VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHML #2546/01 3170921
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 120921Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2393
INFO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0282
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 2230

UNCLAS MANILA 002546 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PREL RP SMIG
SUBJECT: 2008 GLOBAL FORUM ON MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT 
 
REF: A. STATE 92074 
     ¶B. MANILA 2262 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  The Global Forum on Migration and Development 
held in Manila October 27-30 was a major international 
undertaking for the Philippines and was attended by 
government delegations from 164 nations and 220 delegates 
from civil society groups.  President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo 
delivered the keynote speech at the opening session and Vice 
President Noli de Castro gave the closing address.  Secretary 
General of the United Nations Ban Ki Moon opened the 
conference, emphasizing the importance of migration to the 
global economy.  The Forum's primary purpose was to address 
migrants' human rights and security, and the delegates 
concluded that protecting the rights of migrants is a 
responsibility that must be shared among the countries of 
origin, transit, and destination.  Forum participants sought 
to underscore the nexus between migration and development, 
noting that migration benefits the development of both the 
countries of origin and destination.  The roundtables also 
discussed proposals to address the negative aspects of 
migration in the countries of origin, including the loss of 
skilled workers and the impact on families left behind, with 
civil society groups urging greater rights for "irregular" 
migrants.  The government roundtables supported protecting 
migrants' rights and expanding the opportunities for legal 
migration, but also emphasized that migration is not a 
substitute for development in the countries that send 
migrants abroad.  Both civil society groups and government 
delegations recognized the important role geography plays in 
the pattern of migration and acknowledged there could be no 
"one size fits all" approach to regulating migration.  No 
consensus or support emerged for the Forum to take follow-up 
actions that were clearly the prerogative of sovereign 
states, and in the Forum's conclusions the members clearly 
stated the Forum would not attempt to force states to report 
or act on its recommendations.  In his closing remarks, UN 
Special Representative for International Migration and 
Development Peter Sutherland said that the Forum has the full 
backing of the UN Secretary General, but the Forum should 
remain outside the formal structure of the UN and continue as 
an informal, non-decision-making body.  The 2009 Global Forum 
will be held in Athens on November 4-5.  Per reftels, Post 
dispatched an observer/notetaker to the 2008 Forum, but did 
not otherwise participate.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Protecting and Empowering Migrants for Development 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶2.  As the host country, the Philippine government chose for 
the theme of the 2008 Forum, "Protecting and Empowering 
Migrants for Development."  Intense Philippine interest in 
the Forum stems from the country's status as one of the 
world's major sources of migrant workers.  Some 8.7 million 
Filipinos living and working overseas comprise nearly 10 
percent of the nation's population and nearly a quarter of 
its workforce, sending home $15 billion annually in 
remittances -- equivalent to 10 percent of the Philippines' 
GDP.  Philippine Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs 
Esteban Conejos said that with 30 years' experience in 
managing huge outflows, the Philippines was well positioned 
to take up the cause of migrants and to share with other 
governments the good practices and lessons learned. 
 
UN Secretary General:  Migration Can Benefit All 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶3.  The presence of UN Secretary General Ban at the Forum's 
opening session underscored the importance the United Nations 
places upon the economic, cultural, and social issues 
associated with global migration.  An estimated 200 million 
people now live outside their country of origin, and Ban 
sought to highlight the benefits of migration to the global 
economy.  He argued that human mobility "makes our economies 
more efficient by ensuring the right skills can reach the 
right places at the right time, and that it could help 
redress the enormous imbalances that have led to harsh 
economic inequality."  Ban argued that the Forum "must make a 
special effort to inform and educate people about how 
migration can be a benefit for all," and how it "should be a 
tool to help lift us out of this economic crisis." 
 
Forum Highlights Migration Development Nexus 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  The Forum highlighted the strategic nexus between 
migration and development, with some speakers noting that 
workers' remittances constitute a larger source of income for 
developing nations than foreign aid or foreign direct 
investment.  Some participants observed that the current 
transnational diaspora affects both the countries of origin 
and the countries of destination.  They said that migrants 
help grow the economies of the countries where they live by 
paying taxes, purchasing goods, and providing services and 
also contribute to economic development in their countries of 
origin by sending remittances home to their families. 
Several speakers pointed out that while poverty, strife, and 
natural disaster often induce migration, it is globalization 
-- with its increased movement of goods, services, ideas, and 
labor -- that is the major contributing factor. 
 
Migrants Rights Are a Shared Responsibility 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) Minister of Labor Saqr 
Ghobash expressed a consensus view that the protection of 
migrants' human rights is a shared responsibility that, if 
properly carried out, would enable the migrants to maximize 
their contributions to the economic development of both their 
host countries and their countries of origin.  He continued 
by saying, "In the past countries of origin and countries of 
destination frequently had different agendas and conflicting 
priorities in addressing migration."  Minister Ghobash went 
on to say the U.A.E. and other like-minded states that depend 
on migrant labor are interested in developing a framework of 
policies for contractual migrants that encourages their 
"circular migration."  The policies would cover the entire 
cycle of migration from recruitment and pre-departure 
preparations in the countries of origin, through employment 
in the countries of destination, to the return to and 
reintegration of the migrants in their countries of origin. 
 
