Aide-memoire

I. Background

International migration to and from countries in Asia and the Pacific has increased steadily over the past few decades. The Fifth Asian and Pacific Population Conference recognized that the volume of such migration has increased as a result of globalization and widening differences among countries in standard of living and the supply and demand for labour. The more developed countries in the region generally have low rates of growth of population and labour force but those growth rates are higher in the less developed countries. Whereas earlier labour migration from countries of the region was primarily toward the Middle East, most labour migration now occurs within the ESCAP region. Most labour migration is intended as temporary by both countries of origin and countries of destination but large communities of temporary migrants have become a long-term feature in many countries in the region. That circumstance is likely to lead to increases in the volume of permanent settlement as well.

International labour migration has become an industry in itself. In 2000, the major Asian countries of origin officially deployed over 2.4 million workers overseas and the main destination areas in East and South-East Asia hosted over 5.5 million foreigners. Recorded remittances to the major labour-sending countries in the region exceed US$ 20 billion annually.

The proportion of women among international migrants in the region has been increasing and women constitute a majority of the migrants officially deployed from some countries. Migration may empower both female migrants and those women who remain behind when male members of their families migrate. Female migrants are especially vulnerable to harassment and exploitation, however, because large numbers of them work in the isolation of private households or in the service sector. The situation of children of migrants and of migrant children has not received adequate attention.

When governments’ arrangements for labour migration lag behind demand, a significant proportion of migration is irregular, i.e., it does not comply with all legal requirements. Countries in the region have made significant progress in regularizing much labour migration but large volumes of irregular migration persist in several countries. The trafficking of migrants for employment is a particularly pernicious form of irregular migration, especially when the victims are women and children.

The Plan of Action of the Fifth Asian and Pacific Population Conference states that “Despite the growing importance of international migration and its linkage with development and poverty, there is a lack of adequate, reliable and timely data on which to base the formulation of effective policies and programmes.” This is partially because much labour migration is irregular. A consequence is that countries do not adequately incorporate international labour migration into population and labour force projections or national development planning. In this context, migration policies may not be consistent with other development goals.

Although the international community is gradually developing norms concerning international migration, especially of workers, consensus in the Asia-Pacific region is basically at the discussion stage, with no binding regional or sub-regional agreements in place.

II. Organization of the Regional Seminar

The Regional Seminar on the Social Implications of International Migration will be organized at the United Nations Conference Centre, Bangkok, Thailand, from 24 to 26 August 2005. It will be organized jointly by the Population and Social Integration Section, Emerging Social Issues Division, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the United Nations Population Fund, the International Organization for Migration and the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development.

The Regional Seminar will benefit from the presentation of technical papers prepared by resource persons, country situation reports and programme reports by international organizations. Sufficient time will be allocated for interactive discussions of the papers presented and for an examination of their policy implications. The Seminar will focus on recent trends in migration in the region, labour migration policies and programmes, migration and health, social and economic implications, and trafficking and smuggling of migrants. The provisional agenda is attached.

III. Participation

The participants in the Regional Seminar will comprise 12-15 representatives of governments in the region, 4-7 resource persons, approximately 10 representatives of international organizations and about 5 representatives of non-governmental organizations that are dealing with migration issues.

IV. Expected results

The report and recommendations of the Regional Seminar will be disseminated widely throughout the Asia-Pacific region by electronic means. Selected papers will be published in the Asia-Pacific Population Journal. Based on recommendations of the Fifth Asian and Pacific Population Conference, the Regional Seminar is designed to promote the incorporation of international migration in national development planning in countries of origin and countries of destination, to assist countries in developing policies and programmes to regularize desirable levels of labour migration, and to strengthen regional cooperation in the management of migration for the benefit of sending countries, receiving countries and the migrants themselves.

The Regional Seminar is expected to be of value to the organizing agencies, other international organizations and non-governmental organizations in developing and implementing programmes related to international migration and development.

The result of the Regional Seminar will constitute an input to the high-level dialogue on international migration and development, scheduled to be held in New York in 2006.

Contact

Mr. Jerry Huguet
Social Affairs Officer
Population and Social Integration Section
Emerging Social Issues Division, UNESCAP
E-mail: huguet@un.org

Meeting documents

1. Meeting Report (PDF, 195 KB)
2. Provisional Agenda

Recent trends and patterns in international migration in Asia and the Pacific (Agenda 4)

1. Migration Trends and Patterns in South Asia and Management Approaches and Initiatives (PDF, 235 KB)
2. Recent Trends in International Migration in the Asia-Pacific (PDF, 112 KB)

Labour migration policies and programmes (Agenda 5)

1. Transnational Politics and the Organising or Migrant Labour in Southeast Asia– NGO and Trade Union Perspectives (PDF, 114 KB)
2. Social Issues in the Management of Labour Migration in Asia and Pacific (PDF, 242 KB)
3. Labour Migration Policies and Programmes (PDF, 180 KB)

Migration and health (Agenda 6)

1. UNFPA and Health of the Foreign Migrants in Thailand (PDF, 80 KB)

Social and economic implications of international migration (Agenda 7)

1. Enhancing the Development Impact of Migrant Remittances and Diaspora: The Case of Viet Nam (PDF, 152 KB)
2. Migration and development (PDF, 181 KB)
3. Gender aspects of migration
4. Children and families of migrants (PDF, 196 KB)

Trafficking and smuggling of migrants (Agenda 8)

1. Ambiguities and Confusions in the Migration-Trafficking Nexus: A Development Challenge (PDF, 174 KB)
2. Raising Our Own Awareness: Getting to Grips with Trafficking in Persons and Related Problems in South-East Asia and Beyond (PDF, 331 KB)