Jyothi Kanics---Global Survival Network (jkanics@igc.apc.org)
Fri, 9 Oct 1998 11:49:20 -0700 (PDT)
THIRD ANNUAL SEMINAR ON IRREGULAR
MIGRATION AND MIGRANT TRAFFICKING IN
EAST AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Opening statement by
Mrs. Narcisa Escaler,
Deputy Director General
International Organization for Migration (IOM)
17 September 1998, Bangkok
Your Excellency Mr. Paribatra, Mr. Chairman, distinguished
delegates, ladies and gentlemen.
It is a great pleasure and honour for me to once again deliver the
opening statement on behalf of the International Organization for
Migration at a meeting of the Regional Seminar on Irregular
Migration and Migrant Trafficking in East and South-East Asia. Ten
months have passed since the Filipino Government and IOM
organized in Manila last December the second seminar to hold
discussions on how to deal with the problem of irregular migration
and trafficking in migrants. On this occasion, I would like to thank
the Royal Thai Government for kindly hosting this third meeting. Its
warm hospitality and its contribution to the work of this gathering
will facilitate our reaching the objectives, which we set last
December for these two days of deliberations. I would also like to
thank the Royal Thai Government for their initiative to convene an
international symposium on irregular/undocumented migration next
year. I am confident that our discussions today and tomorrow will
assist the Thai authorities to reach the desired objectives for next
year’s symposium.
Mr. Chairman,
Irregular migration, including migrant trafficking, continues to be a
threat to orderly migration. From all indications, the migration
situation seems to have further deteriorated. The financial economic
crisis is increasing unemployment and income inequalities within and
between countries, thereby further increasing migration pressures. It
is drawing into sharper focus the disjunction between capital
movement, state sovereignty and migration. Labour migration,
which, in the past, contributed to the prosperity of the region, is now
turning into a burden. Receiving countries have fewer jobs to offer,
which they reserve for their own nationals and, fearing an influx of
migrants, have stepped up enforcement. Sending countries have also
been affected by the crisis. They have neither jobs nor means to
reintegrate returnees. The consequences of the crisis in the region
have also been aggravated by the prolonged drought caused by El
Niño, and the potential social consequences have alarmingly grown
because availability of staple food is threatened. There is a mounting
concern that the crisis would be compounded by political instability
in some countries and that new migratory inflow could complicate
matters further.
Mr. Chairman,
Please allow me to give some examples of this worrisome situation
in this region.
There is an indication that the current financial economic crisis in
South-East Asia has resulted in a sharp rise in the number of
irregular workers and labour trafficking. This region already hosts an
estimated two million irregular migrant workers, mostly in Malaysia
and Thailand, and lacks mechanisms to cope effectively with a
sudden rise in these numbers. The situation is more than ripe for
traffickers to exploit. There is no doubt that intra-regional population
movements will continue to grow and possibly contribute to
instability.
As of 28 July this year, some 102,000 foreign workers in Malaysia
who were eligible for work permit renewals have failed to have their
work permits renewed. This indicates a loss of job among a large
number of legal foreign workers in Malaysia.
In a recent survey, IOM estimated that there are nearly one million
irregular workers in Thailand, and more than 700,000 in Malaysia. It
is estimated that up to half a million irregular migrants will have lost
their jobs in Malaysia from July last year until the end of 1998.
Workers in an irregular situation are already being sent back from
some of the economies in the region where millions have lost their
jobs as a result of the sharp declines in economic growth. It has
been estimated that around 400,000 Filipino irregular migrants are
currently in Malaysia. If unemployment were to rise greatly and the
Malaysian Government enforces its plan to return the migrant
workers, a large number of Filipino households could be affected.
South Korea has imposed stiff penalties for illegal workers.
Malaysia has urged Indonesia to help in returning irregular
Indonesian workers. The number of Indonesians caught in the
Malacca Strait and suspected of trying to enter Malaysia illegally
doubled in the first two months of 1998 compared to 1997.
