst examples of the brain drain cited by the IOM66 is Zambia. A few yearsago the country had 1,600 doctors, but there are now only 400 in practice. Zambiandoctors have migrated to Europe, the US and neighbouring Botswana, lured by highersalaries. Although the more developed economies of South Africa and Botswana act asmagnets for skills in Africa, South Africa is experiencing a brain drain of its own,increasingly so since the end of the white-dominated apartheid era, to other English-speaking countries. The reasons most frequently given by skilled professionals for theirdeparture are crime, low salaries, limited prospects for career advancement and adeteriorating medical infrastructure. According to official statistics, 10,000 peopleemigrated from South Africa in 2000. However, many others leave the country withoutmaking an official declaration. Unofficial estimates put the number of emigratingprofessionals at three times that stated by the government. A study of emigration to theUK, US, New Zealand, Canada and Australia by the IRD estimated that 233,609 peopleleft South Africa for these destinations between 1987 and 1997 - 41,000 of themprofessionals. Skilled workers emigrating from South Africa are estimated to have costthe country R67.8bn (US$7.8bn) in lost human capital since 1997 and this has retardedeconomic growth. Frustrated by the growing trend, the South African government hascriticised the UK for poaching the country’s skilled workers. South Africa is particularlyangry with UK-based recruiters, accusing them of targeting the country’s best teachers in

65 ibid.66 ibid.


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what the government calls ’a crucial time in the nation’s development’. South Africanteachers are tempted to go abroad as the salaries and working conditions in the UK andother Western countries are much better than they are at home. Currently there are noofficial statistics on the number of teachers who have left South Africa, but estimates putthe figure at about 8,000. In order to counter this worrying trend, the IOM has alreadybegun a scheme in southern Africa labelled ’Migration for Development’, aimed atbringing Diaspora skills and capital back to the region in order to promote sustainabledevelopment. The IOM’s Return of Qualified African Nationals (ROQAN) initiative,which ran from 1993 to 1998 and was funded primarily by the European Union,successfully placed 2,000 skilled Africans back in targeted countries, but ran intofunding difficulties due to the high cost of repatriation. The IOM believes the latestinitiative will be different, allowing skilled Africans working abroad to contribute to thedevelopment of their home countries without giving up the better salaries and lifestylesthat they left to pursue. They are looking at three possibilities here: temporary return,virtual return and economic return. Under the temporary return programme, a qualifiedand experienced Zambian doctor working in Canada, for example, would be assisted toreturn home to teach, perform operations or share skills for a finite period. Virtual returninvolves skill-sharing, teaching, mentoring and even marking exam papers via theInternet.

Although skill migration is a common phenomenon amongst developing countries andnot strictly an African problem, it is hitting sub-Saharan African countries particularlyhard. Unless serious steps are taken to develop critical institutions and human capacities,the recent positive developments in the economy will not be sustainable and will notmake a significant dent on poverty. Africa’s main resource to carry it through the nextmillennium will be the creativity of its people, its human resources.

7.2. Advantages for developing countries

According to a new study by the OECD67, the increasing number of highly skilledworkers moving abroad for jobs is encouraging innovation to circulate and helping toboost economic growth around the globe. The consequences of labour migration are notnecessarily exclusively negative. Fears of a "brain drain" from developing totechnologically advanced countries may be exaggerated, given that many professionalsdo eventually return to their country of origin. If migrants return with new technologicaland entrepreneurial skills obtained abroad, there are benefits for the home country.Especially if they have capital to invest or have contacts in the international science andtechnology fields. The sharp expansion of high-technology industries in Chinese Taipei,South Korea and Ireland owes much to returning migrants.

67 OECD, 2002, International Mobility of the Highly Skilled, Paris.


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Also, even if labour emigration may cause brain drain, a balanced outflow of labour issaid to assist in alleviating unemployment and underemployment without necessarilycausing negative effects. This kind of migration has acted as a safety valve for thepressures generated by high population and labour force growth. Returned emigrantsalso swell the pool of unemployed and underemployed, since on their return many areunwilling to take low paid employment. Rather they are more interested in the informalsector.

Eritrea has recently taken a bold and controversial step in a bid to reverse the brain drainphenomenon. As a new nation, and one that does not have all the educational andtraining facilities to train its workforce, Eritrea spends millions of dollars every year insending people abroad. However, of those who leave the country to study every year, ahigh percentage does not return home to serve the country that paid to educate them. Asa result, the government has proposed the introduction of a US$15,000 bond, theequivalent cost of two years of post-graduate study, to guarantee their return. Theamount, for a country with an average per capita income of less than US$200, is seen bysome as highly extortionate. The government is also considering other options to ensurethat trainees return, including the withholding of academic qualifications until thestudents return and sending the students to ’less attractive’ countries, as opposed to ’moredesirable’ places such as the US and Europe.68 This is an example that show Africangovernments can do a lot to reverse the trend, rather than just becoming increasinglyfrustrated by a phenomenon that leaves their investment in human capital, in the form ofeducation, healthcare and other social provisions, unrewarded.

7.3. Solutions to brain drain

No single set of solutions will be appropriate or effective for all the situations of braindrain. However, the most effective would be measures to make qualified personnelreturn to their countries of origin after studies, training periods or a period of workingabroad. This could be done through voluntary return programmes, provision of scientificcentres etc. Industrialised countries should cooperate on this issue.

Skills acquired abroad are not always usable at home. Programmes both at home andabroad should be set up to train those who have studied or done training abroad in fieldswhich are needed in their home countries. A reorientation of the education system with aview to discourage the migration of trained and educated people is therefor needed.Education planning has to define manpower needs and the structure of qualifications andskills and decide on this basis the types and levels of personnel required. Studies abroadhave to be modified to accommodate the requirements of the home country. Moreeducation opportunities within the country and qualitative improvement of training canreduce the pressure for studies abroad.

68 Selassie, G., World Markets Research Centre, with Weiss, Th., International Organisation for Migration(IOM), 2001, "The Brain Drain - Africa’s Achilles Heel",http://www.worldmarketsanalysis.com/InFocus2002/articles/africa_braindrain.html.


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The setting up of scientific centres and the like might attract young people to come backto their countries of origin. The Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), and TheThird World Network of Scientific Organisations (TWNSO) are examples oforganisations which provide such activity. They were founded by ministers of scienceand technology and higher education and heads of science academies and researchcouncils in developing countries to promote science-based sustainable economicdevelopment in the South. They provide promising scientists in the South with researchfacilities necessary for advancing their work. They facilitate contacts between individualscientists and institutions in the South, encourage South-North cooperation betweenindividuals and centres of scholarship, and encourage scientific research on major ThirdWorld problems.

A number of measures could be taken at the national level to decrease the number ofgraduates staying on abroad. First, students going abroad for studies should follow aprogramme which will oblige them to come back for a certain period after they havefinished their education. The international community could establish educationalsystems and training programs which encourage migrants to return. In the latest editionof its annual "Trends on international migration"69, the OECD has examined the steadyrise in student mobility between countries over recent years and calls for simpler andmore transparent procedures for gaining qualification equivalence and for studentresidency permits. It recommends the introduction of safeguards to limit the risk of"brain drain", for example, by issuing a greater number of student grants that would beconditional on return to the home country. It suggests greater cooperation betweencountries of origin and recipient countries. To avoid the loss of highly qualified workers,developing countries should, where possible, build their own innovation and researchfacilities. The possibility of developing different postgraduate specialisations inuniversities of neighbouring developing countries as effective alternatives to overseasstudy should be examined.

