Mr Chairman,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is an honour to be here in beautiful Botswana for this Third
Global Meeting of Chairs and Secretariats of Regional Consultative
Processes on Migration.

Our gathering today takes place on the eve of several noteworthy
anniversaries:

(a) the 25th Anniversary of the first RCP, the IGC, in 1987;

(b) the Bali Process marking it’s 10th Anniversary in
2012;

(c) the 5th Anniversary of the Global Forum on Migration and
Development established at the first United Nations High Level
Dialogue on Migration and Development in 2006; and

(d) the 60th Anniversary of IOM, established in 1951;

This year's global meeting has added significance, occurring as
it does less than two years before the 2nd United Nations General
Assembly High Level Dialogue on Migration and Development, which
will take place at New York in September 2013.

All of these milestones should encourage us, as we begin our
discussions today. Your presence also serves to demonstrate the
commitment by governments and organizations alike to ensure that
migration remains a force for good and is perceived as such; and to
work to ensure that migration is portrayed and perceived as
contributing positively to society and the economy.

Against this backdrop, I would like to make three very
straight-forward points:

1. One, the state of migration in our world today;
2. Two, the evolving role of Regional Consultative Processes
   (RCPs); and
3. Three, the common goal of ensuring that RCP agendas remain
   relevant and focused.

I. THE STATE OF MIGRATION TODAY

Two momentous years have passed since we last met at Bangkok in
2009. Two years during which the migration landscape changed
considerably, as a result of the (a) global economic crisis; (b)
growing anti-migrant sentiment, and (c) multiple manmade and
natural disasters and other complex humanitarian emergencies.

(a) Migration Emergencies

Three million people were affected by the devastating earthquake
that struck Haiti in January 2010. More than 300,000 people died;
an equal number were injured; more than 1 million were left
homeless; and the capital city of Port-au-Prince was damaged almost
beyond recognition – even for someone such as I who lived
there for 5 years. Still recovering from the 2008 hurricane, Haiti
was soon to witness a cholera outbreak and flooding as well.

The risk of a massive exodus was enormous, but was headed-off
through prompt international intervention. The number of homeless
has gone down considerably, to about one-half of the original
number, but 600,000 persons are still living in tents almost two
years later.

Just a few months later, the worst floods in Pakistan’s
history devastated more than half of the country - 78 out of a
total of 141 districts. An estimated 18 million people were
affected and 1.7 million had their homes either destroyed, or
severely damaged. Similar massive flooding struck Pakistan again
this year.

Large-scale displacement also occurred in Colombia and Sri
Lanka, while Japan coped with large-scale internal displacement
caused by the unprecedented combination of an earthquake followed
by a tsunami and catastrophic nuclear power station malfunction.
And only two days ago, a powerful earthquake struck Turkey. And
Thailand faces unprecedented flooding.

More recently, the international community intervened to protect
and assist large numbers of migrant workers fleeing hostilities in
Libya and Cote d'Ivoire. In the MENA region, for example, IOM and
UNHCR evacuated more than 210, 000 migrant workers from Libya to 54
countries at a total cost of USS $ 120 million. Eighty-one percent
of these went home to sub-Saharan African countries, with most of
the remaining 19 percent to countries in Asia including Bangladesh
(15.2%), Vietnam, Nepal, and the Philippines.

All of these situations required close coordination among
humanitarian agencies (especially between IOM and UNHCR) and rapid
deployment of services including registration, medical exams,
provision of non-food items, medical and consular services,
chartering of air and sea transport and reintegration assistance
upon arrival. There is every reason to believe that in years to
come there will be similar and perhaps even greater challenges to
respond to. Meanwhile, IOM is identifying lessons learned and best
practices from these emergencies.

(b) The lingering financial
crisis

Numerically, there are more migrants today than at any other
time in recorded history. And yet, is a sort of cruel irony, the
lingering global financial is fermenting anti-migrant sentiment. In
such circumstances, migrants are being singled out unfairly for
criticism in political and media debate. Visa regimes are being
tightened; restrictive immigration laws passed; and borders are
being closed.

There is urgent need, therefore, to demythologize the discourse;
to acknowledge the hard-earned place migrants occupy in the social
and economic life of both developed and developing countries; to
set the record straight that migrants make a positive contribution
to the global economy; and to abandon public denial of today's
reality that large-scale migration is inevitable; necessary; and
desirable.

(c) The case for high and low skilled
workers

In actual fact, migrants are one of the major drivers of
economic recovery and development in today's world.

Highly-skilled migrants are innovators and multipliers of
knowledge. They bring a diversity of skills and ideas to workplaces
that design and develop goods for the global market. They are
esteemed for their entrepreneurial flair and ability and
willingness to take business risks.

Lower-skilled migrants attract less attention perhaps, but their
contribution to the global economy is substantial. The low-skilled
are the people who build skyscrapers, clean homes and hospitals;
and provide medical and childcare services all over the world. The
low-skilled – not the native workers – are the ones who
do the "dirty, difficult, and dangerous" jobs in our societies.

In countries of origin, it's again migrants who generate flows
of capital -- at last count, worth more that than USD 400 Billion
-- at the centre of the migration and development equation.

We still have much to learn about how best to harness migrant
remittances for development; but there can be no doubt about the
impact of migrant remittances on poverty reduction, on the
provision of essential services for the families left behind, and
on their massive contribution to the GDP of large numbers of
developing countries, some as high as 30 per cent.

All of these developments place us before the challenge of
mapping, sustaining and managing the complex partnerships that
bring together the many actors crowding the migration scene:
governmental or non-governmental, public or private, academic or
operational, commercial or benevolent.

