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Ad Melkert, UN Under Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme on the EC-UN Joint Initiative on Migration and Development


Brussels - Commissioner, Ms. Rispens, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great privilege to participate today in this important and creative event to support this EC-UN Joint Initiative on Migration and Development.

For centuries humans have been on the move, and today is no exception. But, today migration is part of the larger phenomenon of globalization. International and national movements of people are intrinsically linked to the movement of capital-, trade- and skills-flows. Whether it is the $511m in remittances that Senegal received from expatriates in Europe during 2006 (FT 24 November 2008) or the migrant health workers from countries that “fill the skills gap” in the United States (which trains 30% too few physicians to fill its own needs, according to WHO), we know that human development progress faced in one country can be easily undone somewhere else.

This is all too pertinent in the current period of financial crisis and recession. There is a severe risk that the hundreds of millions of people that have been lifted out of poverty over the last ten years - on the road to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals - are suddenly being thrust back below the poverty line. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), the global financial crisis could increase world unemployment by an estimated 20 million people by the end of 2009 and the number of working poor living on less than $1 a day could rise by some 40 million – and those on $2 a day by more than 100 million. And workers’ remittances into developing countries are already slowing down, with a direct impact on country GDPs. The impact of the financial crisis is also compounded by climate change and an increasing number of large-scale conflicts that all threaten to slow development progress and hit countries with large migrant communities abroad hardest.

At the heart of the debate on migration is inequality. The starting point is that people’s choice to move is affected by underlying social and economic inequalities. Inequality between rich and poor not only propels people to move, but it is (unfortunately) ever present in the response to migration.  The policies and laws that are formulated in many countries often fail to harness the positive effects that migration can have on development, at home and abroad.

I am delighted that the EC-UN Joint Initiative recognises the positive contribution that migrants can make to development both in their countries of origin and in their countries of destination.  The Initiative is cast within the European Commission’s framework policy on migration and development and has two overarching objectives: (a) to support small scale actors to become more active and effective in linking migration and development, through networking, capacity building, and direct funding in four thematic areas: Remittances, Migrants’ capacities and skills, Migrants’ communities and networks, and Rights; and (b) to facilitate the development and dissemination of global best practices in migration and development to influence future global policy making in this area. 

This Joint initiative is unique as it capitalizes on the expertise and resources of 4 Directorate Generals of the European Commission (DGs RELEX; DEVELOPMENT; JUSTICE-LIBERTY-SECURITY and EUROPEAID) and several United Nations Agencies and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in the wider family. UNDP is implementing this initiative with the precious support and expertise of IOM, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Labour Organisation and the United Nations Population Fund.  While the partnership is being run from Brussels, the main focus is on programme countries where UN Country Teams are working hand-in-hand with Governments and EC Delegations to ensure that the most effective interventions end up being supported by this Initiative.

The other aspect of this initiative that I believe to be key is that the main protagonists are those who have been through the migration experience and are still engaged either through remittances, or in working through formal and informal associations to support activities either in the sending, transit or receiving countries. I am thrilled to see so many practitioners here today; your presence is vital in ensuring that the international goodwill translates in concrete and relevant development results.  

I also hope this initiative will feed some practical experiences into the forthcoming UNDP Human Development Report 2009 which will explore mobility through the lens of freedom and choices.   The Report will investigate flows of people within and across borders and examine how migration expands their choices and opportunities – in terms of earning incomes, accessing services and empowerment.

It is examples like this Joint Initiative that illustrate how large international organizations working together can get things off the ground when the will and understanding is there.   I have just come from the Joint EC-UNDP Training Seminar on Electoral Assistance in the Charlemagne building. With these two key events taking place today it has given me a firsthand appreciation of just how dynamic the relationship between the European Commission and the UN system has become. In 2007 alone, together with the EC, we have addressed humanitarian needs in 30 countries around the world with 48 million people receiving food assistance; we have cleared 50 million square meters of land from landmines allowing 2 million people to have access to productive land; we have helped 11 countries in Africa, Asia and Central America to hold free and fair elections; we have delivered 9 million text books to 6 million children in Iraq and provided 2.3 billion doses of polio vaccine to 400 million children. These are just some examples. The EC and the UN system have joined forces in over 100 countries to deliver tangible results.

So I end by wishing you all a successful Fair and hope that you will all make the most of your presence, to exchange your knowledge and to create durable partnerships. We need to work more closely than ever before to try and protect the most vulnerable members of the world’s population in such volatile times.

Thank you.