An interesting example of a return programme is the IOM’s "Return of QualifiedAfghans Programme" (IOM-RQA). Its aims are to boost rehabilitation efforts in post-conflict Afghanistan through the progressive transfer of the know-how of Afghanexpatriate professionals to their home country. RQA will facilitate the short and longterm employment, return and reintegration of an estimated 1,500 professionals by theyear 2004. By May 2002, RQA placed 150 highly qualified expatriate Afghan nationalsin key positions in twelve Ministries of the Afghan Interim Administration and elevenNGOs and International Organisations operating in Afghanistan. They were selectedfrom the RQA Afghan Skills Roster containing over 4,700 names. RQA assisted returnand reemployment of qualified Afghan personnel from Pakistan to the health andeducation sectors in their homeland. RQA builds on previous IOM’s programmesreturning qualified nationals to Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, East Timor,Haiti and Jamaica70.

69 OECD, 2001, Trends in International Migration, SOPEMIhttp://www.sourceoecd.org/content/html/index.htm.70 International Organisation for Migration, Return of Qualified Afghans Programme (IOM-RQA),http://www.iom-rqa.org/portal/DesktopDefault.aspx.


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The granting of favourable living conditions and employment for highly qualifiedpersonnel in their countries of origin should be given high priority. In countries whereadequate income levels and social policy had created favourable living conditions forhighly skilled personnel, the tendency to migrate has diminished. Employmentconsistent with the qualification acquired is essential to make the students return. So isan acceptable income and social conditions, scientific climate and readiness to receivegraduates trained abroad to work in the teams created by national enterprises.Agreements between indigenous and foreign institutions (possibly under governmentalagreements) or the establishment of institutions working also for the internationalmarket can render the return more attractive by expanding the fields of activities of theindividuals and maintaining an international scientific contact. Already during theirstudies abroad students have to be prepared by training to meet the conditions andsituations in which they will work on return to their respective home countries. So itshould be expected from the host countries that they facilitate the return of graduates byproviding training programmes which take into consideration the actual conditions indeveloping countries and information about work in their countries of origin.


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8. REMITTANCES

The positive consequences of emigration dynamics in the different regions are oftenmeasured in terms of remittance flows. However, development as a result of remittancedoes not happen unless the remittance money is used for investment. Studies from thePacific have argued that huge remittance flows in the Pacific have created considerableincome inequality, as most remittance-receiving families were much better off than non-receivers71. Some studies argue that although remittances have raised the living standardsand contributed to decreasing unemployment, they have increased consumption withoutbroadening the base for sustaining such levels of consumption in the future. Remittance,it has been suggested, is predominantly spent on food consumption, house building, debtrepayment, payment for further migration, church donations, family occasions andschool fees. It is apparently very difficult to find in the literature of migration in thePacific evidence of any investment arising from remittances that has had a positiveimpact on employment creation and development. In general, the few cases where dataexist have shown the vulnerable nature of the economies of many countries that dependon remittances. However, if remittances are used for investment, to create new jobs or tobuild better infrastructure, in the long run the reasons for leaving home could bereduced.

For South Asia, the scale of remittances attributable to labour emigration is very largeand for some countries it has been the most important source of foreign exchangeearnings. A survey from the Philippines shows that the number of Overseas FilipinoWorkers (OFW) who worked abroad during the period April to September 2001 wasestimated at 1.03 million, up by 5.2 percent from 978 000 a year ago, of which 107 000or 10.4 percent were situated in Europe. One-third of the total OFWs (346 000) werelabourers and unskilled workers. Total remittance from them from April to September2001 amounted to 55.3 billion, up by 0.2 million pesos, from 55.1 billion pesos in thesame period of 2000. This included cash sent amounting to 38.5 billion pesos, cashbrought home in the amount of 13.0 billion pesos and remittances in kind of 3.8 billionpesos. The average remittance of an OFW within the six-month period was estimated at63,608 pesos. Male OFWs sent higher average remittances per month than their femalecounterparts72. Figures from the IOM73 of the annual average of migrant workers’remittances for the period 1990-1996 show that 20.72 percent of GDP consisted ofremittance in Cape Verde in this period. 23.4 in Eritrea, 25.91 in Samoa and 25.11 inYemen. Yemen was also the country which received most in terms of US Dollars, withUS$1,114,614. Bangladesh came next, with US$974 428 millions. Eritrea, Burkina Fasoand Mali also ranked high on the list. (1 Euro is worth approximately 53 Filipino pesosat the time of writing of this study).

71 Abdelkarim, A., 1996, Youthful Population, Migration And The Employment Problem In Pacific SmallIsland Developing Countries An Overview And Policy Research Agenda, Case study from Samoa,Financed by UNFPA.72 National Statistics Office, Republic of the Philippines, 2001, Survey of overseas Filipinos, Number2002-50, May, http://www.census.gov.ph/data/pressrelease/2002/of01tx.html.


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9. THE LINK BETWEEN MIGRATION POLICY ANDDEVELOPMENT POLICY

According to a study made by the IOM74 the linkages between migration anddevelopment are just as complex as the causes and effects of migration. Large cross-border movements can be a response to the ever-increasing disparities in livingstandards and income between countries; and this often means a loss of human capitalwhere it is most needed for development. At the same time, emigration from LDCs canhelp alleviate internal imbalances, including population pressures. The mobilisation ofhuman and financial resources abroad can become an additional force for origin countrydevelopment. But cooperation is needed to develop the positive benefits of migrationand reduce potential divergences of interest on the part of sending, transit and recipientcountries. Recognising common interests in migration matters, governments areincreasingly negotiating strategies which both support the sustainable development ofhome countries and the labour needs of recipient countries. These kinds of negotiatedarrangements rely on integrated policy approaches that link migration to developmentcooperation, trade investment, as well as demographic and social development atnational, regional and international level. The aim must be to manage migration for thebenefit of development.

Particularly programmes which aim to make migrants, especially professionals, return totheir home countries can lead to development. Orderly managed labour migrationrepresents a viable alternative to irregular migration and can counter negativeconsequences for migrants. The IOM works with programmes to enhance thecontribution that highly qualified nationals abroad can make to the socio-economicdevelopment of their countries of origin. So far the IOM has, in collaboration withgovernments of the countries of origin, identified and selected suitable candidates,financed their returns and ensured their reintegration into both professional and personalenvironments, thus contributing to rebuilding a depleted human resource base andcapacity. In addition, the OIM now also want to promote a sustainable partnershipbetween LDCs and their respective diaspora migrants and set up a programme that aimsto enhance LDCs’ human resources through the transfer of know-how and expertisethrough actual or "virtual" return of professionals from LDCs residing abroad.

Programmes including measures to counter trafficking in persons, medical and publichealth programmes for migrants, capacity-building for governments and NGOs can easemigration pressure. Programmes for rapid humanitarian responses in situations offorced displacement, mass influx and post conflict assistance including demobilisation,return, rehabilitation, reintegration and peace-building can also be useful. Researchrelated to migration, its causes, consequences and management options is necessary.

