Susan Martin Institute for the Study of International Migration Georgetown University April 2011

Why Is International Cooperation So Important Today?

     Size and complexity of migration flows make unilateral policies difficult to implement and enforce   International/internal Voluntary/forced  Temporary/permanent Intersection of migration with other global issues: development, security, environment, trade, conflict Growth in transnational communities Regimes for movement of capital and goods but not people Growing economic integration and multinational corporate labor forces

International Migration: 1965-2010

World’s Immigrants (in millions)

Share of World’s Population

2.5% 2.4%

191 177 165

2.9% 2.9% 3.0% 2.2% 2.1% 2.2% 2.3%

155

2.9%

111 99 87 78 81 75 `

3.1%

1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Why is International Cooperation So Difficult?

     Responsibility to control borders, admit immigrants, and provide access to citizenship are quintessential components of sovereignty Lack of agreement on impacts of immigration and emigration Difficulty of harmonizing policies and approaches Lack of legal and institutional frameworks for managing migration in cooperative manner, except for refugees Relative indifference of major destination countries (US and Canada)

Steps Towards Improving International Cooperation

   Roots in the 1990s Bilateral/regional agreements  US-Canada/US-Mexico/Canada-Mexico/NAFTA Consultative mechanisms   Like-minded governments (IGC, Colombo) Regional (Puebla Process)  Inter-regional migration corridor (Abu Dhabi)

Global Cooperation

 Cairo Plan of Action  Doyle report  Berne Initiative  Global Commission on International Migration  UN High Level Dialogue  Global Forum for Migration and Development  Global Migration Group

GFMD Agenda

       Protecting rights of migrants Reducing the cost of migration Increasing the development payoff of international migration through more effective diaspora engagement Identifying effective models of labor migration Data and research Policy coherence/Whole of government approaches Addressing emerging issues (e.g., climate change and migration, impact of economic crisis)

US and Canadian Perspectives

  Appreciation of regional and like-minded government consultations Skepticism regarding global cooperation  Agree that processes should be non-binding and stay outside of the UN     Canada participated from beginning; US joined only when Obama administration took office Europeans have been more active in agenda setting Relief that there has not been a sharp North South divide Relatively satisfied with setting migration policy to serve the national interests, not a global ‘win, win, win’ agenda

What Next?

 Informal, ad hoc processes likely to continue, especially at regional levels  Still in the confidence building stage  A World Migration Organization unlikely in foreseeable future  UN High Level Dialogue in 2013 will debate the sustainability of the GFMD  Should US and Canada be more actively engaged in setting the agenda for future cooperation?  Without them, no strong voice for benefits of immigration to destination countries