Tal
Tripoli, Libyen 22 november 2006
Tobias Billström, Migrationsminister

Tal vid ministerkonferensen "Migration och utveckling" i Libyen

Let me begin by thanking the Government of Libya for their hospitality in organizing this Ministerial Euro-African Conference on Migration and Development. The EU and Africa share a common interest in furthering the transnational dialogue and cooperation on migration and development. This conference is also an important opportunity to foster even closer links in EU-Africa relations. Sweden would also like to underline the need to give higher priority to migration and development in the EU's on-going dialogue with the African Union and sub-regional organisations in Africa.

Sweden fully aligns itself with the statement of the EU Presidency.

Migration is an inherent phenomenon in our globalised societies and economies. Here, I would like to mention the large number of Africans in Sweden who has greatly contributed to the Swedish society.

We need to develop innovative ways that can harness the positive effects of legal migration for the benefit of all. The overall aim must be that people should migrate out of choice rather than necessity. This necessitates a balanced and long-term approach to international migration and development, which should include four essential areas that I will address, namely: root causes of migration; cooperation; circular migration, and; the prevention of trafficking, people smuggling and exploitation of migrants. The individual's right to seek asylum must also be a fundamental part of our cooperation on migration.

First, we need to address the root causes that prevent migration from being an active choice, which include poor livelihood options, conflicts, social and gender inequalities, as well as human rights violations. This necessitates cooperation and coherence between policy areas such as agriculture, security, trade, and labour market policy, in addition to development, and illustrates the complexity of the migration-development nexus.

All governments should take a responsibility for addressing the root causes of migration as well as for the safeguarding of migrants' rights and for the prompt readmission of their own citizens. We also have a shared responsibility to ensure that migration benefits the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. We must remember that migration concerns livelihood, security and the exercise of human rights, as well as people's agency and own efforts to make use of their capabilities and potential, to improve their prospects and their lives, to be able to contribute to the societies they live in.

The United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's recent report on migration states that the gains from international migration surpasses the expected gains from liberalizing merchandise trade, particularly for development countries. This calls for the insertion of migration into poverty reduction strategies.

In order to increase coherence between policy areas toward the ultimate goal of an equitable and sustainable global development, Sweden has adopted a national policy for global development. A policy that takes due consideration of the inter-relationship between migration and development in order to increase the range of livelihood alternatives.

Second, we need bilateral, regional and international cooperation and dialogue when we formulate and implement our migration policies in order to maximize the positive effects and minimize the negative.

The UN High Level Dialogue on migration and development held in September exemplifies a successful initiative for international discussion and cooperation. We all spoke with a certain unity, and most of us concluded that a migration policy with the aim of managing migration is in everybody's interest - countries of origin and destination as well as the migrants themselves. Sweden looks forward to continue the dialogue at the first meeting of the Global Forum to be held in Belgium next year.

Third, we need to develop ways to enable circular migration. Evidence has shown that migration in a long-term perspective can generate positive economic and development effects for both sending and receiving countries, and the migrant and his/her network, as well as enhance the positive impact an exchange of knowledge and expertise. To encourage circular migration, receiving states have a shared responsibility to recognise the need for labour migration and to increase the availability of legal migration channels for the benefit of all.

Brain circulation should be encouraged to ensure that the impact on development is positive. In addition, both temporary and permanent migrant groups need to be able to transfer remittances to their home countries through cheaper and safer transactions.

Fourth, this long-term approach must also include initiatives to prevent human trafficking, people smuggling and exploitation of migrants. I very pleased that we will adopt the Ouagadougou Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings. Organised criminal networks benefiting from migrants' vulnerable situation and irregular status, whether through people smuggling or trafficking in human beings must be prosecuted. Receiving countries must also ensure that national legislation does not attract illegal migration or that it encourages the exploitation of migrants.

However, reinforced border controls risk having only negligible impact on the steady increase of irregular migrants, unless it is part of a broader perspective and approach, which, as I already mentioned, must include, among other aspects, measures to address the root causes of migration, as well as the promotion of alternative livelihood opportunities.

When managing mixed flows of whom the majority might be economic migrants, there is an obvious risk that people in need of international protection are not identified, and thus that we neglect the principle of non-refoulement. People in need of protection should be guaranteed access to a fair asylum procedure, irrespective of their legal or illegal status. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees is our key partner in this regard, and co-operation with the UNHCR is fundamental. The UNHCR must be allowed to exercise its mandate in order to build the necessary institutional capacity for protection.

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To conclude, I would like to once again underline the importance of increased cooperation between our two continents. The discussions during this conference, as well as the political declaration that we will adopt, points to the importance we place on these urgent matters and the spirit of the EU-Africa partnership. I hope that our discussions here and outcome will provide important inputs to the first meeting of the global forum to be held in Belgium next year.

Thank you so much for your attention.