Co-development policy as a positive measure to regulate migratory flows
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 3 October 2005 (25th Sitting) (see Doc. 10654, report of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population, rapporteur: Mr Salles). Text adopted by the Assembly on 3 October 2005 (25th Sitting).
- Thesaurus
1. Today, more than 20 million foreign residents live in Europe. The majority of these migrants come from developing countries and they make valuable contributions to both their host countries and their countries of origin.
2. Migrants contribute to the development of their countries of origin through investments and remittances but also through their skills, entrepreneurial activities and support for democratisation and human rights promotion. This positive impact of migration on development is receiving increased recognition by all actors of international development co-operation.
3. The Parliamentary Assembly considers that the interaction between migration and development could be most successfully achieved through co-development policies, given the fact that migration contributes to sustainable development and that, in turn, development contributes to the management of migration. Co-development is of value both for European as well as North-South co-operation.
4. The Assembly also believes that co-development policies aimed at involving migrants as actors of development who strengthen co-operation between home and host societies should be actively promoted at European level.
5. The Assembly stresses that partnerships between the countries of migrants’ origin and host countries are essential for sharing responsibility in regulating migratory flows in the common interests of all involved.
6. It particularly underlines the role of local authorities in the development process, especially in facilitating remittances and creating favourable conditions for migrants’ investment and repatriation projects.
7. Co-development policies can have an empowering impact on women by promoting their financial independence and enabling them to exercise their rights more effectively. Women migrants can make use of acquired skills to bring about change and development in their countries of origin.
8. The Assembly acknowledges the valuable contribution of diaspora communities to their countries of origin and calls on its member states to recognise diaspora communities as privileged partners of their national development policies.
9. The Assembly welcomes the efforts of international organisations, such as the International Organization for Migration, the European Union, the World Trade Organization, the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union in promoting activities relating to migration and development and facilitating co-operation between countries of origin and host countries.
10. Consequently, the Assembly invites the governments of the member states of the Council of Europe:
10.1 as regards the link between development and migration, to:
10.1.1 integrate migration management into development policies;
10.1.2 promote migrants as agents of development by assuring adequate and favourable conditions at national, regional and international levels;
10.1.3 sign bilateral and regional agreements for orderly migration management;
10.1.4 help countries of origin to improve their infrastructures and to create better conditions for international investments, in particular involving migrants;
10.1.5 link local initiatives with national, regional and international administrations concerned with managing migration and with co-development co-operation;
10.2 as regards co-development policies, to:
10.2.1 encourage migrants’ participation in drawing up co-development policies and projects;
10.2.2 promote the return of students and migrants meeting the needs of their countries of origin and include the provision of necessary re-employment training and grants;
10.2.3 provide financial and administrative support for co-development projects;
10.2.4 step up co-operation between the authorities concerned at the level of both the host country and the country of origin to ensure that co-development projects are monitored and assessed;
10.2.5 develop training programmes for migrants aimed at fostering two-way exchanges between the host country and the country of origin;
10.2.6 encourage circulation of information and the establishment of networks, including a database on co-development projects;
10.2.7 promote co-operation with diaspora communities and offer support to existing diaspora networks and organisations to help them address their own agendas for co-development;
10.2.8 involve actively young people and women, as well as youth and women’s organisations, in the co-development process;
10.2.9 collect information and data on diasporas and identify their initiatives, networks and associations, trade flows and remittances;
10.3 as regards remittances, to:
10.3.1 develop public policies focusing on increasing the positive impact of remittances, also by including the use of migrants’ skills, knowledge and unique position for the creation of new international trade and business opportunities;
10.3.2 encourage local authorities and banks to facilitate the use of migrants’ savings for local development projects;
10.3.3 encourage the work of non-governmental organisations that promote projects using remittances for poverty reduction and sustainable development in the countries of origin.
11. The Assembly also invites the relevant international agencies to conduct studies on the micro- and macro-economic impact of remittances and on the relationship between migration and remittances.
