Argentina/Costa Rica - The IOM regional offices in Buenos Aires and San José and the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) are this week hosting a working group meeting of Latin American and Caribbean migration experts to prepare for the 2nd UN High Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development (HLD) taking place in New York in October 3-4, 2013.

The two-day meeting, which begins tomorrow in Santiago de Chile, will bring together 27 migration experts and government officials from the region to focus on identifying concrete measures to strengthen cooperation among governments, international organizations and civil society in order to reap the benefits of international migration for migrants, and origin and destination countries, and to link those benefits to development.

During the meeting, participants will discuss the links between international migration, human rights and development, emphasizing the creation of policies, norms and agreements that will link international migration and development. A final document with recommendations will be presented to the UN General Assembly.

The event will aim to:

• Analyze the impact of international migration on sustainable development and identify priorities to be included in the preparation of the post-2015 development agenda.
• Define measures to ensure respect for and protection of human rights of all migrants, with particular emphasis on women and children; and ensure the prevention of migrant smuggling and human trafficking, while ensuring safe and orderly migration options.
• Create partnerships associated with international migration, as well as mechanisms for the effective inclusion of migration in development policies.
• Review international migration and its impact on development in the region.

“This meeting will help Latin American countries to prepare for the HLD, which we see as an important opportunity to further improve the governance of migration for the benefit of migrants and the countries involved,” says IOM Regional Director for South America Diego Beltrand.

“International migration can only effectively contribute to development if the human rights of migrants are fully respected and adequately promoted and protected by all sectors, including governments, the media, civil society and the private sector of both countries of origin, transit and destination.  In order to ensure the full respect of migrants rights in the Americas, one of the most crucial preconditions is to improve public perception of migration by acknowledging the important role migrants can and do play as partners in host and home country development,” adds IOM Regional Director for North and Central America and the Caribbean Robert Paiva.

For more information please contact

Ezequiel Texidó
IOM Buenos Aires
Email: etexido@iom.int
Tel: 54 1 14 815 51 94

Or

Salvador Gutiérrez
IOM San José
Email: sgutierrez@iom.int
Tel: 506 2212-5337