INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

INQUIRY ON

MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT

OXFAM WRITTEN SUBMISSION

NOVEMBER 2003
 MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT

OXFAM GB WRITTEN SUBMISSION FOR THE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

COMMITTEE

Summary

1. Oxfam believes that there is a significant link between migration and

development. Migration is a feature of our globalising world and can, if properly
managed and facilitated, do three things. First it can have positive effects on the
labour markets, economies and societies of the host countries in the West.
Further, it can provide important sources of finance and human capital in order to
stimulate development in the sending countries. And finally, it can be an
immensely positive experience for the migrants themselves, above all because of
its potential to improve their incomes and livelihoods, and those of their families.

2. The causal effect between development and migration is complex and goes both
ways. Development characteristics of both sending and host countries such as
income, political stability and public spending affect the number and
characteristics of migrants. Conversely, migration can have an impact on
development. Emigration can have both positive and negative effects for a
developing country, by reducing unemployment and generating higher local
wages, by causing brain drain, by generating return of capital (financial, human
and social) that can be invested, by supplying remittance flows, by promoting
stronger trade links.

3. States have a fundamental obligation under international law to protect refugees,

and this must not be compromised by measures to manage migration. Measures
to control illegal migration cannot continue to result in a closure of avenues for
refugees to access a territory to claim asylum, and development and
humanitarian assistance must be adequate to meet the basic needs in safety and
dignity of the displaced and host communities.

4. Within this context Oxfam recommends that the UK and EU governments reframe
their migration policies to integrate social and economic development in migrants
home countries with entry and integration in host societies. Within this there is a
case for increasing the legal mobility of labour as a tool for the development
benefit of both sending and host countries. Migration policy needs to be joined
up with asylum, development, humanitarian, trade and foreign policies in order
both to effectively address the root causes of migration, safeguard the legal
obligations towards forced migrants and ensure the best and most equitable
migration outcome for the individual, host and sending countries.

5. The increasing feminisation of migration should be recognised, and a gender

analysis should be integral to any new policies. This should include guaranteeing
protection from exploitation, especially trafficking for the purposes of forced
labour and sexual exploitation, and opening up opportunities for women to gain
work in the UK labour market. Asylum policy or international assistance to forced
migration situations must take into account the different needs, experiences and
causes of flight of women refugees.

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Introduction

6. Oxfam welcomes the International Development Committees inquiry and the

opportunity to submit evidence based on Oxfams extensive humanitarian and
development experience overseas and in the UK. Our work on forced migration
includes programmes addressing the needs of refugees, internally displaced
people (IDPs) and host communities in conflict and post-conflict situations around
the world. In the UK we undertake advocacy and research on asylum issues and
support refugee organisations. Oxfam has also carried out research with the
Fabian Society into the causes and consequences of migration between Albania
and the UKi.

7. Migration is a general term to describe the movement of men and women from
their homes for more than just a visit. It can be temporary, followed by return; or
permanent, with no return. Migration is a highly gendered process, with changing
and differentiated patterns of movement by women and men. Any study of
migration, and policies and programmes to address it, must be based upon a
thorough gender analysis differentiated on the basis of class, economic position,
race and ethnic identity.

8. Voluntary migrants include those moving for personal or economic reasons.

Professionals moving between wealthy countries to pursue career opportunities
fall into this category, as do those moving from developing countries due to
livelihood insecurities of lack of employment opportunities. Forced migrants
include asylum seekers, refugees and those in need of other forms of
international protection from violence, conflict and persecution. They also include
internally displaced people (IDPs) who flee for the same reasons as refugees but
do not cross an international border. For the terms of this submission we will
understand forced migrant as IDP, asylum seeker, refugee or person in need of
other international protection, and voluntary migrant as an economic migrant from
a developing country.

9. The debate on migration in the UK has been negatively cast, with confused and
racist myths about floods of bogus asylum-seekers, and little rational or well-
informed public, media or political discussion.ii Alarmist rhetoric prevails, and
economic migrants whose very intention is to contribute their labour to the host
country are portrayed as seeking to abuse the welfare system or as threatening
the employment prospects of indigenous British workers. Refugees and asylum
seekers fleeing violence and persecution are similarly demonised, with no
reference to the receiving states basic obligation to protect them. Overall, while
migrants do access infrastructure and public services, there are many economic,
social, cultural and fiscal benefits for receiving countries. Indeed, the evidence
increasingly suggests that migration stimulates the economy, enhances
competitiveness and contributes 2.5bn a year net to the UK Treasury.iii

Development, poverty reduction and migration

What is the predicted pattern and scale of migration over the next 25 years?

