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3. Promotion of safe, orderly mobility.
Concrete examples of such policies might
include: more legal avenues of migration; more
resettlement countries and larger resettlement
quotas; temporary protective status; seasonal
worker permits; voluntary return (AVRR);
humanitarian border management; relocation;
integration; etc.
B. Dialogue and partnerships. Migration involves
a shared responsibility – between and among
countries of origin, transit and destination, and
with the assistance of international organizations,
NGOs, faith-based organizations, and others.
There needs to be greater and more regular
dialogue…
C. Communication. Governments need to
conduct public information, public education and
awareness-raising programs and campaigns
to help the citizenry to understand and prepare
to manage the realities of human mobility. This
also involves destroying the stereotypes about
migrants and to “de-mythologize” migration.
Some of these stereotypes include: we do not
need migrants; migrants steal our jobs; migrants
want to exploit our public services; migrants bring
diseases and are criminals.
D. Comprehensive Approach. Let us also think
in terms of migration as a whole – looking at
migrant labor needs, circular migration, short-term
acceptance, relocation, and resettlement…
In conclusion, I will leave you with what I see
as three challenges – challenges which, if not
met, will constitute failure – not just in migration
governance, but in creating and maintaining
peaceful, prosperous societies.
A. First, we must find a way to change the
migration narrative. The public discourse on
migration at present is toxic. To do this, we
need to build a robust constituency to change
course. Historically, migration has always been
overwhelmingly positive. My own country was built,
and continues to be built on, the backs of migrants
and with the brains of migrants. Migrants are
agents of development. Migrants bring innovation.
Migrants don’t take our jobs, they create new jobs.
Migration and development belong together.
B. The second challenge is learning to manage
diversity: Demographics, and the aging
industrialized world, together with other driving
forces I described, mean that the countries of
Europe and other industrialized countries need
migrants. Our societies will, therefore, inexorably
become more multi-ethnic, more multi-cultural,
and more multi-religious. To succeed in managing
diversity will require political courage – a
willingness to invest in public information, public
education, awareness-raising and dialogue.
Managing diversity means moving the debate
from one of identity, to one of values: e.g., others
may not look like me, they may not speak as I do,
but we can both share common commitments
and values. To this end, IOM’s
multilateral approach involves mayors,
for it is cities who receive the most
migrants and benefit from them, and
must manage diversity.