Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Introduction

It is a distinct honor and privilege to be invited to this OSCE Security Days event on ‘Refocusing Migration and Security: Bridging National and Regional Responses.’ I wish to thank, my colleague and friend, Mr. Lamberto Zannier and the OSCE team for organizing this important event.

I would like to make three points:

 “A Perfect Storm” – the challenge of forced migration
“Weathering the Storm” – responding to the challenges forced migration
“Preventing another storm” – looking at prospects for the future

I. The Perfect Storm” – The Challenge of Forced Migration

We live in an era of unprecedented human mobility -- a period in which more people are on the move than ever before.

This is also an era of unprecedented simultaneous, complex and protracted crises and humanitarian emergencies. At present, there are uninterrupted conflicts from the Western bulge of Africa to the Bay of Bengal. And no negotiations that offer any prospect of a short to medium solution to any of these. Many countries around the world are also experiencing economic collapse, natural disasters, environmental degradation and climate change.

As a result, there are currently over 60 million people who have been displaced by persecution, war, conflict or disaster – the most we have seen in the post-World War 2 era.  Persecution, violation of human rights, poverty and lack of access to the most basic services, are only some of the factors that push individuals to move. Many other factors play a role, such as demography; the digital revolution; distance-shrinking technologies; and increasing North-South inequality. 

There is also a political malaise: a dearth of political leadership, courage and vision’ violation of international humanitarian law (IHL) by all sides; compounded by a serious erosion of the international moral authority; and a decline in confidence in governments’ ability to manage increasing flows. Border closings, tightening of visa regimes and other restrictions have the effect of delaying real solutions, pushing more migrants to resort to smugglers, and leading to an alarming increase in the number of deaths along the migratory routes.

II. “Weathering the Storm” - Responding to the Challenges of Forced Migration

While the numbers are on the increase and pressures in some spots have ignited tensions and media attention, we do not view this as a crisis beyond the capability of the international community to manage together, provided we have a clear-eyed understanding of the policy challenges that must be tackled.

How then should we respond to these challenges? Let me make three brief suggestions:

a. Partnership

In Europe, we are currently trying to resolve a crisis of policy or of leadership, rather than a crisis of people. Considering its size and resources, flows should be manageable for Europe, but better coordination and responsibility sharing are imperative -- coherent migration and asylum policies, better information and resource sharing, more organized migration management at borders to ensure registration of all arrivals and proper assistance to migrants.

Unilateral restrictive measures do not lead to a decrease in the number of arrivals. They re-route existing flows and are boosting smuggling networks. Don’t get me wrong -- I believe that states have the sovereignty to protect their borders and ensure orderly cross-border migration. However, border control must not come at the expense of saving lives, or present unnecessary hardships or risks for already vulnerable populations legitimately seeking protection.  In this crisis as in migration governance in general, we need to find a way to reconcile sovereign rights and obligations with the rights, obligations and dreams of migrants; reconciling national security and human security; balancing sovereignty and individual freedom.

This can only be achieved through bold, broad-based partnerships, which need to involve countries of origin, transit and destination, institutions and organizations, the civil society.

b. Change the toxic migration narrative

We must find a way to change the toxic migration narrative. People will continue to move as long as the drivers that led to the record numbers of refugees and migrants have not changed. The cruel irony is that those fleeing war are now being linked to terrorisms (Paris, Cologne…) and are increasingly subject to discrimination and violence (Calais, Bautzen…).

The anti-migrant sentiments are undesirable and destructive at many levels. In practical terms, they drastically reduce the chances of successful integration of the new arrivals. Successful integration and social cohesion will only be possible in tolerant societies that value diversity and recognize what migrants bring.  We need to get back to a more balanced dialogue.  We need to refute misleading myths and stereotypes and recall that historically, migration has been overwhelmingly positive. Many countries, including mine, were built on the backs and with the brains of migrants. As public officials and as thought leaders, we need to use our power of public discourse to find thoughtful ways of explaining that diversity is a source of strength for the future, not of weakness. Media support is critical in this endeavor.

c. “High-road policies”

We need migration policies that will lead to what I describe as a “High Road” scenario. These policies must have three objectives:

Address the drivers of migration to reduce forced and irregular migration;
Facilitate safe, orderly, and regular mobility;
Respect the human rights of all migrants, whether regular or irregular.

A comprehensive framework that addresses all forms of international migration is essential. A short-term, crisis-mode response focused on security is not likely to achieve the longer term objective of regular, humane and orderly flows. Disjointed piecemeal approaches will not work: Solutions to the crisis of protection and forced migration can only be found within a wider, coherent and long-term policy framework that addresses both drivers behind migration and countries’ legitimate need for labour migration. Establishing legal channels of migration, corresponding to both labour market needs as well as protection obligations, will significantly reduce the vulnerabilities and risks incurred by those who would otherwise use dangerous irregular channels.

III. “Preparing for the next Storm”

Migration will inevitably be a fundamental feature of our time. The current situation has demonstrated that existing frameworks do not comprehensively cover all patterns of mobility during crises and not all those on the move. The fate of these migrants, who are experiencing first-hand the gaps in the existing frameworks, is of direct and great concern to IOM.

Through its long-term plan for the Mediterranean and beyond, IOM is actively engaged in promoting a comprehensive response that spans countries of origin, transit and destination. It looks at immediate priorities of saving lives and protecting the human rights of refugees and migrants; at improving border management and strengthening actions against organized crime; but also at longer-term measures needed to address the root causes of migration and to provide credible legal alternatives for irregular migration. The precondition for the success of all these measures is greater mutual understanding and solidarity. 

Dialogue and greater cooperation are paramount – more than ever before, we need to work together. And we call on our international and regional partners to keep in mind the complexity of these movements and the acute need for a multifaceted and coordinated response.

CONCLUSION

We have become all too familiar with the image of the migrant boat crossing the Mediterranean, or teems of people with luggage queueing at border posts. Less public are the individual stories of migrants, which go largely unnoticed and unmarked amid the focus on numbers and overarching trends. It is important to remember that behind the numbers there are people.

IOM believes that migration is a reality to be managed – in a fairer, smarter, more humane manner. As noted by UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, the current migration crisis is a crisis of solidarity, not a crisis of numbers. A collective political response migration policy is both a humanitarian and an economic imperative.

Let us all take on the responsibility of protecting and respecting migrants’ rights, and utilize our complementary strengths to build partnerships that uphold safe, secure and legal migration.