Singapore has also focused on illegal workers, most of them
Indonesians trying to enter the island state. Thailand, a net importer
of migrants, announced that it would return 300,000 irregular
migrants, most of them from Myanmar. Up to 100,000 Filipino
workers may have to return home, mainly from Sabah.
IOM fears that this increasing penalization of migrants may be a
principal legacy of the financial economic crisis that has hit the
world’s fastest-growing economies in this region. Migrants are
bearing the brunt of job cuts, as countries, that once welcomed them
to fill labour shortages, stop importing labour and seek to reduce the
number of foreign workers, both legal and illegal. More people
facing renewed hardship at home may be tempted to seek work
abroad, while migrant workers already in place are being pressured
to leave, putting further strain on the absorption capacity of their
battered home economies.
Mr. Chairman,
These disturbing trends point to the need to develop better and
concerted policies, as well as the tools to implement them. As an
intergovernmental organization whose global mandate is to promote
orderly migration, IOM has been tasked by its member States to
address irregular migration and trafficking in a comprehensive way
through policy-relevant research, analysis and forum activities like
this gathering, and through practical programmes resulting from
these. If this is to be achieved, sending, receiving and transit
countries should work together with international organizations to
exchange information, build consensus and agree on programmes to
address the migration challenges. This is why IOM has been
working closely with concerned governments of the region, and has
demonstrated a proactive approach in the different fora that have
been recently organized.
In last year’s informal discussions a consensus was reached on the
fact that this process of regional consultation is essential since no
single country can tackle the problem of complex population flows.
It was also agreed last year to preserve the atmosphere of frank and
open discussions, and that the seminar should now shift to a more
issue focused approach with a few countries taking the lead to
canvass other countries in the region with similar interest in a
particular issue. The Governments of Australia and the Philippines
offered to prepare for the 3rd seminar two papers and lead the
discussion on the return of irregular migrants and on labour migration
including trafficking respectively. I would like to thank both
Governments for their initiatives and contributions. As I mentioned
earlier, migrants have been returning to their home countries,
willingly or unwillingly. However, simple return of migrants from host
countries to sending countries which have practically no absorption
capacity will not solve the problem: it could rather result in increase
of irregular migration, in particular migrant trafficking. It is therefore
timely that this meeting takes up these two agenda items. I hope that
the discussions at this meeting will help the Governments deepen
their understanding of the issues, contribute to the eventual
formulation of national and regional policy measures and lead to the
adoption of specific programmes to implement these policies.
Before concluding my statement, Mr. Chairman, I would like to
touch upon the remaining agenda item, namely the future of the
regional dialogue on migration. As you are aware, there are two
regional fora in this region, both of which devote themselves to
discussions on population-movement-related issues, one is this
Manila Process and the other the Asia Pacific Consultation, or
APC. The Manila Process has a specific focus on irregular migration
and trafficking in South-East Asia while APC has participants from
South Asia as well and covers wider topics including refugees and
displaced persons. IOM has participated in both of them actively.
The last APC meeting in June discussed the future of APC and
some governments suggested the convergence of the Manila
Process and APC. IOM will distribute a paper, which provides you
with the background information. I look forward to your discussion
and guidance on the matter. Whatever decision you may reach, I am
certain that our joint efforts to promote the regional dialogue on
migration matters will continue and will contribute to eventually
achieving an orderly migration in the region.
Mr. Chairman,
In the current situation, efficient management of migration is a critical
issue that demands immediate attention. Unless it is addressed
effectively at national, regional and global levels, the proven benefits
of orderly migration to all states can be lost. As we all know,
unemployment is very often one of the causes of social conflict and
violence, and in this particular region any such social unrest will most
likely have serious effects on many migrants and local communities.
Efforts at the national level to overcome problems associated with
irregular migration and trafficking will only be successful if the
international environment is conducive. We must make a collective
and conscious effort to create or restore such environment, if we
want to maintain and promote the positive effects of migration:
orderly migration is a precondition for achieving this goal.
Thank you Mr. Chairman and I wish you all productive discussions
over these two days of deliberations.
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