| Title |
International
Migrations
in Latin America and the Caribbean
Edition Nš 65
May-August 2002
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| Author: |
Permanent Secretariat of SELA |
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Index |
MIGRATION, ONE OF
GLOBALIZATION'S FEW EXCLUSIONS
Otto Boye
Permanent Secretary, Latin American Economic System (SELA).
The issue that concerns us here today is undoubtedly of transcendental importance for the
world and for our region since it affects all aspects of human society, that is, its
economy, culture and social, legal and political structure. It has become a central topic
that can no longer be overlooked in current and future international negotiations. This is
an issue that affects and concerns us all.
Today's globalization, with its profound effects over our lives, has not succeeded in
encompassing workers' mobility. This continues to be subject to severe restrictions
throughout the world and such restrictions are becoming more stringent as time goes by,
particularly in the developed world. In fact, if we acknowledge that the vast inequalities
in social and economic levels are the fundamental cause of migrations, then it follows
that globalization, as we experience it today, contributes greatly to increase migration
flows causing, in turn, a wider gap between rich and poor countries.
A brief look at the relevant legislative reforms that are underway in some European
countries and in the United States of America reveals the increasing acuteness of this
problem. Indeed, international migration is excluded from the process of globalization
even though from the last quarter of the XIX century up to World War II the massive
movement of people spurred the progress and even industrial and technological development
of those that are today the most developed nations.
Within this context, current international norms and legislations regarding migration
leave much to be desired and are a cause of concern. Or, to put it less diplomatically:
they contain vast omissions or deficiencies. On the one hand, the International Convention
on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families, which was
approved by the United Nations in 1990 after more than a decade of discussions, has not
been ratified yet, even though it represents a major step forward as far as the
preservation of the fundamental human rights of migrant workers is concerned and
constitutes a valuable instrument for the articulation and convergence of currently
contrasting national legislations on this subject.
On the other hand, the commitments regarding the temporary mobility of workers negotiated
within the Uruguay Round and included in the General Agreement on Trade and Services of
the World Trade Organization (WTO) are clearly inadequate, especially to stimulate the use
of unskilled workers in service contracts. Let us hope that the current WTO negotiations
on this issue succeed in fulfilling this objective.
Therefore, more commitments are needed at the international level to facilitate the
temporary and permanent mobility of workers and to make strides in other areas related to
migration, such as trans-border traffic, social security, the honoring of degrees and
skills, among others. Fortunately, there seems to be a consensus that the solution to many
of the problems related to migration require multilateral norms and measures, based on
close cooperation between states in order to manage the problem of international migration
in a rational manner.
At the national level, the countries that receive massive migration flows need to develop
mechanisms to facilitate the integration of migrants and their full incorporation into
their new societies in areas such as education, health and social protection. Similarly,
those countries need to establish mechanisms aimed at reducing the cost of remittances
abroad, which represent a major source of income for many developing countries, at times
providing higher revenues than those derived from exports or tourism.
The fact is that developing countries' lag in economic, social and technological
development, which has deepened during the last decade, has greatly stimulated migration
to developed countries. This has caused the latter, particularly the USA and some European
countries, to adopt much more restrictive immigration legislations than those that
prevailed in the past. This phenomenon, together with the issue of undocumented workers,
has become the most sensitive issue in developed countries' immigration policies. In
general, there is no doubt that throughout the world controls regarding the entry,
transit, residence and employment of foreigners have tightened.
As far as the region is concerned, today emigrants from Latin American and Caribbean
constitute one of the largest migration flows in the world, representing 10% of the total
number of migrants and 46% of immigrants to the USA. In the past, 90% of all immigrants
that entered the USA were from Europe.
The bulk of migration flows is made up of unskilled workers who move from the South to the
North due to unemployment and low salaries in their countries of origin. On the other
hand, inter-regional migration, which had been one of the most important factors for the
development of our countries and their integration processes, has diminished. This is also
due to the recurrent economic crises in countries that traditionally received large
numbers of immigrants, which make them today less attractive destinations.
The countries of the region participate in the two intergovernmental fora on migration
that cover the area: the regional Conference on Migration (North and Central America) and
the South American Conference on Migrations. Both represent the basis on which to build a
regional agenda on migration and integration aimed at administering migrations at the
regional level. To this end, both conferences must exchange experiences and information
with a view to developing actions aimed at solving common problems and developing
cooperation between immigrants' receiving countries, transit countries and countries of
origin.
The management of migrations will be strengthened by the convergence of social policies
within existing integration arrangements in the region, the creation of common markets and
other developments. In reality, sub-regional agreements offer greater opportunities for
accepting migration flows within wider economic and social areas, under conditions of
shared and solidary governability that over time could insure full migration within the
community based on the respect and guarantee of labor and social and economic rights
regarding health, education, social protection and free transit. Even though they are
still developing migration policies, MERCOSUR and the Andean Community have made strides
in this issue and in insuring the social, economic and labor rights of migrant workers.
Finally, the FTAA negotiations also represent an opportunity to include specific
commitments regarding migrations, based on hemispheric cooperation. This would insure a
comprehensive approach to the issue of migrations, promoting greater worker mobility
within the wider market and guaranteeing migrants' human, social and economic rights.
Those commitments should include issues of mutual concern such as trans-border traffic,
the circulation of workers, social security and the honoring of academic degrees and
professional skills.
All these international, hemispheric and regional issues should enter the regional agenda
on international migration and integration. The development of such an agenda will require
a comprehensive view and shared actions, which could be promoted by a regional forum based
on the efforts that are being carried out by the regional conference and the South
American conference, welcoming the Caribbean countries that are not members of either. The
Latin American Economic System, with its ample membership of 28 Latin American and
Caribbean countries, is ready to fully support such an initiative.
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