Mr. Chairman;

Your Excellencies;

Distinguished Participants:

It is an honour to be in Naples to take part in this important
conference. I want to thank our host, the Italian Ministry of
Interior, for this opportunity.

Introduction: Relevance of the topic for Europe and
Africa

Today, human mobility has become an integral feature of our
globalized world. Numerically, more people are on the move than at
any other time in recorded history. There are nearly 1 billion
migrants in the world — one in every 6 or 7 people —
made up of some 214 million international migrants and 740 million
internal migrants.

Given the global demographic and labour market trends, large
scale migration is both inevitable and unavoidable – but also
desirable and necessary. The issue, therefore, is how to manage
migration effectively – both nationally and regionally.
Policy makers everywhere face a dual challenge.

On the one hand, facilitation of travel is an essential
component of contemporary life and an integral element of
globalization. Unfortunately, the globalization debate has focused
almost exclusively on the free flow of capital, goods and services
– with little attention to the movement of people.

On the other hand, prevention and control of irregular
movements, including smuggling and trafficking also requires
attention – especially when linked to other forms of
organized crime.

Unfortunately, we do not have the luxury of choice: we must both
facilitate regular migration; and combat irregular migration. It
cannot be one or the other. It has to be both - and at the same
time.

With this as a scene setter or backdrop, I would like to make
three points.

I. Euro-African Cooperation in Migration
Management

First, is the importance, for Europe and Africa, to manage the
challenge and opportunities of migration in a humane and orderly
manner. Europe and Africa are linked by geography – at the
closest point, only 12 kilometres separate the two. History and
culture also tie Europe and Africa together. Europe and Africa also
share interconnected migratory spaces.

On the one hand, industrialized countries are sought-after
destinations with a negative population replacement rate and
contracting native workforces. On the other hand, developing
countries have expanding demographic profiles, overwhelmingly
youthful populations, abundant supplies of labour, and an extremely
low level of job creation. The push-pull factors are
undeniable.

The point at which the two regions meet is – to borrow
language from meteorology – a "zone of turbulence." In this
zone, there are complex configurations of economic growth or
stagnation; of political instability or renewal; and social
inhibition or effervescence. Human mobility is very much part of
this picture; and, as everywhere else, people on the move can have
both positive and negative consequences

On the positive side of things, we look at the potential of
mobile talent and those who move for purposes of leisure, business,
family reunion or education. These are people – migrants
– make a significant contribution to the economy of both
their countries of origin and destination e.g., US $ 440 billion in
remittances last years – larger than the GDP of Switzerland
– but pay much more in taxes to host countries.

But there is, of course another side to the picture, where
movement gives rise to concerns about security and about human
exploitation and abuse. These concerns tend to fuel unjustified
negative – and sometimes overtly hostile – reactions to
migrants and migration. Our largest concern today is anti-migrant
sentiment that at times is almost an anti-foreigner sentiment.

The response by many governments has been counter-intuitive,
namely to tighten visa regimes and migration policies – the
result is to push even more migrants into the hands of traffickers
and smugglers. But there are many other dimensions that have to be
addressed.

For instance, one important link between migration and security
is to be found not within airport terminals but out in the
community at large where migrants come into contact with the host
society. It is through the formulation and implementation of
effective migrant integration strategies that governments may be
able to dispel the feelings of disaffection and alienation that
make young migrants vulnerable to recruitment.

Another tie is to be found in the operation of informal
economies and their underlying clandestine networks. Beyond family
and friends, there are more structured systems of recruitment
sufficiently developed to bear the name of "recruitment industry".
This lucrative venture brings together a multiplicity of illegal
profit-making concerns that change their configurations at will,
setting up and dismantling business fronts to remain undetected

There are an estimated 12 million people in forced labour; 2.5
million of these are victims of internal or international
trafficking. Trafficking in persons has to be seen in the larger
context of globalization; within that framework, trafficking must
be regarded as a sub-component of international illicit trade,
where it comes second only to narcotics trafficking. This illicit
trade accounts for US $650 billion annually – not including
illegal financial transfers, which would bring the total into
trillions of dollars a year. Trafficking brings criminals some 32
billion each year.

The human exploitation that accompanies these smuggling and
trafficking activities is of particular concern to IOM because of
its disregard for the rights of migrants. Many forms of trafficking
affect mainly women and children, who are used for sexual abuse,
labour exploitation or forced marriage.

Victims of trafficking are exposed to physical and psychological
abuse. They are denied human and labour rights. They are often
found in dependency relationships with their traffickers
originating in the financial debt incurred for migration and
placement services.