Civil Society Views 
------------------- 
 
¶6.  Although not officially part of the Forum, civil society 
groups held two days of roundtable discussions before the 
official government meetings and were allowed to present 
their recommendations and conclusions to the Forum 
delegations at the closing session.  The civil society groups 
recommended reducing the transaction costs of migration to 
yield greater economic benefits to both host and origin 
nations.  They suggested that banks and other financial 
institutions create more innovative savings accounts, 
funds-transfer programs, and other financial instruments to 
reduce costs and offer greater choices to migrants for 
allotting their salaries and remittances.  The civil society 
groups underscored the need for strong sanctions against 
traffickers and exploitative employers and recruiting 
agencies.  They also recommended that host and origin 
countries inaugurate pension portability programs and allow 
migrant workers access to social security systems. 
Recognizing that many "irregular" migrants are victimized in 
transit or detained at the border, they recommended that 
governments provide repatriation grants for those who want to 
return home.  They did not specify which governments should 
pay for the repatriation.  They were supported in that 
sentiment by the opening remarks of Undersecretary Conejos, 
who said, "We must put the interests of the poor and 
disadvantaged ahead of the rich and powerful.  We want to 
focus on rights, especially of 'irregular' migrants." 
 
¶7.  Some civil society groups recommended that migrants be 
given dual citizenship rights, the right to vote, and 
employment opportunities equal to those available to host 
country nationals.  The civil society groups claimed that 
enforcement alone does not control "irregular" migration and 
that countries of destination should regularize the migrants 
by offering more work visas for longer periods and provide a 
path to citizenship for all migrants who want it.  They also 
recommended that the Forum address the negative impact 
migration has on labor-exporting nations, particularly as it 
relates to families left behind and the "brain drain" of 
skilled workers and professionals.  The recommendations were 
not specific but ranged from conducting studies to using 
remittances to fund community development projects. 
 
Government Roundtables Report 
----------------------------- 
 
¶8.  There was a consensus that the fundamental purpose of the 
Forum was to foster dialogue among governments, but that the 
Forum would not be responsible for implementing policy. 
After the two days of the government roundtable discussions, 
Mr. Sutherland observed, "We listened to each other without 
finger pointing.  There is evident linkage between migration 
and development.  (The Forum) is not responsible for 
follow-up actions; that is an issue for the individual 
states, and we do not and will not force states to report or 
act on (Forum) points."  The UN wants to draw more 
development experts and policymakers into future fora and not 
concentrate solely on migration.  The roundtable reports 
concluded that protecting the human rights of migrants would 
benefit not only the migrants, but would also contribute to 
the development of the countries of origin and the host 
countries.  They noted that globalization, with its increased 
movement of goods, services, and ideas, also requires the 
increased movement of labor. 
 
¶9.  The roundtables suggested establishing a common lexicon 
or dictionary of terms to promote commonality of 
understanding and the feasibility of issuing diaspora bonds 
in order to harness diaspora assets beyond merely remittance 
flows.  Their conclusions agreed with the civil society 
groups that effective measures need to be introduced to 
reduce exploitative and abusive practices such as migrant 
smuggling and trafficking in persons.  The government 
roundtables decided to set up an ad hoc working group to 
collect data and research on migration and development, with 
a view to achieving more coherence and cooperation among key 
actors in these areas.  They proposed increasing the 
opportunities for legal migration by establishing migration 
programs that better match the skills of job-seekers in the 
developing nations with real jobs in the developed nations. 
 
On to Athens 
------------ 
 
¶10.  The next Forum will be held November 4 - 5, 2009, in 
Athens, Greece.  Deputy Minister of Interior Athanassios 
Nakos represented Greece at the Manila Forum and noted during 
his remarks at the closing session, "Orderly migration, with 
due respect for the migrants' human rights, is part of -- but 
not a substitute for -- development."  He said that when it 
hosts the next Forum, Greece will strive to maintain the 
momentum created in Manila.  The Athens meeting will use the 
same structural framework of meetings as in Manila and will 
examine the Forum's linkages with the UN and its relationship 
with the Global Migration Group and will examine future 
funding sources and responsibility for follow-up actions. 
 
Forum Will Remain an Informal Consultative Body 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶11.  Forum participants did not have a unified view on 
migration, and their statements featured the demands and 
concerns of both the labor-exporting and labor-importing 
nations.  Countries such as the U.A.E. that depend heavily on 
migrant labor for their construction and service industries 
-- currently 71.4 percent of U.A.E.'s population are 
international migrants -- advocated policies to manage 
migration in an orderly manner that would enable them to 
benefit from contractual labor without allowing the migrants 
themselves to become a dominant political force within the 
country.  The U.A.E. and other like-minded nations want to 
pursue policies that lead to circular migration.  While there 
was clearly pressure from some delegates to eliminate the 
distinction between legal and illegal migration, there was no 
consensus or support for UN or any other extra-governmental 
infringement of national sovereignty in dealing with the 
issue.  The Forum also recognized the role geography plays in 
the pattern of migration and affirmed that each nation needs 
to formulate appropriate responses to manage its own 
migration situation.  The Forum was united on the need to 
protect migrants from exploitative and abusive practices and 
to support bi-lateral and multinational programs to ensure 
that migration is not used as a substitute for development in 
the countries of origin.  The UN does not intend to bring the 
Forum into the UN as a formal decision-making body, and there 
was no recommendation by roundtable participants that the UN 
should do so. 
 
KENNEY