Migration and Urbanization

	Urbanization and Relocation
	Policy Developments since the ICPD
	International Migration
	Policy Response

Policy Response

The 2003 UNFPA global survey found that 73 per cent of developing countries responding (110 out of 151) reported having taken some action to deal with international migration, compared to 18 per cent in a similar inquiry in 1994. Nearly half of the countries had adopted programmes or strategies on international migrants or refugees; 37 per cent had enacted legislation on international migrants and migrant workers; 33 per cent had adopted a migration policy; 11 per cent had undertaken efforts to enforce international conventions on refugees, asylum-seekers and illegal migrants; and 10 per cent had passed laws on the trafficking of humans, especially women and children.

A growing number of countries have established coordination mechanisms of various types—across government agencies, between governments, and among governments, NGOs and international donors.

Policies in some African countries, like Ghana and the United Republic of Tanzania, emphasized settling refugees. In Latin American and Caribbean countries, the focus was on providing incentives for returning nationals, while the emphasis in Eastern Europe, the Arab States and Central Asian Republics was on protecting labour markets and combating drug trafficking.

To better integrate immigrants into their society, a few countries have adopted measures promoting equal opportunity in access to jobs, housing, health and education. Some developed countries have changed their family reunification policies in the past decade.

Since July 2002, for instance, Denmark no longer offers a statutory right to reunification with a spouse, and in most cases does not grant reunification if one of the spouses is younger than 24. New Zealand recognizes a wider range of family structures than it used to, but has also strengthened the legal responsibility of sponsors for the family members they bring into the country. Canada’s policy, on the other hand, has become less restrictive, now including dependent children under 22 instead of 19.

A number of developed countries have introduced initiatives encouraging the immigration of skilled workers in response to labour shortages. Some have adopted policies aimed at attracting and retaining highly skilled students from developing countries.

To counter the growing trafficking of human beings, countries have tightened border controls and made asylum policies more restrictive; in some cases this has inadvertently made trafficking more profitable. In response, some countries have introduced severe penalties for human trafficking.

Although most receiving countries recognize the positive contributions of migration to the economic, social and cultural development of both migrantreceiving and migrant-sending countries, the growing levels of illegal immigration and the continuing flows of refugees and asylum-seekers remain major concerns.

Many countries favour more international cooperation to manage migration more effectively. Since 1994, eight regional and subregional consultation processes have been set up, covering nearly every country. The International Migration Policy Programme begun in 1998 has organized 15 regional meetings to promote cooperation and capacity building. And a Global Commission on International Migration was launched in December 2003; it is scheduled to issue recommendations to the UN Secretary-General in mid-2005.

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