10. Recent data synthesised by international bodies such as the United Nations (UN),
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the

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 International Organization for Migration (IOM) suggests an upward trend in
international migrationiv. The total number of people living in a country other than
that of their birth was 175 million in 2000, up from 105 m. in 1985; most of this
increase occurred in North America and Europe. Refugees make up 9 per cent of
the global migrant total; most of these are in developing countries, with only 3
million in developed countries. The ratio of refugees to local population in some
developing countries is therefore extremely high. For example the ratio of
refugees to 1,000 of local population in Liberia is 87, in Georgia is 51 and in the
UK is 3.2.

11. In terms of forced migration global trends, predictions are hard to make as large
outflows are caused by unpredictable large scale conflict or human rights abuses.
According to UNHCR the numbers of refugees in the world rose from 2.4 million
in 1975 to a peak of 18.2 million at the end of the cold war in 1993. By 2000, the
numbers had declined to 12.1 millionv. Political rhetoric also suggests that there
is a significant year on year rise in the number of asylum applications made in
Europe, however statistics show that there has been an overall decrease in the
last ten years and a specific decrease from 1999-2002 of 3.8%.vi

12. This decline does not reflect a decline in the numbers of people suffering violence
and persecution but a shift in the kind of displacement. With a change in the
nature of the worlds conflicts, there has been an increase in internal
displacement. According to the Global Internally Displaced People (IDP) Project,
in the first part of 2002, about 25 million people were estimated to be internally
displaced, up from an estimated 5 million in the 1970s and outnumbering
refugees by 2 to 1.vii

13. A new pattern in migration flows is the rise of circular migration when a
migrant moves between several times between his/her country of origin and host
country. This requires a redefinition of traditional descriptions of migration as
permanent or temporary, immigration or emigration, and the use of policy
approaches that respond to these new patterns.

14. A significant trend in international migration to which we wish to draw attention is

that of human smuggling and trafficking, terms which are often confused.
Human smuggling involves moving people across borders for profit and although
it can be dangerous or abusive essentially involves the consent of the migrant.
Trafficking is non-consensual and aims at profit from the sexual services or
labour of the trafficked person, elements of violence, exploitation and deception
are involved, such as the trafficking of women for prostitution. Human smuggling
and trafficking constitutes a multi-billion-dollar industry and is increasingly run by
international criminal networks such as Chinese triads and the Italian mafia. It
would appear that as legal routes to access developed countries are increasingly
limited, so the illegal migration industry proliferates. Figures are almost
impossible to verify but some quote that around 500,000 people, many of them
women and children, are smuggled or trafficked into Western Europe each yearviii
and that up to 2 million women and children are trafficked globally every year.ix

15. Demographic trends in Europe also have potential implications in terms of

migration policy. Fertility rates are low and falling across the EU, such that the
population of the EU (including countries that are expected to join by 2007) is
predicted to fall from 482 million today to 454 million in 2050 - a decline of 6%.

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 Given rising life expectancies, this implies that the number of pensioners per
worker will soar, unless there is a substantial increase in immigration.

What rules, structures and incentives are needed to maximise the

(development) benefits and reduce the (development) costs of migration?

16. To maximise the development benefits of economic migration Oxfam

recommends that the UK and EU governments reframe their migration policies to
integrate social and economic development in migrants home countries with
entry and integration in host societies.

17. Migrant workers themselves have a highly vulnerable status and therefore should
be entitled to special protections above existing legislation protecting the rights of
all individuals in the UK. Oxfam therefore calls for the UK Government to ratify
the UN Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families and to
take active steps to enforce the protection of these rights.

18. Sending countries need policies in place to maximise remittance flows from
migrs, promote the productive use of remittances and return capital, to
encourage return of migrants with capital and to use their overseas citizens to
strengthen trade links.

19. As a host country, the UK should pursue a policy of positively managed economic
migration, especially for low skilled workers, which creates a legal route of entry
separate from other existing routes, such as asylum, family reunification or high
skill economic migration. This should build upon the steps which have already
been initiated by the Government towards legal and managed migration for some
low-skilled workers. Particular attention should be paid to opening up
opportunities for women to gain work in the UK labour market, reflecting UK
Government policy of promoting equal opportunities in employment.

Can and should - aid try to prevent migration by promoting local

development?