73 International Organisation for Migration (IOM), The link between migration and development in theleast developed countries.74 ibid.


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10. WHAT TO DO

10.1. Information

The motives for migration as well as for return are very complex. Greater understandingof these causes and responses to the factors that force people to leave their communitiesand countries, through surveys and research studies, will enable better policy measuresto reduce net outflows. In particular, the impact of international economic, trade, aiddevelopment, environmental and defence assistance on migration flows should beexamined. A better understanding of the reasons why people leave their countries wouldenable the international community to design strategies to enable people to remain intheir own countries, which is the preferred option for many of the world’s migrants.

Not only research studies on the root causes, but also clear statistics on migration, areessential. The statistics and data currently available on migration between developingcountries and the European Union are not at all satisfactory. Reliable data are hard tocome by and most of the statistics are outdated. Those which are updated normally onlyrefer to the foreign population in the country and/or asylum applicants, which does nottell the whole story about the number and the nature of migrants. Some data distinguishdifferences in age and sex, but usually on a general basis, and not specifically formigrants from developing countries. Also it would be useful to know more about thepersonal data of the migrants. Statistics are needed on the effects of migration by skilledpersonnel as well as more detailed information on remittances.

10.2. Overcoming the wealth gap

The group of 77 and China (G-77)75, has stated that any successful policy on and durablesolution for migration should be based on due consideration for a number of vitalelements, including economic realities beyond national borders, particularly theworsening poverty situation in some developing regions, their further marginalisation,and the growing imbalances between developed and developing countries.

75 The Group of 77 and China is a group of seventy-seven developing countries established in 1964 in thefirst session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Statement byAmbassador Nassrollah Kazemi Kamyab (Islamic Republic of Iran), on behalf of the Group of 77, onAgenda item 100: International migration and development, New York, 5 October 2001http://www.g77.org/Speeches/100501.htm


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Migration has to be counterbalanced by poverty alienation, sustainable development,economic growth, job creation and good governance measures. This can be obtained bytransfer of technology, more balanced trade, investments and infrastructure building inthe developing countries. Health care and the environment seem to be increasinglyimportant factors encouraging migration.

According to Human Rights Watch76, people leaving their home countries because ofviolations of their economic and social rights have generally not been granted the samelevel of protection as those fleeing violations of their civil and political rights. Thedenial of civil and political rights is considered as "violation", while the denial ofeconomic and social rights is generally viewed as "injustice". It is important torecognise, however, that under the 1951 Refugee Convention77, persons fleeing violationof their economic, social and cultural rights (for a Convention reason) are entitled to berecognised as refugees, where the treatment amounts to persecution. Obviouslymigration will continue until the international community is prepared to tackle thefundamental causes of violence and inequality.

10.3. Cooperation and communication

Through comprehensive, coherent and effective policies on international migration,based on the spirit of genuine partnership and common understanding, internationalmigration can benefit all those concerned. To achieve this objective, and in order toreconcile conflicting interests of the countries of origin and destination, it is necessary toput in place a set of coordinated practical measures at national, regional and globallevels. As differences in the level of economic development and social conditions cancreate contradictory objectives among states, it is important to find a commondenominator to make international migration work for the benefit of all concerned. Amore result-oriented and practical constructive dialogue among countries of origin,transit and destination would lead to better management of the issue of migration anddevelopment. Irregular migration patterns indicate inadequate migration anddevelopment policies. Opportunities for participation of all interested nations,particularly countries of the South, in the process of international cooperation is ofparamount importance, according to the G-7778. Recent experiences by manyindustrialised countries indicate that unilateral control measures cannot regulate

76 Human Rights Watch, 2001, NGO Background paper on the Refugee and Migration Interface,Presented to the UNHCR Global Consultations on International Protection, Geneva, 28-29 June, RevisedFinal Version (29 June), http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/refugees/ngo-document/ngo_refugee.htm.77 The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees is the key legal document in defining who is arefugee, their rights and the legal obligations of states. It was originally designed by the UN to deal with agroup of refugees who were already in Western Europe, having fled countries that had fallen under theoccupation of Soviet forces at the end of Word War II. Having experienced only one updating by the 1967Protocol which removed the geographic and time limitations, the implementation of the Convention withits large-scale rights for refugees and its resulting complex legal process became much more difficultbecause of the fast growing number of refugees in the 1990s. As a consequence, countries began to bypasscertain provisions such as freedom of movement or the individual right to apply for asylum.78 Statement by Ambassador Nassrollah Kazemi Kamyab (Islamic Republic of Iran), on behalf of theGroup of 77, on Agenda item 100, International migration and development, New York, 5 October 2001:http://www.g77.org/Speeches/100501.htm.


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migration. Orderly and managed migration offers a viable alternative to irregularmigration and can counter possible consequences. Voluntary return programmes wouldalso be more successful if greater resources were dedicated to sustainable reintegrationin countries of origin, through effective international cooperation. Developmentcooperation in support of increasing employment opportunities in developing countriescould help to prevent outflow of skilled labour force from poor countries.

Working with the IOM, the EU has set up a programme of voluntary return for qualifiedpeople, principally resident in the European Union. For Africa there is the RQANprogramme (Return for Qualified African Nationals). The programme began as a pilotscheme from 1983 to 1987, jointly financed by the European Union and the USGovernment; this enabled 500 qualified nationals to return to three participatingcountries: Kenya, Somalia and Zimbabwe. The second phase, financed by the EuropeanCommission under the Lomé convention led to the return of 619 qualified nationals tosix participating countries: Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.Phase II was followed by an intermediate phase from 1992 to 1993, during which 100qualified nationals were helped to return to various African ACP countries. In a thirdphase between 1995 and 1999, 787 people were helped to return to 11 participatingcountries: Angola, Cape Verde, Ethiopia and Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya,Mozambique, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Zambia and Zimbabwe79.

The Cotonou Agreement aims to improve the standards of living and economicdevelopment of the ACP countries and to establish close cooperation in a spirit ofcomplete equality. The new Agreement is designed to regulate trade between the twogroups of countries and their development strategies with a view to promoting thefurther integration of ACP States into the world trading system. Concerning therelationship between development policy and migration, the new Agreement states that"strategies aiming at reducing poverty, improving living and working conditions,creating employment and developing training contribute in the long term to normalisingmigratory flows". The EU is engaged in supporting the economic and socialdevelopment of the regions from which migrants originate. The Agreement alsoprovides for cooperation regarding legal and illegal immigrants. Concerning illegalimmigration, the Agreement contains a readmission clause: "each ACP or EU State shallaccept the return of and readmit any of its nationals who are illegally present on theterritory of an EU or ACP State, at the State's request and without further formalities".The Agreement includes a provision establishing non-discriminatory treatment forlegally employed workers from ACP countries in EU Member States or for workersfrom the EU in ACP states.

79 European Parliament, Directorate-General for Research, Division for Agriculture, Regional Policy,Transport and Development, 2001, Information Note on ACP-EU migration flows.


