Migration and Development
Migration and Development
The Global Forum on Migration and Development which took place in 2007 in Belgium, tried to focused on two major questions: How migration and development are liked and what short of intervention might help enhance migrant’s contribution to socio economic development.
At the United Nations High Level Dialogue on Migration and Development, held during the UN General Assembly in New York, September 2006, migration was increasingly seen within the context of development, and recognized as resulting in economic benefits to both countries of destination and countries of origin. It is also recognized that this economic gain is contingent on the protection of migrants’ rights and that migrants who do decent work contribute more to development than those who are economically exploited and socially excluded.
When we talk about migration and development we have to take into account a series of elements which are very important both for destination countries as well as for the receiving country.
Migrants’ remittances are likely to be double the size of aid;
Migrants’ remittances often sustain and enlarge access to social services such as health care for those without prior access to it.
•Migrant Diasporas are engaged in a variety of transnational practices (such as relief, investments, cultural exchange, and political advocacy) with direct effects on international development cooperation;
•Both private and public sectors in developed countries recognize their immediate and long term dependence on immigrant labour with an ever more complex skills mixture;
•An increasing number of migrant-sending states recognize that migrant Diasporas can advance national development from abroad and endow their migrants with special rights, protections and recognitions
Migrants play an important role in the transfer of knowledge, as well as in modernizing social patterns (e.g. active involvement in political sphere, public accountability)
The Churches worldwide have been committed to the migration issue for many years. At the same time churches are through their specialized agencies one of the main actors in development (WCC, CCME) have started initial work on common programs related to migration and development issue. Development agencies and their European umbrella organization APRODEV have in recent years begun to show an active interest in linking migration and development and exploring the development impact of migration.
This general willingness to engage across the sectors of migration and development in the next years needs to be translated into concrete work on the ground.
Migration development is a new approach of the migration phenomenon. For AIDRom in very important to start the programme on migration because Romania is confronted with a big migration rate that cannot be controlled.
It is important to include gender perspectives in migration and development initiatives. The feminization of migration has been observed over the last decades. The fact that women make up the majority of the world’s poor and the crucial role of women for successful community-centered development has been underlined in various researches. Particular attention should therefore be given to initiatives empowering migrant women, both in countries of migration and origin, as agents of co-development. A policy, which specifically addresses women as members of the Diaspora, recognizes their specific situation and seeks to strengthen it, is also more likely to have a positive impact on fostering development and addressing inequalities in countries of origin.
AIDRom started to work on the issue of labor migration and labor rights since 2005, when four counseling centers were developed in important regions in Romania. Through these centers, people are assisted in checking the labor contracts, in understanding the labor legislation and also in disseminating information on employment in the EU space.
Activities:
- Information sessions on the effect of labor migration upon the labor market in Romania and Moldova
- Seminars organized in rural areas on “Labor migration vs. labor exploitation in EU”
- Remittances and means for communitarian development
- Assistance in developing community centers
- Dissemination of informational materials in Romania and Republic of Moldova
