The Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States

Ladies and Gentleman,

I am greatly honoured by the invitation to participate in the Pre Global Forum on Migration and Development, and to make a presentation during this Session on “Brain Drain, Remittances and Development”. Allow me to congratulate the Commonwealth Secretariat for its stewardship in fostering structured exchanges to prepare for the 1^st Meeting of the Global Forum on Migration and Development, which is to be held in Brussels, Belgium during July 2007.  I would like to also acknowledge and thank our Chairperson of this Session, Ms. NDIAYE, who is a special friend of the ACP Group, for her total commitment in promoting the perspectives of the developing world in the discourse on migration.

The principle objectives of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States – the largest organised entity for developing countries with a membership of 79 member states covering the African continent, Caribbean and Pacific Regions, and an estimated population of over 730 million – are the alleviation of poverty and the promotion of sustainable development. It is within this context, the desire to attain the Millennium Development Goals, and the framework of Article 13 of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement (Cotonou), which interlocks 105 countries, that the ACP Group has actively participated in the discourse on migration. To this end, the ACP Group organised the 1^st Meeting of ACP Ministers in charge of Asylum, Migration and Mobility during 2006, and through their Brussels Declaration and Plan of Action on Asylum, Migration and Mobility, ACP Ministers provided clear and innovative policy guidelines for the involvement of the Group in the international debate on Migration.

A major outcome and policy implementation instrument is the creation of an ACP Facility on Migration, funded under the 9^th EDF to an amount of 25 million Euro. The Facility will, inter alia, establish an ACP Observatory on Migration, and further ensure capacity building in terms of migration management in ACP States and Regions. My colleague, Ms. Aya Kasasa, will later provide more information on the ACP Facility on Migration.

Several issues have already been discussed by my co-presenters, and in contributing to this debate, I will present the global thinking within the ACP Group on the issue of brain drain and remittances. Migration is, above all, a response to differences in levels of economic development, quality of life, expectations, opportunities, human security, and respect for (human) rights. Perhaps we should talk about brain mobility instead of brain drain.

In this context, temporary migration also leads to the circulation of ideas among universities, students, trainees, artists, researchers, etc. An attractive living environment contributes to maintaining a certain degree of stability within populations, and such an environment is characterized by:

-        Quality education for all;

-        Quality health services accessible to all; and

-        Availability of, and access to basic amenities such as water and electricity.

The ACP Group views migration from a positive perspective, and is supporting research, innovation and the “notion of opportunity” to curb brain drain and allow for brain mobility. In this context, and linked with remittances, two broad sets of issues need to be addressed:

-     Issues of prevention (through development): reducing the inequalities and differences between “rich” and “poor” countries; and

-     Issues of investments: how to use remittances as a tool for sustainable development.

The ACP Group is advancing some concrete proposals, and through linkages and networks hopes to develop a comprehensive set of proposals.  To this end, we are examining the:

1.               Promotion of indigenous development capacities;

2.               Identification of axes of investments that are indispensable for any attractive living environment, especially basic services;

3.               Development of measures to prevent illegal immigration;

4.               Promotion of attractive mechanisms for the voluntary return of illegal and legal

migrants;

5.               Development of mechanisms to facilitate the exchange of ideas, and attractive conditions for research and innovation in the countries of origin; and

6.               Creation of instruments to ensure that “fragile” sectors are protected. 

Regarding remittances and its linkage to investments, the ACP Group’s propositions would be to create an enabling environment to: 

1.         Ensure that the conventional banking system participates more actively in the financing of lucrative activities that are considered to be the main causes of the brain drain;

2.         Design a system that would enable an increase in the various available financing sources (banks, population, migrants, assistance programmes);

3.         Consider a system whereby the investments from various sources could be maximised through the creation of business structures, with priority to the source areas (facilitate the creation of local businesses, ensure security for financial, properties, and investments holdings);

4.         Conceive forms of support for accompanying measures, especially in the regional framework, to establish a climate of trust among donors and investors, including the diaspora community and the local business; and

5.         Promote technology transfers and capacity building, with the active involvement of the diaspora community.

In conclusion, Madam Chair, the ACP Group is actively participating in the discourse on migration, and we will continue to cooperate with our international partners, since it is only our collective and joint efforts that will bring prosperity and respect to our peoples.  The forthcoming Global Forum on Migration and Development provides an excellent platform to further advance the nexus between migration and development, and to underline our commitment, the ACP Group has agreed to make a financial contribution to its organization that will allow for the participation of developing countries in the deliberations of the Forum.

I thank you.