The IOM office in Bolivia with the support of the regional Office
in Lima and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is hosting a two-day
seminar ending today in the capital, La Paz, aimed at fostering
increased awareness on migration and on the need to generate public
policies to harness the positive aspects of migration.

The conference "Migration Policies, Development, and Human
Rights" brought together more than 50 migration officials to
discuss common migration issues and to provide training on
developing comprehensive migration policies.

The discussions are focusing on the link between migration and
development, migrant remittances and international cooperation to
better manage migration.

With almost 30 per cent of the population living outside the
country, the participants are analyzing the factors that have led
to such massive migration flows, and the need to put mechanisms in
place to uphold the human rights of Bolivian nationals living
abroad.

Of a total population of nine million, some three million
Bolivians are residing abroad, mainly in Argentina, Spain and the
United States. Bolivian authorities estimate the number of
Bolivians in Argentina at 1.5 million; of that total 700,000 have
obtained legal status under the Patria Grande programme, which
provided permanent residence to hundreds of thousands of migrants
from the region in 2006.

Approximately 300,000 Bolivians have migrated to Spain; however,
Spain withdrew its visa waiver for Bolivian citizens in April of
this year. The third largest Bolivian diaspora is located in the
United States with its number estimated at 116,000. However, the
figure could double if taking into account the number of Bolivians
who have migrated to the US in an irregular fashion.

The conference aims to produce a final document with a detailed
analysis of current migration policies and recommendations for
future policies.

IOM experts participating in this event include the IOM regional
representative for the Andean Countries, and the chiefs of mission
from Ecuador and Guatemala, who are offering their perspective and
best practices on migrant remittances, bilateral cooperation and
co-development. The Director General of Migrant Integration of
Spain’s Ministry of Labour and Social Services is presenting
his country’s plan for Migrant Integration.

For more information, please contact:

Walter Arce

IOM La Paz

Tel. +59 122 36 90 44

E-mail: "mailto:warce@iom.int">warce@iom.int