Your Excellencies;

Distinguished Participants;

Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is an honour to be present at this distinguished forum and I
congratulate the Panamanian Chair for the exceptional organization
of this important meeting.

We live in an era of the greatest human mobility in recorded
history – one billion, or one in every seven persons is a
migrant.

The issues we are here to discuss: widespread anti-migrant
reactions, security, human rights, mixed migration flows -- are
critical to our ability to manage these large-scale migration flows
in a manner that best serves the national interests of host and
home country and migrants themselves.

Nowhere else is that challenge more relevant than here in the
Americas where the nexus between these issues is most sharply felt.
Our hemisphere is, after all, the busiest and largest migration
corridor in the world.

In 2010, 31 per cent of all homicides worldwide occurred in the
Americas -- 145,000 deaths, of these, 74 per cent were gun-related;
and a quarter of these were attributed to organized crime. Here In
Central America, 1 in 50 males aged 20 will be killed before they
reach the age of 31, according to a UNODC Global Study on Homicide
(2011).

It is no coincidence that this same demographic -- young men in
the prime of their lives also represent the face of international
migration, along with increasing numbers of young women who now
represent about 50 percent of all migrants.

Today, globally more than 214 million international migrants are
seeking a life with security, opportunity, rights and dignity.
During the next three decades, the number of international migrants
will double to 405 million by 2050 – a result of demographic
trends, labour market demands, widening North-South disparities and
"push-pull" factors that make mass migration inevitable, necessary,
and if well managed, desirable. In the same period, Europe alone
will find itself in need of 50 million workers at all levels.

For the remainder of my remarks, I would like to address three
key points related to the security-migration-human rights
nexus.

I.  Migration and Security

First: Responsible, humane migration management is essential to
an effective regional security policy. I say this for two
reasons:

1. Because of the growing involvement of transnational organized
   crime networks in migrant smuggling, human trafficking --
   increasingly for labour exploitation -- and identity and travel
   document forgery. Human trafficking is now number three after drugs
   and guns – as much as USD 35 million annually out of a total
   illicit trade worth USD 650 billion (not counting money
   laundering); and
2. Because of the increased sophistication and mobility of crime
   networks.

Therefore, together, as partners, we must do more in the areas
of border management and capacity building to reinforce security
systems and frontline defenses. Yet, it is also important to
provide migrants with access to justice systems in order to end the
impunity that many criminal networks enjoy.

We must ensure strict adherence to human rights principles,
particularly during the critical moments of control, detention,
deportation and return -- when the majority of abuses against
migrants usually occur. Adherence to human rights principles will
also serve to undergird our actions and help give migrants the
courage to testify against criminal networks.

II. Migration Policies Must Reflect Both National
Sovereignty and Individual Human Rights

This brings me to my second point: the need for migration
policies that bring together the needs of the State with the
protection of individual rights and freedoms.

The two are not mutually exclusive. There is, of course, no
magic migration formula nor one that is universally applicable.
There is, however, a "high road migration scenario." This is a
scenario that on one hand respects national sovereignty to
determine who enters a county and that those who enter respect
local laws and customs; and, on the other hand, respects the
age-old desire of people to migrate to seek a better life –
mankind's oldest poverty reduction and development strategy - and
the person's expectation that his / her rights as a person will be
honoured and respected when they do migrate.

Throughout its 60-year history, IOM has helped governments to
reconcile these various elements and design and implement creative
solutions.

IOM has, for example, participated in initiatives such as the
one in Lampedusa -- a small Italian island in the Mediterranean,
close to the African coast -- to provide specialized assistance to
African migrants arriving in Europe

Working in partnership with UNHCR, the Italian Red Cross, Save
the Children and the Italian Government and with EU funding, we
developed a comprehensive response – one which taught us some
valuable lessons. These included the need to adopt a
"whole-of-society" approach, which involves the entire spectrum of
civil society, including the private sector, labour unions,
advocacy groups, service providers, migrants’ associations,
academia and the media.

A collaborative approach is vital to combating organized crime,
which cannot be defeated without the support of our societies and
neighboring countries.

III. Migration Partnerships are Essential to Successful
Migration Management

Turning to my third and final point: Migration is a "mega-trend"
of the 21st Century. As such, migration is far too complex for any
one state to address in isolation

We need partners and regional forums, such as this Regional
Conference on Migration, to realize the full benefits of human
mobility. And, we could usefully remind ourselves that, over the
centuries, migration has been overwhelmingly positive.

This is why IOM is presently supporting the Regional
Consultative Mechanism and some 15 other regional dialogues on
migration worldwide, all geared towards creating broader consensus
on migration management issues.

Here in the Americas we know better than anyone the challenge of
dealing with complex, mixed migration flows. We understand the
challenge of ensuring the protection of all migrants, including
irregular migrants, in accordance with International and national
commitments.

Working together, States in the Americas have a responsibility
to discredit the myth that migrants have no rights – a myth
often shared by large parts of the population and, frankly, by some
authorities as well.

With the growing movements of migrants to both traditional and
emerging countries of destination in the Americas -- all of us, as
public officials and leaders, need urgently to do more to educate
and inform the public about the rights of migrants and the value of
their multifaceted contributions to our societies.

The RCM has already amply demonstrated over time its ability to
grapple with complex problems. I am confident you will do so once
again in the face of mixed migration flows and increasing security
threats. Rest assured that IOM will be at your side to support your
efforts to meet and overcome these challenges.

Conclusion

To summarize my points:

1. Responsible, humane management of large-scale migration flows
   is intrinsically linked to effective regional security policy;
2. Responsible, humane migration policies respect and protect both
   national sovereignty and individual human rights; and
3. Responsible, humane migration policies require partners to
   succeed.