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10.4. Peace and human rights

Peace, respect for human rights and political stability are prerequisites for reducingmigration levels.

Since the early 1990s the EC has included more or less systematically a so-called humanrights clause in its bilateral trade and cooperation agreements with third countries.Human rights have to be safeguarded on a general level. Equally important would be tosecure the right of refugees and exiles to return to their homes. The right of return has asolid foundation in international law. Article 13(2) of the Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights (UDHR) states, "Everyone has the right to leave any country, includinghis own, and to return to his country". However, this is not always respected. Theinternational community has a duty to ensure that claims regarding the right to return areresolved fairly, that individuals are permitted freely and in an informed manner tochoose whether to exercise the right, and that returns proceed in an orderly manner.Governments’ legitimate security concerns should be met consistently with theseprinciples80.

Development cooperation has a pivotal role to play in ensuring peace and security indeveloping countries, and peace and security are vital requirements for sustaineddevelopment. The European Union has been at the centre of this discussion, particularlyin relation to conflicts in Africa. The broad international discussion on this theme hasled to a large consensus on the major principles and approaches. One of these principlesis the assumption that prevention is better than cure, and that problems of peace andsecurity should not only be addressed in situations of high tensions or when violence andwar have already started to take their devastating toll. Most threats to peace and securitycannot be solved overnight. Practical experience has shown that in cases where tensionand violence have passed a certain threshold, the range of policy options available toreverse the situation are sharply reduced. Therefore efforts to prevent violent conflicts,to contribute effectively to the establishment of peace, security and democratic stability,have greater chances of success if potential trouble spots, and the root causes of violentconflicts, are identified and addressed at a very early stage. These include imbalances inpolitical, socio-economic and cultural opportunities among different groups, lack ofdemocratic legitimacy and effectiveness of governance, absence of effectivemechanisms for the peaceful conciliation of group interests, the absence of effectivemechanisms for bridging dividing lines between identity groups, and the absence of civilsociety. In order to make an effective contribution to peace and stability, these rootcauses must be addressed in a targeted manner. It is not only economic growth thatcounts, but also state failure, ineffective and illegitimate governance, imbalance ofpower and opportunities, the theft of national wealth by elites, the repression ofdemocracy, rights and freedoms. These issues must be dealt with81.

80 Human Rights Watch, 2002, Human Rights Watch Policy on The Right to Return,http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/israel/return/, 30 May.81 The European Commission, Can EU development assistance contribute to peace and security?,Brussels, 24 September 1998, João de Deus Pinheiro, CESD / ISIS Conference on "The future of the EU'sCommon Foreign and Security Policy", http://europa.eu.int/comm/development/speeches/en/980924.htm


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10.5. EU immigration policy

Asylum policy, the free movement of persons, visa policy, rules governing the crossingof the EU’s external borders, immigration policy and the rights of nationals of thirdcountries became full Community responsibilities with the entry into force of the Treatyof Amsterdam on 1 May 1999. Articles 61, 62 and 63 of the Treaty establishing theEuropean Community, as amended by the Treaty of Amsterdam, define the objectives tobe achieved by the Union in a number of fields. The Treaty laid down that all thesemeasures would be adopted within five years of the entry into force of the Treaty.

The treaty did not, however, suggest ways to achieve the new common policies. InOctober 1999, the European Council held a special meeting on the creation of an area offreedom, security and justice in the European Union in Tampere -The Tampere Summit.Here the Council agreed that "The separate but closely related issues of asylum andmigration call for the development of a common EU policy"82.

In addition, the Council laid down political guidelines and concrete objectives for thedevelopment of a common EU policy in the key areas identified, including four mainelements:

1) A comprehensive approach with respect to partnership with countries of originwhich addresses political, human rights and development issues in countries andregions of origin and transit;

2) A common EU asylum and migration policy system based on the full andinclusive application of the Geneva Convention, which should lead in the longerterm to a common asylum procedure and a uniform status for those grantedasylum;

3) A vigorous integration policy to ensure fair treatment of third country nationalsaimed at granting them rights and obligations comparable to those of EU citizens;

4) Measures to ensure the more efficient management of migration flows based oncloser co-operation between Member States and with countries of origin andtransit.

To these ends, the Council asked the Commission to draw up a sustainable Action Planto allow constant monitoring of the progress made in terms of measures implemented,and to ensure the deadline of five years, set by the Treaty of the Amsterdam, was met.This Action Plan was presented by the Commission in March 2000 in a Communicationto the Council and the European Parliament. In this "Communication on a CommunityImmigration Policy"83 the Commission set out its ideas for a new approach to themanagement of migration flows and in particular for a common policy on admission for

82 Tampere European Council, 15-16 October 1999, Conclusions of the Presidency:http://europarl.ep.ec/summits/tam_en.htm.83 European Commission, 2000, Communication from the Commission to the Council and the Europeanparliament on a common immigration policy, Brussels, COM(2000)757 final of 22 November.


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economic reasons. It states further that the "zero" immigration policy of the past30 years is no longer appropriate as large numbers of third country nationals haveentered the Union in recent years, and these migratory pressures are continuing with anaccompanying increase in illegal immigration, smuggling and trafficking. At the sametime, as a result of growing shortage of labour at both skilled and unskilled levels, anumber of Member States have begun actively to recruit third country nationals fromoutside the Union. In this situation a choice must be made between maintaining the viewthat the Union can continue to resist migratory pressures and accepting that immigrationwill continue and should be properly regulated, while working together to try tomaximise its positive effects for the Union, for the migrants themselves and for theircountries of origin.

At the heart of EU migration policy there will be a common legislative framework, the‘Scoreboard to review progress on the creation of an area of "Freedom Security andJustice" in the European Union’. The Commission has already made proposals in anumber of areas which provide the first elements of this framework, which shouldunderpin the common asylum and migration policy in the four areas identified inTampere and which should all be in place, according to the agreed timetable, by 2004.

In this new situation the Commission believes that channels for legal immigration to theUnion should now be made available for labour migrants. A consensus among themember states should be reached on the objectives of the policy to be followed. BothArticle 63 of the EC Treaty and the Tampere conclusions call for a common EUimmigration policy. To reach this goal, it is essential to coordinate and to ensure thetransparency, within a Community framework, of actions which at the moment arecarried out at Member State level, since they have effects on other areas of EU policy.The Commission suggests that this could provide a background for the formulation ofcommonly agreed objectives for channels of legal immigration which could underpin thedetailed legislative proposals concerning migrants that the Council called for inTampere. These concern not only the conditions for the admission and residence of thirdcountry nationals for employment and other reasons, but also standards and proceduresfor the issue of long-term visas and residence permits, the definition of a set of uniformrights for third country nationals and the criteria and conditions under which thirdcountry nationals might be allowed to settle and work in any Member State, togetherwith the Charter of Fundamental Rights84. At the same time, the procedure put in placefor the monitoring of migration flows will provide a framework for consultation betweenthe Member States on migration issues, for the coordination of policy, for settingcommon objectives and for developing accompanying measures with respect to theintegration of migrants. This mechanism is designed to enable the Community toprovide a coordinated reaction both to fluctuations in migratory pressures and to changesin the economic and demographic situation in the Union.