20. Migration is a feature of our globalising world, and will continue to be so. As
Oxfam has seen in the case of Albania, the pressures that drive the movement of
people are immensely powerful and entrenched. It is unrealistic and self-
defeating for the prosperous, industrialised countries to pursue a policy of
preventing immigration: this will merely subvert it into irregular and increasingly
illegal forms of entry and integration. By contrast, we contend that the
development of systems of managed and facilitated migration are likely prove to
be of benefit to both sending and receiving countries, as well as migrants
themselves.

21. Development aid should aim to address the root causes of poverty and to
promote human development as the key to sustaining social and economic
progress as set out in the Millennium Development Goals. Oxfam welcomes an
integrated approach where aid policies aim to tackle the causes of forced
migration in coordination with appropriate policies for entry and integration into
the host country. However, Oxfam would be concerned if aid policies were to be

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 used as a conditional mechanism to prevent migration rather than to ensure that
there are development benefits from migration.

22. For example, in the case of Albania, from 2002 to 2004, the EU has agreed to
spend 49 million in Albania on border management, policing and judicial reform,
but just 29 million on economic and social development in Albaniax. This
disparity in aid does little to help Albanians make a decent living from their land.
Many choose instead to migrate to other countries.

23. Moreover, a great number of migrants to Europe come from middle-income

countries, particularly Central & Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean basin,
because they have most access to information about the opportunities in rich
countries and can finance the journey.xi In many cases it is not a low level of
development that causes emigration, but a lack of opportunities for further
growth.

24. Finally, it should be mentioned that many countries can benefit considerably from
having citizens overseas. The Philippines, for example, have followed a national
development strategy that specifically involves the export of labour, from which
they receive an estimated $7 billion in remittances alone each year, almost seven
times more than overseas aid receipts and a valuable source of foreign exchange
and investment capital.

Migrants as a development resource

The co-development experience of other countries.

25. Historically, several European countries have actively promoted development

within their migration policies (albeit mostly because they wanted temporary
migrants to depart at the end of their visit). For example, the Netherlands has
remitted social funds and security benefits for its migrants, and offered vocational
training for reintegration; France and Belgium have offered financial premia to
departing workers, and Germany has offered vocational training, salary subsidies
and credit subsidies for those starting businesses on return to their country of
origin.

26. One example of a comprehensive co-development programme has been

between Germany and Turkey. A commonly noted experience of Turkish-
German migration is that many temporary migrants became permanent settlers.
Nonetheless, return migration was substantial: approximately two-thirds of guest-
workers eventually went back to Turkey. Remittance flows were also high, and
remained so even after the migration stream had matured. From a development
perspective, outcomes were often positive, although contrary to expectations the
return of workers from Germany did not form an industrial proletariat as the
Turkish authorities had hoped, as return migrants had a strong preference for
small business ownership and self-employment. Policy interventions which were
aligned with migrants interests were particularly successful. For example the
German and Turkish governments, the European Resettlement Fund and the
Development Bank of Turkey offered credit assistance which helped returning
migrants establish enterprises such as the Abara Elektronik factory, which
reached sales of over $10 million and a workforce of over 300. xii

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Remittances

What is the importance of remittances for a) development and b) poverty

alleviation?

27. Remittances are a key factor in development and poverty alleviation, as a few
statistics highlight:

Remittances to developing countries are worth almost $80 billion per annum.
They constitute a significant proportion of GDP for many countries - 21% in
Jordan, 12.3% in El Salvador, and 8.9% in the Philippines, for example. In
Mexico, remittances equal tourism revenue, while in Colombia they equal half
of coffee revenue.
Remittance flows rank second to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the
overall external financing of developing countries.
Remittances can reach a wide proportion of the population in the sending
country: in El Salvador approximately 75% of households receive them.

28. Remittances are useful both from macro and micro perspectives, as a source of
foreign exchange, and as a boost to household incomes. They may be used for
consumption, investment, and as a form of insurance. Although there has been
criticism that spending remittances on consumption is unproductive, this is
counter to evidence. . For example, expenditures on housing and education may
be counted as consumption, whereas in developing countries they should really
be understood as investment. Moreover, when migrant households satisfy their
more immediate consumption needs, they typically devote more of their income
to non-consumption items.

29. Remittances are especially beneficial to low income developing countries. They
form a greater share of GDP for low income than for middle income countries
(1.9% vs. 0.8%).xiii They are spread more evenly across countries than
aggregate capital flows. And they are the most stable source of external finance,
in some cases even being counter-cyclical and buffering economic shocks, as
migrants tend to send more money home in difficult periods, and more workers
emigrate.

How can the development especially job-creating outcomes of remittances

and return financial capital be maximised?

