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MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE) In the face of an economic crisis already causing job losses throughout the world and more discriminatory immigration policies, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on Wednesday said migration can be a way out of the crisis.
In his opening address to government representatives from 163 countries attending the Second Global Forum on Migration and Development, the UN chief recognized that "global growth is slowing, unemployment is rising, personal hardship is spreading and anxiety is increasing. Many countries have slipped into recession…And in several countries, the political discourse on immigration has become discouragingly negative, heightening the risk of discrimination."
But, he said, "Migration can and should be a tool to help lift us out of this economic crisis."
Although the UN chief did not specify how this would be so, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo noted in his welcome address that the 200 million migrants around the world sent $240 billion in remittances back to their countries of origin last year.
He said the figure is much bigger than the $104 billion in total foreign aid and more than half the $460 billion in total foreign direct investments.
Migration, Ban pointed out, makes "economies more efficient, even when they are not growing, by ensuring that the right skills can reach the right places at the right time."
The UN chief thus called on world leaders to take advantage of the benefits of migration.
"Now more than ever, politicians and policymakers need to cooperate across borders. Only in this way can we draw the greatest possible development benefits from migration," he said.
Against this backdrop of slowdown, the UN chief called on all countries, particularly developed destination countries, to respect the rights of migrants.
Concretely, Ban said the informal, non-binding Manila Forum could come out with guidelines for ensuring protection to migrants, especially the most vulnerable undocumented ones.
"I urge those countries to accommodate immigration through domestic legislation and critical social frameworks for the protection of the human rights of migrant workers," he said during the press conference that followed the opening ceremonies.
Ban asked destination countries not to restrict migration as experience shows that such restrictions cause more problems.
"Rather than limit [migration] through national legislation or framework, it is beneficial for everyone to have overall exchanges and cooperation on human mobility to support favorable conditions that are acceptable and accommodating for migration," he told reporters.
"Too much restriction will increase migration through illegal channels which causes more problems in integration and in social and economic fields," he added.
Ban said people will continue to move across borders regardless of the world's economic health as they seek better lives, escape political instability and persecution, or meet the human desire to reunite with families.
"And, with or without an economic crisis, the underlying forces that have led 200 million people to cross international borders in pursuit of a better life will not disappear," he said.
Ban also said climate change is expected to create more migrants and refugees.
"If future scenarios prove accurate, climate change could lead to significant relocations of people away from increasingly uninhabitable areas," he said.
One of the positive outcomes of migration is "redress [of] the enormous imbalances that have led to harsh economic inequality," he said.
As inequality within and across borders is one of the root causes of migration, Ban said the world must confront this. And, "international migration can be a force for good in this respect," he said.