84 This charter has been adopted at the Nice Summit but has not been made legally binding byincorporating it in the Nice Treaty because there was too much opposition.


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The success of the policies, as suggested in the Action Plan, depends on effectivecoordination by all those concerned and on the adoption and implementation of newmeasures, as appropriate, at both Community and Member State levels. To make itwork, it will be important that Member States fully support the Action Plan. However,the plan will be reviewed twice a year and updated to take account of possiblemodifications and initiatives put forward by Member States. The National Action Plansalso provide that in order to implement each set of guidelines on immigration, MemberStates should prepare national action plans which would be reviewed and adapted on anannual basis. In the second section of their plans, Member states would give details ofthe actions they propose to take at national, local and regional level as appropriate, forimplementing the guidelines for the year concerned, indicating their national objectivesfor each one and the time frame proposed. The action plan will provide the basis of anoverall evaluation of the implementation of the common policy and the results obtained,as well as input into the way in which the guidelines should be developed to reflectchanging needs. The Commission will also present an annual migration report includingthe European immigration guidelines.

In its Resolution on a Community immigration policy85, Parliament pointed out that legalimmigration into the Member States is currently governed by national legislation, whichvaries widely from country to country, and has increased sharply since the early 1990s.It also indicated that legal immigration is exacerbated by illegal immigration, traffickingin, and the smuggling of, human beings, and that illegal residence and illegalemployment marginalise and isolate large sections of the population, creating social andeconomic dysfunction in the Member States. Parliament welcomed the creation, in thegeneral budget for the 2001 financial year, of a preparatory action (heading B7-667:’Cooperation with third countries on migration’) which was intended to restrict illegalimmigration and to strengthen democracy and the rule of law through theimplementation of projects and programmes for cooperation with countries of origin andof transit, but considered its funding and its objectives to be inadequate.

In the "Communication on an open method of coordination for the communityimmigration policy"86 the Commission proposed that an open procedure for coordinationof migration policy at Community level should be established. Within the framework,Member States would remain responsible for a number of significant issues, particularlywith respect to the admission of economic migrants and for developing andimplementing integration policy. The Commission would continue to develop thelegislative programme agreed in Tampere by ensuring that the relevant proposals arepresented by 2004. A key element of the open coordination method would be theapproval by the Council of multi-annual guidelines for the Union accompanied byspecific timetables for achieving these goals. These guidelines will then be translatedinto national policy. The Commission proposed that guidelines be established initially in

85 European Parliament resolution on the Commission communication to the Council and the EuropeanParliament an a Community immigration policy (COM(2000) 757 - C5-0100/2001 - 2002/2047(COS)),Immigration Policy.86 Commission of the European Communities: Communication from the Commission to the Council andthe Parliament on an open method for the Community Immigration Policy", Brussels, COM(2001)387final of 11 July 2001.


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the following areas: management of migration flows; admission of economic migrants;partnership with third countries and the integration of third country nationals. The firstguidelines should be approved by the Council in 2002 and could be revised on an annualbasis as necessary within the framework of the open coordination mechanism.

For the Commission the availability of comparable statistics is of crucial importance forthe effective monitoring and evaluation of the common immigration policy. Communitystatistics on legal migration should be established for this purpose. Given its importancefor a common immigration policy, this work will constitute one of the key elements inthe Action Plan. Furthermore the National Action Plans should provide statistics on thenumbers and situation of third country nationals admitted in the previous year bycategory, including relevant information provided in the National Action Plans onemployment. This section would include comments on the co-operation achieved. Therewould also be information on the interaction between the different measures taken andbetween legal and illegal flows.

The guidelines set out in the "Communication on an Open Method of Coordination forthe Community Immigration Policy" include: 1) Developing a comprehensive and co-ordinated approach to migration management at national level. 2) Improving informationavailable on legal possibilities for admission to the EU and on the consequences of usingillegal channels. 3) Reinforcing the fight against illegal immigration, smuggling andtrafficking. 4) Establishing a coherent and transparent policy and procedures for openingthe labour market to third country nationals within the framework of the Europeanemployment strategy. The Commission stated that reviewing the use of legal channelsfor the admission of third country nationals to meet labour market needs is necessary,while being aware of the potentially damaging impact on countries of origin of the braindrain that this may encourage. For these reasons the admission of migrants for economicpurposes should, as far as possible, be done in partnership with the countries of originand within the framework of the European employment strategy and in a transparent andcoherent way. Member States would continue to be responsible for the selection ofeconomic migrants and for deciding how many are needed to meet nationalrequirements. A more open admission policy should be accompanied by additionalmeasures to fight the growing sector of undeclared work. The existence of such a sector,where money can be earned without paying taxes or contributions, encourages illegalmigration, smuggling and trafficking, because no registration is needed and illegalsconstitute a source of cheap labour. Guideline 5) proposes the integration of migrationissues into relations with third countries, and in particular with countries of origin, interalia by a) taking into account the effects of migration on the third country concernedwhen planning and implementing development and cooperation programmes, notablywith respect to education and training and ensuring equal opportunities for women andmen. b) Supporting measures to maximise the positive impact of migration as a factorfor development for the country of origin (e.g. the impact of financial transfers fromnationals living abroad) while minimising the negative effects (in particular the braindrain). c) Seeking ways to support patterns of mobility between EU member States andthird countries so as to maintain and develop their links with their countries of origin. d)Supporting measures to discourage emigration by third country nationals whose


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admission to the EU has not been authorised. e) Supporting third countries efforts tomanage migration flows and to develop legislation and structures in line withinternational standards, and finally, f) supporting measures to help the social andeconomic re-integration of victims of smuggling and/or trafficking in their country oforigin. Finally, guideline 6) dealt with integration policies for third country nationalsresiding legally on the territories of the Member States.

Recent proposals from the Commission include a Green Paper on a community returnpolicy for illegal residents, dated April 2002, and a proposal for a Council Directive onthe right to family reunification, dated 2002.

The Seville Summit in June 2002 was overshadowed by recent election results favouringpopulist movements in national elections in the Netherlands and France and earlier inother European Countries. Because these populist parties’ success was linked to theirrejection of immigration into the EU, the emphasis in public debate and media attentionwas on limiting immigration and especially preventing illegal immigration into the EU.The Summit itself called for a review of progress on the development of a commonasylum and migration policy.

The European Council expressed on this occasion its determination "to speed up theimplementation of all aspects of the programme adopted in Tampere in October 1999 forthe creation of an area of freedom, security and justice"87. It welcomed the resultsachieved over the last six months and emphasised that "measures taken in the short andmedium term for the joint management of migration flows must strike a fair balancebetween, on the one hand, an integration policy for lawfully resident immigrants and anasylum policy complying with international conventions, principally the 1951 GenevaConvention, and, on the other, resolute action to combat illegal immigration andtrafficking in human beings".

Based on these principles the Council formulated political guidelines and objectivesincluding three main elements:

1) On the subject measures to combat illegal immigration, the European Councilcalled on the Council and the Commission, within their respective spheres ofresponsibility, to attach top priority to the implementation of measures containedin the comprehensive plan to combat illegal immigration by decisions concerningvisas, readmission agreements, repatriation programmes for early return toAfghanistan and trafficking;

2) Gradual introduction of coordinated management of external bordersincluding a common core curriculum for border guard training, joint operations atexternal borders and the request for a study of the Commission concerning burden-sharing between Member States and the Union for the management of externalborders until June 2003;

87 Seville European Council 21-22 June 2002, Conclusions of the Presidency:http://europarl.ep.ec/summits/pdf/sev1_en.pdf.


