Migration doubled to 200 mn in 30 years

The number of international migrants had more than doubled from 75 million to some 200 million in the past 30 years, and greater cooperation is required for better governance of migration at regional, regional and global levels, a report by Global Commission on International Migration said.

"Expansion in the scale and scope of migration seems certain due to the growing developmental, demographic and democratic disparities existing between different regions of the world," said the report submitted to United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan today.

The report said in developing countries alone, remittances provided by migrants living abroad amounted to around $150 billion a year. This was thrice the value of official development assistance, the report said.

Certain sectors of the economy in many industrialised states had become highly dependent on migrant labour, and would rapidly collapse if that labour were to be withdrawn, it added.

The report also admitted that human-trafficking and migrant smuggling was undesirable. It said states must prevent unauthorised entries and protect the security and welfare of their citizens.

To check this menace, states should cooperate in finding a solution to the problem and re-admit those citizens who wanted to return to their home country, it said. But a purely restrictive approach to irregular migration was neither desirable nor feasible, and could jeopardise the rights of migrants and refugees, the report cautioned.

It also recommended that the role of migrants in promoting economic growth, development and poverty-reduction should be recognised. It suggested that such conditions should be created that people migrate out of choice than necessity.

The report suggested that for the protection and improvement in labour standards available to migrants, human rights framework affecting international migrants should be effectively implemented.

It added that migration policies should be enhanced by greater cooperation at regional levels, and effective dialogue among governments and international organisations.