Transcript Democratic Governance

South-South multilateral agreements and the
protection of migrants’ human rights
Cosmas Gitta
Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, UNDP
SSC for development
Objectives:
Discuss the Status of South-South
migration.
Discuss reasons and opportunities
of South-South mobility
Discuss South-South cooperation
and Human right nexus
Way forward and recommendations
Status of South-South migration
 South-South migration is nearly as large as
South-North migration.
 Accounts for nearly half (74 million) of the
total migration(WB)
 80 % estimated to take place between
countries with contiguous borders, and most
appears to occur between countries with
relatively small differences in income (WB).
Status of South-South migration
 Nearly 70% of internal migrants in subSaharan Africa move within the region.
 In 2010 only one in four migrants moved
from a developing to a developed country.
 South-South human mobility and its effects
have become a matter of great importance to
the development prospects of the South.
Reasons and Opportunities of SS
mobility
 Search for better living conditions
 Escape from conflicts or natural disasters
 Unequal distribution of wealth and other
opportunities, labor supply and skills
asymmetries.
 Improved access to education, health and
other benefits (UNDP 2009 report)
 Transfer of social capital –ideas and values
often impacting positively on development
prospects of origin countries
 SS remittances range from 10 to 29 % of
developing countries’ remittance receipts in
Reasons and Opportunities of SS
mobility
 Search for better living conditions
 escape from conflicts or natural disasters
 unequal distribution of wealth and other
opportunities, labor supply and skills
asymmetries.
 Improved access to education, health and
other benefits (UNDP 2009 report)
 Transfer of social capital –ideas and values
often impacting positively on development
prospects of origin countries
 SS remittances range from 10 to 29 % of
developing countries’ remittance receipts in
Challenges in SS mobility
 Experiencing adversity in transit and in
destination countries
 Difficulty obtaining travel documents-- often
end up as irregular migrants with limited rights
 Integration challenges owing to lack of
knowledge of social and working environment,
falling prey to human trafficking, xenophobia
and other deprivations
Challenges in SS mobility
 Unequal access to educational, health and
other services—inadequate integration
policies—or status of forced or irregular
migration
 Likely to live in less favourable circumstances
than most South-North migrants, in terms of
income, housing and legal protection.
 Relatively less protected by governments of
origin and destination-- subject to both gross
exploitation in labour markets and large-scale
expulsions.
Challenges in SS mobility
 States may view laborers as temporary-- few
rights, despite evidence of permanent
settlement
 Low-wage, low-skilled jobs -- exposure to risks
of erratic global economic system
 Weak social, economic and legal protections-more vulnerable and less able to enhance their
capabilities and contribute to human
development. (HDRPp.54)
Why human rights?
 Human rights constitute sharable moral claims upon the
organization of society towards the goal of safeguarding a
life of justice and dignity, through the protection of the
powerless from the powerful and guarantees for
satisfying the basis needs of all.
 Human rights imply a duty of organizing society to free
individuals from unjust intrusions and constraints simply
because they are human beings.
 These principles requires laws that make them more
enforceable.—(Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, and the International Covenant on civil and
Political Rights)
Regional agreements and migrant right
 Many attempts to regulate migration through
regional integration agreements.
 Regional agreements used to promote labor
mobility for increased regional economic
development
… Regional Agreements- Africa
 ECOWAS:1979 the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) adopted the Protocol on Free Movement
of Persons, the Right of Residence and Establishment.
 Other initiatives: The Southern African Development
Community (SADC), the East African Community (EAC)
and the Common Market for East and Southern Africa
(COMESA).
 In practice, the movement is often hindered by corruption
of police and border officials and the levels of
bureaucracy.
 Only 11 countries in Africa had policy on integration of
non-citizens by 2005, (HDRPp.47)
 Migrant groups face substantial integration problems, even
long after arrival and face xenophobia- (HDRPp.46)
… Regional Agreements- Asia
 ASEAN: In Asia, states often sign bilateral agreements to
regulate movement of migrants.
 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) has 1997
Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights
of Migrant Workers. (HDRPp.51)
 Integration policies are starting to emerge in some parts
of Asia,
 Common practice is to focus on temporary labor migration
without the expectation that it will lead to settlement.
(HDRPp.48)
 Multiculturalism and turning immigrants into citizens is
unpopular (HDRPp.47)
 Popular sentiments--migration policies be concerned with
restriction not migration management; immigrants should
not be allowed to settle; (HDRPp.48)
… Regional Agreements- LAC
 ACP secretariat is working to develop a list of indicators on
the impact of South-South migration on development --This will lead to:
 better understanding of what impact South-South
migration has on peoples’ access to education, healthcare,
credit, etc.
 mechanisms needed if South-South migrants are to be
better integrated into the communities they migrate to in
order to improve their access to services.
 equipping policy makers with evidence-based information
on South-South migration and its impact on forced
migration, trafficking in persons, smuggling of migrants
and related development implications
Broad research topics- LAC
 The impact of South-South migration on human
development;
 Enhancing South-South remittances;
 Diaspora mapping;
 South-South labour migration;
 The impact of internal migration on development;
 Forced migration as a consequence of natural disasters;
 Irregular migration in ACP countries, including trafficking
in persons and smuggling of migrants;
 The environment, climate change and migration in ACP
countries; and
 Cross-cutting issues, such as health, gender, human rights
and other topics.
The Way forward
 National implementation of regional agreements for the
protection of migrants rights.
 Integration policies that translate South-South solidarity
into action.
 Development initiatives to reduce forced migration
Thank you!