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3) Integration of immigration policy into the Union’s relations with thirdcountries including readmission of other countries’ nationals who can be shown tohave passed through the country in question, systematic assessment of countriesthat do not cooperate in combating illegal immigration, and the possible enactmentof limited sanctions by unanimous decision, but not affecting contractualcommitments and not including development cooperation objectives. TheEuropean Council finally decided to speed up current legislative work on theframing of a common policy on asylum and immigration with the aim ofdrawing up common standards for asylum procedures by the end of 2003.

Most of what was decided in Seville involved either confirmation of guiding principlesalready adopted or speeding up the implementation of decisions already taken inTampere in 1999. The Tampere Summit, for example, intended to develop commonpolicies on asylum and immigration without specifying when this objective should beachieved. In Seville, the heads of the governments decided to adopt common standardsfor asylum procedures by the end of 2003. There seems to be still a long way to gobefore a common policy can be adopted.

The only new idea would appear to be the possibility of sanctions against a countryfailing to cooperate in the fight against illegal immigration into the EU. Sanctions wouldonly be possible by unanimous decision and such sanctions could not violate contractualarrangements, nor could they affect development cooperation. Given these restrictions,this decision cannot be considered an effective means of enforcing better compliance onthe part of migrants’ countries of origin.

The member states of the EU seem to be quite sceptical about the chances of acoordinated fight against illegal immigration. Some, including Denmark, Italy and theUK, had taken unilateral measures in the weeks before the Seville summit. Denmark, forexample, had cut benefits for asylum seekers and made it harder to bring in spouses orelderly relatives.

A common EU policy in this field would be difficult to implement because the MemberStates are in varying situations and are affected by quite disparate problems. Largenumbers of migrants enter the EU through countries such as Italy and Spain. In suchMember States there is need for enhanced surveillance. Great Britain, France orGermany, on the other hand, are preferred countries of residence for immigrants. OtherMember States are less affected by immigration.

The demand for immigrants is clearly higher in EU countries with high employmentlevels, and lower in countries where employment is a problem. The different EUcountries have different traditions and different approaches to immigration.Harmonisation is difficult in this area, which has traditionally been the preserve ofnational governments. There is, consequently, reluctance to accept a harmonised EUapproach that might not be sensitive to the situation in a particular Member State.


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LITERATURE:

OECD, 2001, Trends in International Migration-SOPEMI 2001, Paris, ISBN:9264196706.

OECD, 2002, International Mobility of the Highly Skilled, Paris, ISBN: 9264196897.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 2000, "Refugees and others ofconcern to UNHCR", 1999 Statistical Overview, Geneva.

Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, 1997, "The first atlas of West Africanmigrations to Europe", Scientific Bulletins, Bulletin No. 34, February, Paris,http://www.ird.fr/us/inst/actualites/ fiches/1997/f_act_N34_ang.shtml.

The Courier, the magazine of ACP-EU development cooperation, 2001, "Migration",Dossier No.187, July – August.

Council of Europe, 2000, Salt.J., (Consultant), "Current trends in international Migrationin Europe", CDMG (2000) 31, November.

International Organisation for Migration (IOM), 2001, Statement of Schatzer, P.,International Organisation for Migration, at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Councilof Europe Conference on Illegal Migration, Paris, 13 December.

Directorate General for Research, Division for Agriculture, Regional Policy, Transportand Development, 2001, Information Note on Demographic, economic and politicalissues in developing countries, particularly Africa, Luxembourg.

UK Department for International Development, 2000, "Making Globalisation work forthe poor", An introduction to the UK Government’s White Paper on InternationalDevelopment, London, http://www.globalisation.gov.uk/.

The European Commission, 2000, "Development. The European Community'sDevelopment Policy- Statement by the Council and the Commission", Brusselshttp://europa.eu.int/comm/development/lex/en/council20001110_en.htm.

Union of Concerned Scientists, 2000, "Frequently Asked Questions about PopulationGrowth", Cambridge, MA. http://www.ucsusa.org/environment/pop.faq.html

United Nations, 2001, "World Population Prospects, The 2000 Revision: Highlights",Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, New York

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), 2001, Urbanization and Migration,Population Issues Briefing Kit, New York


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Selassie, G. and Weiss, T., (World Markets Research Centre, IOM), 2001, The BrainDrain - Africa’s Achilles Heel, http://www.worldmarketsanalysis.com/ InFocus2002/articles/ africa_braindrain.html.

Kaempf, S. and Singh, S., UNESCO Executive Board, 1987, The brain drain problem:Its causes, consequences, remedies and the role of UNESCO in this regard,http://shikshanic.nic.in/cd50years/z/8T/EU/8TEU0101.htm.

International Organisation for Migration (IOM), 2001, The link between migration anddevelopment in the least developed countries, Geneva.

Human Rights Watch, International Catholic Migration Committee and the WorldCouncil of Churches 2001, "NGO Background paper on the Refugee and MigrationInterface", Geneva, http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/refugees/ngo-document/ngo_doc9.htm.

Afolayan, A. A. (IOM), 2001, "Issues and Challenges of Emigration Dynamics inDeveloping Countries", International Migration, Vol.39 (4) 2001, Blackwell PublishersLtd., Oxford.

Doen, Mathen L. N., Gorter, C., Nijkamp, P. and Rietveld, P., 1999, "Ethnicentrepreneurship and migration: A survey from developing countries", The Current Stateof Economic Science, Vol. 4, PP.2317-2333.

Watkins K. (IMF), 2002, "Making Globalisation work for the Poor", Finance andDevelopment, A quarterly magazine of the IMF, March, Volume 39, Number 1,Washington, DC, http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2002/03/watkins.htm.

Abdelkarim, A., 1996, Youthful Population, Migration And The Employment Problem InPacific Small Island Developing Countries: An Overview And Policy Research Agenda,Case study from Samoa, Financed by UNFPA.

Tampere European Council, 15-16 October 1999, Conclusions of the Presidency,http://www.europarl.ep.ec/summits/tam_en.htm.

Seville European Council, 21-22 June 2002, Conclusions of the Presidency,http://www.europarl.ep.ec/summits/pdf/sev1_en.pdf.