II. The "High Road" Migration Scenario

This brings me to my next point: The "high road and low road
scenarios" that are available to Governments to manage the
migration process.

The "low road scenario" is one of status quo in migration
management based on stereotypes, fear, and short-term political
expediency.

Characteristics include:

• A univariate migration policy i.e. highly restricting and
  limiting immigration;
• Absence of a comprehensive legal framework or national
  migration policy;
• Laws that criminalize irregular migrants denying them any
  recourse to more humane solutions;
• A single ministry or agency in charge of migration;
• No regular institutionalized dialogue on migration with
  countries of origin; and
• Little or no effort to inform and educate the public about the
  contribution of migrants and the benefits of migration and the
  dangers of human trafficking.

The "high road scenario," on the other hand, calls for a
comprehensive, rights-based approach to migration management:

• First, Governments on the high road pursue all available
  options to manage migration through innovative policy options and
  laws that facilitate the entire range of labour migration options,
  including integration models, and circular migration in order to
  meet labour market demands.
• Second, is a "whole-of-government approach to migration," one
  which, makes maximum use of inter-Ministerial collaboration to
  produce well-balanced, comprehensive policies that address all
  aspects of the migration cycle, including integrated border
  management, migrants’ human rights, health, and regular
  dialogue between countries of origin and destination. No single
  ministry, or country, can manage migration effectively in
  isolation. Each has its own mandate, and it will take a number of
  relevant ministries, working together, to manage migration
  responsibly. Governments also need to involve other interested
  parties – communities, NGOs, and businesses, for example, to
  contribute to sustainability and success, a "whole of society"
  approach to migration, so to speak.
• Third, under the "high road" scenario, governments participate
  actively in one of the existing 15 Regional Consultative Processes
  (RCPs) on migration; these cover the world and they work
  effectively bringing together destination, origin and transit
  countries regularly. At the global level, States will find it in
  their national interest to support and participate in the Global
  Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), chaired this year by
  Mexico, and to encourage the efforts of the Global Migration Group
  (GMG) – an alliance of 15 UN Agencies and IOM –
  currently chaired by UNICEF.

III. Capacity Building

My third point concerns the need to partner with developing
countries to help enhance capacities to meet their migration
responsibilities.

If the international community is to be successful in addressing
issues of security and criminality related to mobility, all
concerned countries must be in a position to develop necessary
policy instruments and to set up appropriate administrative
structures.

The better-resourced countries, particularly in Western Europe,
North America and Oceania are able to invest substantially in
systems, technologies, and staff development to address these
issues and even they have difficulty in keeping pace with emerging
trends.

One of the objectives that we could therefore work towards is
the enhancement of the capacities of less-resourced developing
countries to manage migratory flows in and out of their countries
in a safe and orderly manner. We have among us today several
countries with obvious will to improve their performance, but which
require international cooperation and support to do so.

I should like to point to certain key areas where help is
particularly needed, areas where IOM is already actively engaged in
work with its Member States:

• Technical expertise to develop legislative frameworks and to
  formulate policy covering the management of border systems and the
  issuance of travel documents including passports and visas.
• Enhancing capacity to investigate and prosecute crimes related
  to migrant smuggling and trafficking, particularly those of a
  trans-national nature.
• Ensuring that victims of trafficking have full access to
  information, support and assistance, for instance through the
  establishment of welfare centres and access to medical and
  psychological care, shelter and voluntary return programmes.
• And, most importantly, building capacity to ensure that
  compliance action is respectful of human rights and guided
  throughout out by a sense of balance and fairness.

Mr. Chairman, Excellencies and Distinguished Participants,

Conclusion

To conclude let me briefly summarize my three main points:

One: Europe and Africa share closely linked migratory spaces and
a joint responsibility to address the threats organized crime poses
to migrants and to effective migration management;

Two: A comprehensive "whole of government" and "whole of
society" approach to migration offers the best prospects of
success; and

Three; A sustained capacity building effort is needed to enable
developing countries to develop their policy making and
administrative frameworks.

The human, social and economic costs of irregular migration are
high. IOM, for its part, remains committed to helping the
international community realize the full development potential of
migration, and to promoting orderly and humane migration, in full
respect of the human rights of all migrants.

Let me close on the following note:

A policy is needed that, on the one hand, respects national
sovereignty and a State’s expectation that migrants will
respect host country culture and laws; and a policy that
simultaneously, respects people’s age-old desire to migrate
to improve their lives – humankind’s oldest poverty
reduction strategy – and people’s expectation that
their rights will be upheld in their country of destination.