Speech
Stockholm 05 October 2009
Tobias Billström, Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy
Speech by Tobias Billström at the launch of the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Report
Thank you very much. Good morning everyone and welcome to this Swedish launch of UNDP's annual report, which this year is about migration and the effects it has - and can have - on development.
Before I proceed in Swedish, I would like to begin by extending a warm welcome to Mr. Bruce Jenks, Assistant Secretary-General and Director for UNDP's Partnership Bureau, and to Ms. Maryam Osman from the Rajo company. I very much look forward to listening to both of your presentations.
As the Swedish Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy, I welcome the fact that this year's Human Development Report is about migration, mobility and development. The fact that the United Nations Development Programme is focusing on exactly this theme in this year's report is yet another step in the process of achieving a policy consensus. Furthermore, the fact that the links between migration and development policy are receiving more and more international attention is very positive and something that both I myself and the Swedish Government advocate.
The links between migration and development
One of my government's overarching migration policy objectives is to safeguard and pay heed to the effect of migration on development. So allow me to first of all take a few minutes to tell you how the Swedish Government views the connection between migration and development.
Our starting-point is that increased, legal mobility across borders can have development potential. Migrants can contribute to development in many ways, both in the destination country and in the country of origin. In the destination country, migrants can help to satisfy the demand for labour and make the economy and society more dynamic. When migrants return - either temporarily or permanently - they can transfer new knowledge and experience that can help vitalise the economy and social capital of the country of origin. For many developing countries, migrants' transfers of private money, or remittances, make up an important part of the inflow of capital. Even though we have recently seen a significant fall in remittances as a result of the global financial crisis, the total sum of these flows is three times that of the world's entire official foreign aid. Even when migrants don't physically return, but still retain close contact with their country of origin, an exchange of important experiences and the transfer of knowledge can occur as a result of "social remittances".
Swedish policy
The connection between migration and development and the importance of a policy consensus has been emphasised in several ways in Swedish policy over the last ten years.
Here, I would first like to mention our new rules on labour migration, which came into force in December last year. These new rules help to facilitate labour migration by people from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland, thereby increasing its development potential. The introduction of longer work permits - that can become permanent residence permits if employment continues - facilitates the mobility and free choice of migrants. By making permits time-flexible, the new rules will make it easier for some labour migrants to choose to return to their home countries after a period of work in Sweden. The experience gained by these people on the Swedish labour market can help them to contribute to development in their countries of origin and make it easier for them to come back to Sweden as a result of the connection they have to the Swedish labour market. Furthermore, under the new rules, labour migrants whose employment comes to an end have three months to find a new employer before their permit is revoked. This is an important aspect brought up by UNDP in its report.
Circular migration and its connection to development is also a priority issue for the Swedish Government. By circular migration, I mean recurrent legal movements between two countries that are of either a temporary or more long-term nature. In today's globalised labour market - characterised, as it is, by greater mobility and mutual economic dependence - temporary and recurrent economic migration is becoming increasingly common. More and more people are migrating temporarily and then returning to their countries of origin for a shorter or longer period. Furthermore, many of those who have returned to their home countries choose to move back to the receiving country again, sometimes several times over.
To further encourage the potentially positive effects of this increased mobility, the Swedish Government set up a parliamentary committee on circular migration and development on 2 July. The committee has been given the tasks to: shed light on and examine the movement patterns of migrants to and from Sweden; analyse whether and, if so, how increased mobility can contribute to development in migrants' origin countries and have positive effects in Sweden; and present the current prerequisites for circular migration to and from Sweden. Based on this analysis, the committee shall then propose possible legal amendments and other measures that could help facilitate circular migration both to and from Sweden in order to increase the positive development effects of these movement patterns. By doing this, the Swedish Government is taking a major step towards ensuring that the opportunities created by the links between migration and development are fully exploited. It will be very interesting to see what the committee comes up with.
I would also like to mention Sweden's Policy for Global Development, adopted by the Riksdag in 2003. Last year, the Government presented a new paper on global development policy, in which migration flows are one of six challenges to achieve fair and sustainable development. The paper states that the positive links between migration and development can be strengthened by greater policy consensus. This relates mainly to labour migration, remittances and knowledge transfer, combating the brain drain and protection for people who need it. The paper also defines in greater detail the goals set up by the Government to increase the positive development effects of migration.
The Government is also very aware of the important role played by Diaspora groups, especially regarding the transfer of knowledge and experience back to the origin country. We have seen how Diaspora groups in, for example, France and several other countries act as the initiators of specific development projects in origin countries. There are similar, smaller-scale projects in Sweden. For example, the Government supports Swedfund in its efforts with pilot projects to promote investment in developing countries in cooperation with Swedish entrepreneurs who have a migrant background. Shortly we will also be hearing from Maryam Osman from "Rajo" about how her organisation works to promote exactly this type of commitment among Diaspora members.
Cooperation within the EU
Migration and development are also high on the EU agenda and Sweden is very active in this respect - especially now during our Presidency. The EU continues to stress a broader and more long-term perspective on migration and development, which considers the positive aspects of migration for destination countries as well as the effects on development in origin countries. The EU has made a great deal of progress towards mainstreaming this broad perspective.
Above all, I would like to mention the "global approach" to migration adopted in December 2005. This is a comprehensive strategy for how the EU should work, by means of dialogue and partnership with countries outside the EU, with issues such as legal migration, irregular migration, trafficking and asylum, as well as in the field of migration and development. An important instrument of cooperation within the framework of the global approach is Mobility Partnerships.
These partnerships aim, among other things, to promote the positive links between migration and development. For example, the Swedish Public Employment Service is implementing a large-scale project within the framework of a mobility partnership with Moldavia. The aim of this project is to support Moldavia in its efforts to promote the voluntary return and reintegration of Moldavian citizens who live and work abroad and to increase people's understanding of how the positive effects of migration can be encouraged.
The Swedish Presidency is also prioritising the links between migration and development. Migration and development will be an important aspect of the forthcoming five-year programme in the area of justice and home affairs - the Stockholm Programme. I will also host a conference in Malmö next week entitled: Labour migration and its Development Potential in the Age of Mobility. The aim of the conference is to contribute to the development of EU policy in two important areas: labour migration; and circular migration and how they tie in with development.
International cooperation
The issue of migration and development is of course being discussed more and more internationally. There is an awful lot to say on the subject, but here I would just like to highlight Sweden's commitment to the Global forum for migration and development. This forum gives states the chance to openly discuss migration and development issues, including a greater policy consensus, circular migration, support to Diaspora groups, and other issues. Sweden has contributed both financially and in substance to the first two meetings of the Global Forum held so far and the Global Forum to be held in Athens in November this year.
And finally,
I hope I have given you an overall picture of how we work on different levels with migration and development and how important we consider it to be. I will be pleased to answer questions after the presentations. I would now like to hand over to Assistant Secretary-General Jenks.