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RESOLUTION AND STATISTICAL ANNEXES


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Immigration policyA5-0305/2001

European Parliament resolution on the Commission communication to the Council and the EuropeanParliament on a Community immigration policy (COM(2000) 757 - C5-0100/2001 - 2001/2047(COS))

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission communication (COM(2000) 757 - C5-0100/2001),

- whereas, for the first time, the Treaty of Amsterdam confers on the Community powers and responsibility inthe fields of immigration and asylum,

- having regard to the conclusions of the Tampere European Council meeting of October 1999,

- having regard to Article 15(3) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union: "Nationals ofthird countries who are authorised to work in the territories of the Member States are entitled to workingconditions equivalent to those of citizens of the Union",

- having regard to Article 63 of the EC Treaty,

- having regard to its resolution of 6 July 2000 on illegal migration and the discovery of the bodies of 58illegal immigrants in Dover(1),

- having regard to the proposal for a Council Act establishing the Convention on rules for the admission ofthird-country nationals to the Member States(2),

- having regard to the Council Decision of 11 June 1992 on the establishment of a Centre for Information,Consultation and Data Exchange on Asylum (CIREA),

- having regard to the Council Resolution of 4 March 1996 on the status of third-country nationals residing ona long-term basis in the territory of the Member States(3),

- having regard to the Council Resolution of 20 June 1994 on limitation on admission of third-countrynationals to the territory of the Member States for employment(4),

- having regard to the Council Resolution of 30 November 1994 relating to the limitations on the admission ofthird-country nationals to the territory of the Member States for the purpose of pursuing activities as self-employed persons(5),

- having regard to its resolution of 8 October 1998 on cooperation with Mediterranean countries on matters ofimmigration(6),

- having regard to the Council Recommendation of 27 September 1996 on combating the illegal employmentof third-country nationals(7),

- having regard to the amended proposal for a Council directive on the right to family reunification(8),


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- having regard to Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equaltreatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin(9),

- having regard to the amended proposal for a Council Directive establishing a general framework for equaltreatment in employment and occupation(10),

- having regard to the proposal for a Council directive concerning the status of third-country nationals who arelong-term residents(11),

- having regard to the proposal for a Council regulation laying down a uniform format for residence permitsfor third-country nationals(12),

- having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Citizens’ Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairsand the opinions of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy,the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairsand the Committee on Petitions (A5-0305/2001),

A. whereas the Tampere European Council of 15/16 October 1999 emphasised the need to manage all stagesof migration flows more effectively (Conclusion 22),

B. whereas the Tampere European Council expressly stated that "The European Union must ensure fairtreatment of third country nationals who reside legally on the territory of its Member States. A more vigorousintegration policy should aim at granting them rights and obligations comparable to those of EU citizens. Itshould also enhance non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural life and develop measures againstracism and xenophobia" (Conclusion 18),

C. whereas, with this Communication, the Commission has made an important contribution to implementingthe decisions of the Tampere European Council on migration policy, which are marked by new politicalapproaches,

D. whereas demographic trends show a slowing down in population growth, a reduction in the size of theworking population and an increase in the number of people aged over 65,

E. whereas the implications of those demographic trends are leading to concerns about the maintenance ofsocial security schemes and the economic damage caused by the lack of a corresponding number of workerswith appropriate qualifications,

F. whereas several Member States have taken steps to legalise the situation of a large number of immigrantswho are long-term residents in the Union without established residence status,

G. whereas the Member States ought to adopt legislative means of opening up legal channels for entry into theEU, so as to make for structured immigration resulting in manageable migratory flows,

H. whereas legal immigration into the Member States is currently governed by national legislation, whichvaries widely from country to country, and has increased sharply since the early 1990s, and whereas it isexacerbated by illegal immigration, trafficking in, and the smuggling, of human beings; recalls that illegalresidence and illegal employment marginalise and isolate large sections of the population, creating social andeconomic dysfunction in the Member States,


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I. whereas the purpose of the future Community policy on immigration is to combat all the forms of crimeoften linked to trafficking in human beings,

J. whereas more openness and transparency with respect to migratory movements, together with a greatercommitment to implementing labour law in the Member States, will help to reduce illegal immigration,particularly its worst forms, namely smuggling and trafficking in human beings,

K. whereas some Member States have begun taking on labour from third countries in order to offset shortagesin certain categories of workers,

L. whereas it is desirable that the Member States should pursue an immigration policy within a Communityframework of rules and procedures based on indicative target figures, taking into account the fact that thereare differences between the Member States with respect, inter alia, to links with countries of origin,integration policy and labour market needs,

M. whereas the situation in national labour markets and the immigration policies pursued by the individualMember States differ so widely from one another that it is nearly impossible to lay down detailed provisionsat European level on which and how many workers will be authorised to enter and reside in the respectiveMember State, but that they may be laid down for the entry, residence and integration of migrant workers,

N. whereas the problems resulting for the Member States from current demographic trends cannot be resolvedsimply by immigration, and whereas more effective measures to develop human resources in the EU andstructural social and employment policy reforms are required,

O. whereas a properly managed immigration policy - combined with cooperation measures, includinginformation campaigns in the countries of origin of potential immigrant workers - would help to combatillegal immigration,

P. whereas effective management of immigration presupposes the availability of reliable and detailed statisticsabout immigration into the Union,

Q. whereas the EU has shared responsibilities for cooperation and development aid vis-à-vis the least-developed and other countries and whereas, in accordance with its historic experience as a region from whichpeople emigrated, the EU should adopt an exemplary common immigration policy on a par with its economicimportance and in accordance with that responsibility,

R. welcoming the creation, in the general budget for the 2001 financial year, of a preparatory action (headingB7-667: 'Cooperation with third countries on migration') which is intended to restrict illegal immigration andto strengthen democracy and the rule of law through the implementation of projects and programmes forcooperation with countries of origin and of transit, but considers its funding and its objectives to beinadequate,

1. Notes that, pursuant to the Treaties of Amsterdam and Nice, as well as the outcome of the TampereEuropean Council, various measures are to be taken and legal instruments adopted at EU and/or Member Statelevel with respect to migrant workers, asylum-seekers and temporary refugees;

2. Understands by the term "migrant worker" a third-country national who, for the purpose of taking up paidemployment or pursuing activities as a self-employed person, enters the EU legally;

3. Welcomes the Commission document as an opportunity to debate thoroughly the most important aspects ofmigration with a view to laying the foundations for a European policy in that field;


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4. Welcomes the fact that, in its communication, the Commission is making a first attempt to discuss thecomplex issue of migration as a whole and, in so doing, to highlight migration on economic grounds and topropose the properly managed reception of migrant workers in accordance with the Member States"requirements and capacities;

5. Welcomes, given the emphasis in the communication on the immigration of skilled labour, a long-term in-depth discussion on measures to mitigate negative effects (i.e. brain drain) and promote positive effects (e.g.migrant participation in development projects, etc.) in the migrants’ home countries, as well as the role ofpartnerships and Union programmes in this context; points out the importance of cooperation and networks onlabour market issues between regions inside and outside Member States;

6. Regrets that the need for partnerships between the Union and countries of origin and transition, thoughstressed by the Tampere European Council, has not been further developed in the communication, calls for theCommission to include this in its work in the near future;

7. Notes, further, that, in the short term, immigration may well contribute to population growth and tooffsetting sectoral labour shortages but that, in the long term, it cannot counter demographic shifts and solvethe problems - such as the maintenance of social security schemes - resulting therefrom;

8. Supports the right of long-term residents who are third-country nationals and lawfully resident in a MemberState to freedom of movement and residence within the European Union;

9. Recalls that, pursuant to Rule 174(10) of its Rules of Procedure (Right of petition), citizens of thirdcountries may lodge petitions;

