THE 2012 INTERNATIONAL PARLIAMENTARIANS’ CONFERENCE ON THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ICPD PROGRAMME OF ACTION
Istanbul, Turkey, 24-25 May 2012
Group Discussion
on
MIGRATION
Dear colleagues,
I am extremely privileged and honored to participate in this panel having Mr. François Farah as resource person. Mr. Farah is not only an outstanding personality of the world’s Population and Development community, but also one of our closest friends.
I will say a few words inspired by the experience and work of the Sub-Committee for Population and Development in the Senate of Romania.
Migration is a topic of great importance for Romania. Since 1990 and particularly after the country’s accession to the European Union, we have witnessed substantial external migration of our work force.
In 2011, the estimated number of Romanian migrants was 2.9 millions, accounting for about 1.33 million migrant households.
The main destination countries are concentrated in South EU (72.9%), followed by North EU (23.3%), and non-EU countries (3.8%). The most frequent destinations in the European Union are: Italy (43%), Spain (23%), Greece (7%), France 5%), UK (4%).
According to recent studies, the most important gains of external migration are local economic development, entrepreneurial attitude and an increasing tolerance in communities with high migration rates.
The most visible, short term negative effects consist in a rather high rate of dependence on remittances, vulnerability of children left home, and human trafficking.
Our Sub-Committee for Population and Development has looked particularly at the social costs of migration and at its contribution to the decrease and ageing of population.
Given the demographic decline, confirmed by the 2011 national population census, external migration of Romanians at working age is a risk factor for the country’s human security and sustainable development.
Therefore, our advocacy efforts, supported by UNFPA and international experts, have focused on the need to integrate migration, as key policy factor, in a comprehensive, long-term National Strategy for Population and Development.
We have been equally concerned by the consequences of health professionals leaving Romania, in quest for higher salaries, better working conditions, and more attractive career opportunities.
This is a matter of urgency, because in the context of severe economic measures, which diminished the purchasing power while increasing the costs of health services, the shortage of health professionals is contributing to the deterioration of public health.
As emigration country, we know that effective solutions depend to a great extent on an economic recovery solid enough to slow down the phenomenon.
And I will conclude by pointing out a few general aspects.
First: In my opinion, the demographic impact and the social and human costs of external migration in countries of origin are not sufficiently present in the European and international debates on population. And parliamentary forums are no exception.
Second: While the impact of migration on population varies from one country to another, national migration-related policies in countries of origin, transit and destination have to be more coherent and to better complement each other.
Third: We found out during our work that local communities are major stakeholders in the drawing up and successful implementation of migration-related policies and strategies. As parliamentarians, we are best placed to facilitate their input in the decision making processes in this area.
Finally, I would say that we welcome the inclusion of migration on the agenda of our Conference. We hope that parliamentary cooperation, exchanges and capacity building on the linkages between migration, population and development will continue and develop in the future.
Thank you very much!