Among them all, inter-state cooperation, will continue to hold
special significance.

II. THE EVOLVING ROLE OF (RCPS)

This brings me to my second point concerning the evolving role
of Regional Consultative Processes.

(a) The inception of RCPs

In 1994, at the Cairo population conference, the international
community sought for the first time formally to develop a blueprint
to address migration. An entire chapter of the Cairo Programme of
Action focused on international migration, providing a series of
recommendations.

In the years that followed, however, UN Member States were
unable to reach consensus on the way forward. What happened instead
was spontaneous rather than planned: the emergence of regional
or sub-regional level discussions on migration and the
attendant policy issues and challenges.

States had come to realize that while global initiatives would
undoubtedly be needed, it was at the regional level that States
could make immediate practical progress. This made all the more
sense as the majority of migratory flows are intra- rather than
inter-regional.

(b) Characteristics of successful
RCPs

Over the past decade, regional consultative processes have
thrived and prospered. Today, there are nearly a dozen and a half
RCPs. The more successful RCPs have come to exhibit the following
characteristics:

1. One, the RCPs are state-owned in nature. To use a researcher's
   expression they pursue a "capital driven" agenda. Their objectives
   do not come from external sources but are a direct reflection of
   the interests and preoccupations of participating states.
2. Two, RCPs reflect identified shared values and views on
   migration. The term "like-minded" has often been used to describe
   that hard to define quality that is the precursor to fruitful
   consultations. This does not mean that all states must think alike,
   or adopt a particular policy stance, but rather that they agree on
   priorities to be dealt with and on broad policy orientations.
3. Three, RCPs have an informal, non-binding modus operandi. It
   follows that successful RCPs rather than trying to become
   institutions, have sought instead to capitalize on the advantages
   of open, transparent consultation and cooperation.
4. Four, most have small, active, low-profile secretarial hubs
   backed by an internet communication system. The secretariat does
   not develop a policy orientation of its own, but is a gatherer, a
   repository and a sharer of information.
5. The most successful RCPs meet regularly, no less than once a
   year, with one or two technical-level meetings in-between to
   establish and prepare an agenda and work programme.
6. Finally, successful RCPs operate at a variety of professional
   levels, including both the strategic policy level and the technical
   working group level.

III. KEEPING RCP AGENDAS FOCUSED AND
RELEVANT

It is reasonable to assume that RCPs will continue to be
privileged workplaces where participating states share, test and
shape their thinking on migration policy. It will be essential for
RCPs to forge ahead, to keep pace with change; and to remain on the
policy cutting edge. One way of ensuring freshness of thought and
action may be to explore the many linkages between migration and
adjoining policy fields.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Migration and employment: Thinking is needed to consider
   the challenges of productivity, competitiveness, and knowledge
   transfer that confront businesses all over the world. RCPs could
   consider the niche markets that exist in sectors such as
   information technology or health services and reflect on the role
   migration can play in the development of labour market solutions.
   Another related area is the significance of informal economies that
   have emerged in many developed countries, particularly with respect
   to the demand for low skill workers in domestic and service
   environments. How can employment and migration policies be more
   effectively coordinated to resolve all of the various needs?
2. Migration and Human Rights: The issue of labour mobility
   leads logically to the issue of migration and human rights. The
   issue to be addressed extends well beyond the unquestionably
   important formulation and implementation of minimum standards of
   protection. In a globalizing labour market, migrant workers seek to
   move across international borders in part because they have
   potentially competitive assets; skills, wage expectations, and of
   cultural attributes. Is it possible to devise policies that allow
   that competitive edge to be put to advantage, that enable the
   realization of these assets, while precluding the "commodification"
   of migrant workers?
3. Migration and Welfare: A third closely related topic is
   migration and welfare. One of the defining features of a properly
   functioning democracy – and this is particularly true for
   Europe – is a contract between the state and its citizens
   –a contract whereby citizens receive an extensive range of
   state services and, in return, citizens contribute to society and
   funding via taxation systems. Where do migrants belong in such
   arrangements? How much should they receive and how much should they
   pay – especially if their stay is to be temporary rather than
   permanent? How does one compensate for “brain drain, or does
   one?

There is no shortage in the rich array of policy issues to
tackle, and IOM is certainly committed to supporting you in the
pursuit of these.

CONCLUSION

Let me conclude by summarizing my three points.

First, multiple migration crises arising out of natural,
man-made and slow-onset environmental disasters over the past two
years – since we last met -- have brought into stark relief
the disproportionate extent to which complex humanitarian
emergencies affect migrants and migration. Moreover the lingering
economic crisis and accompanying anti-migrant atmosphere demands
that we, as responsible leaders, do more to inform and educate the
general public about the positive socio-economic contribution of
migrants and migration. We simply have to do more to help our
respective publics to manage growing social diversity and to deal
with perceived threats to their identity.

Second, RCPS have emerged as essential vehicles to better
understanding of the migration phenomenon. Through sharing
information and data and regional cooperation, RCPs build
confidence and trust among leaders and among countries and serve as
essential forums for meaningful collaboration.

Third, is the importance of keeping RCPs on the cutting edge of
migration policy and practice, to ensure fresh thought and
action.

Let me close by thanking the Government of Botswana for hosting
the Third Global Meeting of Chairs and Secretariats of RCPs. We are
also grateful to Australia, Switzerland and the United States for
their generous financial assistance.

Finally, let me thank all of the participating delegations. Your
presence and participation is a source of encouragement and offers
the promise of a stimulating and fruitful global gathering.