10. Endorses the Commission’s view that a well-shaped Community immigration policy could counteractundeclared work and thus contribute to action against unemployment and promote stable, secure employment;points out that undeclared work has a significant negative impact on public finances and leads to the evasionof rules on health and safety at the workplace, agreements on working hours and minimum wages and distortscooperation between the social partners;

11. Stresses the need to take action against those who knowingly supply, employ and exploit illegal migrants;

Managing immigration

12. Takes the view that the various historical, economic and social features in the individual Member Statesmake it impossible to lay down a uniform requirement in labour from third countries which would cover theentire territory of the Union and that the Union has no powers in law in this field;

13. Welcomes measures to regulate freedom of travel for third-country nationals resident in the Union;

14. Notes that immigrants are expected to respect the community of values - as set out in the EU Charter ofFundamental Rights - and to show a willingness to integrate into society in the Member States, but stressesthat Member States are also obliged to respect the rights and freedoms of third-country nationals; takes theview that integration into society in the Member States must be promoted;

15. Considers that, among integration measures, special emphasis should be placed on the various forms ofpolitical involvement and in particular the right of long-term residents to vote in local elections;


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16. Stresses that migrants" countries of origin must be consulted on the "brain drain" issue, while the questionof admission of students and researchers on the basis of our national needs and the interests of the thirdcountries should be addressed in parallel;

17. Stresses, like the Commission, that EU legislation should provide for a flexible overall scheme based on alimited number of statuses designed so as to facilitate rather than create barriers to the admission of economicmigrants;

Framework legislation at European level

18. Calls, therefore, on the Commission and Council to lay down uniform European framework legislationwhich covers at least:

(a) the conditions governing entry and residence for migrant workers,

(b) a flexible, coherent concept for the issuing of visas,

(c) a graduated system of residence permits for migrant workers,

(d) mobility within the Union of third-country nationals holding a residence permit for one Member State andthe conditions for free movement of third-country nationals within the Union;

19. Calls for Parliament to have a clear role in this process;

20. Considers that current procedures do not allow the Union and its Member States to establish an effectiveimmigration policy in a democratic manner; calls for the introduction of democratic and transparent decision-making processes, through the application of Article 251 of the EC Treaty to decisions in this field;

21. Calls on the Commission to make use of the experience of the Member States who have taken in andintegrated waves of immigrants in previous decades;

22. Calls on the Commission to issue a proposal for the introduction of a combined work and residence permitfor immigrants, allowing free movement within the Union while restricting in the short term the right to liveand work to a single Member State, for short-term residents;

23. Endorses the Commission’s view that practical tools for recruitment from third countries are needed;stresses that systems developed for this purpose should be non-bureaucratic, uncomplicated and admitsuccessful and quick recruitment; acknowledges the particular needs of SMEs for high-quality, reliableinformation, training and support; proposes to examine both the development of the EURES network and thedevelopment of effective schemes under the aegis of the Commission and involving the social partners;

24. Calls, therefore, for each Member State to retain the power to lay down, on the basis of its labour marketrequirements, its demographic trends and its capacities for accommodating migrant workers, the skills profileand the number of migrant workers that it requires; believes that national admission of migrants should bebased on indicative targets and a list of requested skills and qualifications identified by the social partners andregional/local authorities on an ongoing basis;

25. Asks the Council, the Commission and the Member States to take the appropriate measures to ensureapplication of EU policies for the professional and social integration of migrant workers in particular forwomen, who face difficulties in entering the labour market;


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26. Expects the Council and Commission to take due account of the forthcoming enlargement and its possibleimplications for Member States" labour markets when drawing up its immigration policy and, asaccompanying measures, to work together with the countries of origin of potential migrants, informing themof genuine employment prospects and requirements in the Member States, and to implement strategies tocombat illegal immigration;

27. Calls on the Commission and Council to support social, statistical, economic, geographical, legal andpolitical research in these areas, inter alia by establishing a European migration network;

28. Calls on the Commission and Council to promote the foundation and operation of the European MigrationNetwork which will assist in creating a uniform registration system and producing reliable and detailed dataon migration;

29. Stresses the importance of close links between an immigration policy and the Employment Guidelines;calls on the Commission to further discuss and develop how the Employment Strategy will be effected by aCommunity immigration policy and how migrants will make a contribution in this area;

30. Hopes that an EU initiative will be launched for the purpose of supporting the efforts made by thecountries of origin in order to encourage the return of skilled immigrants working in the EU;

31. Calls on the Commission to draw up a report on the impact which the forthcoming enlargement is likely tohave on the movement of migrants to the enlarged European Union of the future and to include in that reportan analysis of the effects which applying the Schengen visa system would have on trade and cross-bordercooperation between the applicant countries and their neighbours to the east;

Fine tuning at national level

32. Calls on the Member States to gear authorisation for entry and residence in their territory to therequirements of their own labour markets, with the long-term objective of migrant workers becomingintegrated into local society;

33. Calls on the Member States to enforce strictly labour inspection rules and legislation outlawing workerexploitation in order to combat illegal employment;

34. Stresses that the Member States should find solutions for immigrants who are residing illegally; considersthat the of Member States should also combat illegal employment and thwart the activity of networks oftraffickers;

35. Expects, therefore, that, with a view to the successful integration of migrant workers, the Member Stateswill take account of the availability of a job, accommodation and educational opportunities for children as aprecondition for the issuing of residence permits;

36. Urges the Member States to take decisions on authorisation of residence irrespective of the gender, race,ethnic origin, religion or philosophy of life, disability, age or sexual orientation of the third-country nationalconcerned;

37. Urges the Member States, further, to fill job vacancies initially with third-country nationals alreadyresident in the Member States and to recruit further migrant workers only as a fallback;

38. Urges the Member States to devise information campaigns to heighten public awareness of thephenomenon of immigration and the objectives of national and European policies, and to provide their civil


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servants with information and training in legislation and European programmes in order to establish morerational and efficient methods for the reception and integration of immigrants;

39. Urges each Member State, finally, to monitor immigration into its territory with the aid of a uniformstatistical system and to forward that data to the Commission annually so that it may monitor immigrationflows and assess the overall impact and put forward targets with a view to future approximation ofimmigration laws;

40. Stresses in this connection that databases on third-country nationals have been set up in a number ofMember States without any particular data protection being provided for; calls therefore for the dataprotection provisions that apply to Member State nationals to be applied to third-country nationals as well;

41. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission and to the parliaments ofthe Member States.

(1) OJ C 121, 24.4.2001, p. 396.(2) OJ C 337, 7.11.1997, p. 9.(3) OJ C 80, 18.3.1996, p. 2.(4) OJ C 274, 19.9.1996, p. 3.(5) OJ C 274, 19.9.1996, p. 7.(6) OJ C 328, 26.10.1998, p. 184.(7) OJ C 304, 14.10.1996, p. 1.(8) OJ C 62 E, 27.2.2001, p. 99.(9) OJ L 180, 19.7.2000, p. 22.(10) OJ C 62 E, 27.2.2001, p. 152(11) OJ C 240 E, 28.8.2001, p. 79.(12) OJ C 180 E, 26.6.2001, p. 304.

Documents

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT - europarl.europa.eu fileThis study was requested by the European Parliament’s committee on Development and Cooperation. This paper is published in English (DEVE