30. The most important criteria for the productive use of remittances (as indeed of
any type of capital flow) are a good investment climate and adequate
infrastructure. This includes stable exchange rates, low inflation, the absence of
excessive bureaucracy and corruption but also reliable power, decent roads and
other communications. This is obviously challenging for many labour-exporting
countries since many people often emigrate precisely because of the weak
economic climate at home.

31. Governments can also promote financial instruments targeted specifically at

migrants. In South Asia, for example, Non-Resident Indians accounts, Pakistans
Bonus Voucher Scheme & FX Bearer Certificates, and Bangladeshs Wage

7
 Earners Scheme have offered high interest rates for foreign currency accounts.
In the Zacetas scheme in Mexico, authorities encourage investment of
remittances by matching each dollar returned from the US with three extra dollars
one from the municipality, one from the state, and one from the federal
government.

32. Reducing the costs of getting abroad can also be beneficial, so that migrants do
not spend years repaying loans that financed the original journey. This can be
done both by sending countries supervising recruitment agencies, and receiving
countries making the entry process easier and more transparent. Increasing the
legal avenues of entry is essential so that migrants are not pushed into the hands
of criminal, costly and hazardous smuggling networks. Lastly, migrant
associations and hometown associations can help channel remittances and
capital into investments specifically designed to benefit the migrants communities
of origin.

How can the transaction costs of remittances be reduced?

33. This is a crucial question, since fixed transfer charges and foreign exchange fees
can reduce remittance values by 15-20%, and clearance of migrants cheques
can frequently take several weeks.xiv Financial services are largely provided by
the private-sector but governments can intervene to encourage a better provision
of services for migrants. Some possibilities for reducing transaction costs are:

Migrants are often deterred from sending remittances through formal

channels by the difficulties of opening bank accounts. Relaxing minimum
balance or personal identification requirements could help;
Some US-based transfer agencies now offer free telephone cards for the
purpose of confirming receipt of remittances. The International Remittance
Network links credit union cooperatives (e.g. of unionised agricultural
workers) with Citibank branches in the United States and Latin America,
charging just $6.50 per transfer, compared to an average of $20-30 by the big
companies.
Some remittance-receiving banks make a particular effort to design packages
suited to migrants, such as the My family, my country, my home programme
run by Banco Solidario in Ecuador, which provides loans to migrants returning
from Spain, to set up small businesses and buy property.
Governments can work with migrants associations to increase the
transparency of commissions, fees and exchange rates that financial
institutions provide.
Where bank branches are thinly spread in developing countries, partnerships
between banks and the government post office network may be effective.

34. It is worth noting that, where they work well, financial institutions for migrants can
have a positive impact on development beyond merely transferring money. Using
banks for remittances may introduce poor people to financial services for the first
time, encouraging the growth of the financial sector.

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Brain drain versus brain gain

Do skills acquisition/preferential quota systems in Europe strip developing

countries of their talent?

35. This has been a principal concern for some time, particularly in the medical
profession. Nelson Mandela memorably called upon the UK in 1997 to stop
poaching nurses from South Africa. The UK does have an ethical code that
covers recruitment of medical professionals from developing countries, although it
could be more rigorously enforced.

36. It is also true that the majority of legal migrants to the industrialised world are
educated 88% of migrants to the OECD have a secondary education, and two-
thirds of those also have a tertiary education. However, the proportion of highly
educated people that actually leave developing countries is relatively low
indicating that the brain drain is not as severe as has been feared.

37. There can also be benefits from allowing the emigration of skilled workers. First,
they send higher remittances and are more likely than unskilled workers to return
with new skills. Second, a country with an educated diaspora can see so-called
network effects, i.e. stronger business contacts, investment links and
technological assistance from its overseas citizens. Third, returns to education in
developing countries are typically low, reducing the incentive to invest in human
capital. If people believe that education brings a chance of finding work abroad,
there may be more investment in education, to an extent that gains to average
education outweigh the losses from the departure of the top 10%.

Do returning migrants bring with them skills and capital, and thereby build
capacity?

38. There are many individual cases of migrants using the skills they have acquired
overseas positively. From Oxfams experience in Albania, we have seen that
some migrants working in the agricultural sector in Greece have returned to use
these skills to increase their own vegetable production and train other farmers.
Moreover, there is more to human capital than mere formal skills. Simply by
exposing people to new ideas, migration can have a profound impact on social
and cultural patterns, as well as economic activities - in both sending and
receiving countries.

