Mr Chairperson, Excellencies, Distinguished delegates,
Let me begin by congratulating you, Mr. Chairperson, and the other members of the Bureau on your election.
Sweden fully aligns itself with the joint statement presented by Austria on behalf of the European Union. I would like to make the following additional comments.
The conference in Cairo more then ten years ago is one of our time’s most progressive meetings. We are all responsible for realising the ICPD agenda and implementing the Programme of Action. It is crucial to have a systematic follow-up within the framework of the Commission on Population and Development. As the Executive Director of the UNFPA, Ms Thoraya Obaid, so clearly reminded us on Monday, this requires sufficient resources. We need to work further with the responsibility-sharing among donors.
Within the broad agenda of the ICPD, let me particularly highlight the importance of sexual and reproductive health and rights. This question embraces all parts of society and is necessary for social development and economic growth. Without true empowerment of women we will not achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
Mr Chairperson,International migration is another important part of ICPD and I would like to share some experiences on this topic.
First of all, migration is good for development. When people cross borders to seek work or study this creates opportunities.
The report from the Global Commission on International Migration shows the way. It presents new perspectives on migration, focusing on migration as a development force – not as an obstacle. It puts people first – acknowledging their creativity and potential. It defines migrants not as victims – but as entrepreneurs, competent labour, needed in a globalizing labour market. We should make use of the many valuable findings in this report and use it as a tool in defining common ground.
The development impact of migration could be much stronger. For this we need greater policy and programmatic coherence. Sweden is the first country in the world that has adopted a common policy for global development for the government as a whole – for all policy areas. It is endorsed by the Parliament and regularly reviewed with annual progress reports, this year with migration as one of five focus areas. We also very much welcome that the European Union is now preparing the first coherence report.
Remittances are a concrete evidence of the potential development impact of migration. They provide relief to poor individuals, families and communities. Also more indirectly, remittances can support a more vibrant economy by expanding job markets. But this is also an area where more coherence is needed. Too much money is lost on the way. We should work to reduce the transaction costs and facilitate the flows, as well as enhancing the development effects of remittances.
Human mobility is contributing to global development in other ways, and that is probably even more important. A hundred years ago more than a million Swedes left my country to go to America. Every fourth person came back home. They made an important contribution to development in both Sweden and America.
We should make it easier for people to move - and move back home. Circulation boosts development.
Mr Chairperson,If we are to maximize the development impact we must see to that migration contributes to improved labour standards and better wages – not the opposite.
To obtain this we need regulated migration. It should support and be supported by international human rights frameworks that protects migrants, especially women and children.
Irregular migration must be reduced. The magnitude of irregular migrants reveals the existence of a dual labour market in a majority of countries. It leaves many people in our societies with no rights and without security. At the same time it undermines human rights and labour standards.
If we, the high-income countries, need labour, we should also be ready to pay for it. It is not only about managing migration. It is about what kind of society we want to live in. It is about human rights and values.
At the same time, it is important to note that every country has the right and obligation to decide who can enter and stay in its territory and under what conditions. Such decisions should be laid down in all countries’ legal frameworks.
Every person who legally resides within a country should have the same rights and obligations as the citizens of that country. This is an important basic principle of Sweden’s migration policy. This includes for instance the right to family reunification, full access to the labour market and to the social benefits’ system. Effective integration can only take place through fair and equal treatment.
A migration policy with the aim of managing migration is in everybody’s interest – countries of origin and destination as well as migrants themselves.
Mr Chairperson,Migration and development needs global attention. We must promote international cooperation in order to create a freer and rules-based migration.
We very much welcome the upcoming UN High Level Dialogue on Migration and Development in September. It marks an opportunity for a comprehensive inter-governmental and inter-agency dialogue.
I sincerely hope that the discussions in the Commission on Population and Development this week will contribute to a constructive dialogue that will spur the discussions, during the High Level Dialogue and beyond.
Sweden hopes that the outcome of the High Level Dialogue will focus on the positive impacts of migration on poverty reduction and development. Through considering migration as an integral part of the development agenda, an important step is taken towards the ultimate goal that migrants should migrate out of choice rather than necessity.
Thank you for your attention.