Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen,



Since the International Conference on Population and Development
(ICPD) in 1994, IOM has been regularly inter-acting with the
Commission on Population and Development (CPD) on the progress and
achievements towards the objectives of its Programme of Action, in
particular “International Migration” as contained in
Chapter X. As we had the opportunity to remark in celebrating the
10th anniversary of the ICPD, “the targets set forth a decade
ago in Cairo still remain the goals of today”. This session
of the CPD, however, marks a different and unique opportunity not
only to build upon that farsighted programme, but also to present
innovative approaches to fasten the attainment of those objectives,
help advance new areas of consensus and update our collective
resolve to address current migration challenges.



At its 37th session, the CPD decided that the special theme for the
thirty-ninth session of the Commission in 2006 would be
“international migration and development” as a
contribution of the Commission to the High Level Dialogue (HLD) of
the General Assembly. IOM therefore appreciates the opportunity to
make a brief intervention on this topic, while leaving to a paper -
which is available at the back of the room and on the IOM website -
a more articulated contribution. The paper under reference provides
an overview of IOM’s views on migration and development
derived from its direct experience working with governments in the
management of migration. Its aim is to contribute to the
preparation for the HLD and is essentially organized around the
four HLD roundtable themes laid out in General Assembly resolution
60/227. It provides in each section a general overview complemented
by examples drawn directly from IOM’s programmatic and
operational experience.



Mr. Chairman,



IOM fully appreciates the significance of the HLD as the first ever
high-level UN event entirely devoted to migration and development.
The HLD can offer a unique occasion not only to share best
practices on migration management but also to foster cooperation on
key migration issues, in all those areas where concrete
opportunities exist to produce a shared vision and a shared agenda
for future action.



Through General Assembly resolution 60/227, IOM has been invited to
contribute to HLD preparations, together with relevant UN
organizations, funds and programs, and indeed Mr. Chairman, we are
pleased to report that preparations for the HLD are proceeding in
earnest at the national, regional and international levels, as we
had also yesterday the opportunity to learn from the reports of the
Social and Economic Commissions. To this end, IOM is contributing
its migration expertise in order to set up a framework for a more
coherent discourse on migration policies and a better balanced
understanding of migration and migrants.



These initiatives are taking place at various levels. At the
national level, thanks to an extensive presence in 118 countries
worldwide, IOM’s objective is, in response to the requests of
national authorities, to raise awareness of the HLD among all
relevant stakeholders and to help countries in defining a coherent
position on its themes. Activities include the organization of
national events to facilitate discussion on the topics of the HLD,
often with the participation of a broad range of interested
parties, including state and non-state actors. At the regional and
global levels, IOM has already planned or co-sponsored several
events focused on the overall themes and specific aspects of the
HLD, including labour migration, the development impact of
remittances, diasporas, indigenous peoples and migration, gender
and the feminization of migration to mention just a few thematic
areas under review. For example, on 9 and 10 February in Cotonou,
working with the authorities of Benin and the office of the UN High
Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked
Countries and Small Island Developing States, IOM co-organized a
Ministerial Conference of the Least Developed Countries on
Migrants’ Remittances. More recently, on 15 and 16 March in
Brussels, in a major partnership initiative with the Government of
Belgium, and in cooperation with the EC and the WB, IOM convened an
important international Conference on Migration and Development
which brought together government representatives from
migrant-receiving countries in Europe and countries of origin in
Africa, Asia and Latin America, as well as international
organizations, migrants associations and other civil society
organizations involved with migration and development. The
Conference and its conclusions will offer a useful contribution to
the HLD. Similarly, in an effort to explore a less researched area,
an expert workshop on Indigenous Peoples and Migration will be
co-hosted by IOM and the United Nations Permanent Forum for
Indigenous Issues on 6 and 7 April in Geneva with the objective to
offer yet another input to the HLD.



Over 40 events such as the above have been planned together with UN
and other partners in anticipation of the HLD and with a view to
contributing to the success of the HLD (see for detail "paragraph-link-underlined" href=
"http://www.un.int/iom/IOM-HLD.html" target="_blank" title=
"">http://www.un.int/iom/IOM-HLD.html) . This is a tall agenda
and yet indicates how topical the subject has become in recent
years and indeed the expectations that international migration can
and must become integrated into development policy and into the
development cooperation strategies to attain the Millennium
Development Goals.



Mr. Chairman,



In conclusion, IOM looks forward to continuing and further
increasing our cooperation with the CPD and the other relevant
bodies of the United Nations in the preparation for the HLD and its
eventual follow up. IOM is firmly convinced that, working all
together, we can achieve a successful outcome for the HLD,
advancing a more coherent approach to migration policies and a new,
positive perception of migration and migrants.

Thank you.