Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation in Guyana, Ambassador Robert Kopecky has said that it remains committed to addressing issues related to migration in the Caribbean and will focus on increasing its value to development.
According to a press release from the EU Delegation in Guyana, based on the ambassador’s speech at the Caribbean Forum on Population, Migration and Development held on July 9 and 10, the EU’s assistance towards the population, migration and development related challenges in the Caribbean are based on the Intra-ACP Migration facility, that is a financing agreement signed in 2008 by the European Commission and the Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, to the value of 25 million Euros.
The project’s intention is to assist the ACP states “to better understand and manage intra-ACP migratory flows and to maximise their impact. The direct beneficiaries are principally the migrants themselves and the different entities participating in the process of consultation on the theme of `migration and development.’”
The focus is to highlight the link between migration and development by encouraging ACP governments and regional organisations to integrate migration management into national policies in areas such as health, education, employment, trade and environment. “ACP Migration aims to make a positive contribution to sustainable development in ACP Member States and to improve the quality of life and the rights of their populations,” the release said. This project is being piloted in Trinidad and Tobago and Haiti.
As such, the EU is calling on migration policy makers and practitioners to take full account of development concerns in migration policy and to intensify their responsibility in ensuring respect for and protection of the human rights of all migrants through all dimensions of migration governance.
“Migration and mobility is about freedom. It is about giving each and every individual the opportunity and the ability to influence his or her life situation, economically and socially. The impact of respecting human rights goes far beyond the individual migrant, as it also benefits both the home society and the society in which migrants live and work. Empowering individuals to accede their rights is a winning strategy, both for effective migration governance and for sustainable development,” the statement said.
Migration is increasingly coming into sharp focus on the global agenda and is recognised as a powerful vehicle for boosting development in both countries of origin and destination, the press release said. It also said that the increased regional and global mobility of persons, the structural changes in the global economy, and the current economic crisis generate new opportunities and challenges for countries of origin, transit and destination.
The EU said that respect for migrants and refugees is a key component of its policies and in the past decade it has advanced policies on protecting migrants’ rights and has adopted a series of directives aimed at ensuring equal treatment in areas such as employment, education and training. Equality is enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights and in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU which apply both to EU citizens and to non-EU nationals. EU migration has also implemented unparalleled standards on social security rights for migrants, who meet certain conditions and is committed to fighting racism, xenophobia and discrimination against migrants or of persons from migrant backgrounds, smuggling and trafficking in persons.
While the EU takes into account that every country will approach the challenges related to migration in different ways, as its size, demographic and economy varies; it has pioneered an external migration policy that is balanced and comprehensive and stands ready to share its experience and give support to interested countries.
In keeping with this aim, the EU assists developing countries to strengthen their policies and capacities to ensure orderly, regular and safe migration, supports the decent work agenda and social protection and encourages policies to facilitate regional labour mobility.