39. However, while return migrants do typically bring financial capital, the overall
evidence on human capital is unfortunately fairly unfavourable, especially for low-
skilled migrants. Early studies of guestworkers returning from Germany to Turkey
suggest that less than 10% had received any useful training whilst abroadxv, while
recent research confirms it for Thailand where, among 424 male returnees,
scarcely 2% took occupations which might have imparted new skillsxvi.
Regrettably, a low level of skill acquisition is perhaps unsurprising, given that host
employers are often trying to fill low-paid, unattractive positions that domestic
workers will not accept. Even in the cases where skilled workers are required,
they often do not work to their full potential.

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How important is the mobility of lower-skilled workers?

40. The mobility of service-supplying and low-skilled workers is crucial to developing-

country interests. For instance, despite the movement of cross-border electronic
commerce, almost two-thirds of India's exports are supplied through the
temporary movement of labour to clients overseas. Restrictions on movement
hamper the development of markets for Indian firms. More broadly, barriers to
the movement of labour, which are far higher for unskilled than skilled workers,
cost developing countries billions of dollars. According to one estimate, a
movement of labour from developing to developed countries equivalent to three
per cent of the industrialised world's workforce would generate $200bn
annuallyxvii. Much of this would flow directly to developing countries in the form of
remittances, balancing the deficit on financial and other services. Moreover, the
money would be concentrated directly in the hands of workers, with obvious
benefits for poor communities.

41. Oxfam recommends that the UK pursue a policy of positively managed economic
migration for low-skilled workers to ensure that developing countries also benefit
from the opportunity of their citizens working abroad. Within this, Oxfam
recommends that:

Entry criteria should be flexible enough to allow migrants to adjust to the

prevailing labour market and social conditions within the UK, and for their
personal migration projects to be realised.
The UK Government should establish a comprehensive support and
education system for migrants on arrival in the UK, aimed at educating
migrants about the UK labour market, their legal rights and obligations as
workers, advice and support on finding a job, how to access services, general
social and cultural information about the UK, and English language teaching.

What will be the role of GATS Mode 4, temporary movement of natural

persons?

42. Looking at movement of labour in the WTO context highlights how current
regulations of the international economy are biased in the interests of
industrialised countries. Free flows of capital are promoted fiercely, because
most capital comes from rich countries, whereas free movement of labour - which
could have huge benefits for developing countries - is effectively outlawed. The
weak commitments made by OECD countries under GATS Mode 4 make this
discrepancy clear.

43. Unsurprisingly, many developing country governments are extremely anxious for
industrialised countries to extend their GATS Mode 4 commitments. Only 17% of
commitments relate to low-skilled workers, despite these constituting the majority
of workers in developing countries, and economic needs tests (ENTs) are
fundamentally against the spirit of international trade. Members cannot refuse to
import foreign goods on the grounds that domestic substitutes are available, nor
does TRIPS allow governments to refuse to award patents because the local
economy does not need them. From a developing country perspective, ENT
provisions should at least be made more transparent, preferably harmonized
across countries, and ideally removed altogether, save for temporary safeguards
which would be equivalent to those applied to trade in goods. Finally, the

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 absence of GATS provisions on the rights of migrant workers stands in stark
contrast to WTO disciplines on infringements of intellectual property rights.

44. Clearly, GATS Mode 4 commitments can be extended to give wider benefits to
developing countries. Still, changes in GATS provisions alone would be an
insufficient response to the pressures for development-friendly migration. Mode 4
does not cover natural persons seeking access to an industrialised country labour
market independently of their service-supplying employer; nor does it address
permanent settlement, or encourage greater sending of and productive use of
remittances and return capital, or any of the other policies which would help
developing countries to benefit from migration. Improvement to Mode 4 should
therefore be seen as one aspect of a wider strategy for making migration
development-friendly.

45. Oxfam is broadly supportive of the position of developing countries which

propose that the temporary migration of natural persons be included in the WTO
General Agreement on Trade in Services. This would reduce the double
standards in the current global system which restricts on movement of labour in
contrast with the philosophy of free movement of capital which industrialised
countries espouse.

Conflict, refugees and migration

Can aid prevent violent conflicts and reduce the number of international
asylum seekers?

46. Whether or not, or how effectively aid can prevent conflict is a complex question.
It is however widely assumed that poverty and underdevelopment somehow
precipitate conflict and that therefore aid can prevent conflict. Research by Oxfam
International and Amnesty International into the global arms trade has drawn the
vicious circle between poverty and conflictxviii. As per capita income halves, the
risk of civil war roughly doublesxix and a typical civil war leaves a country 15%
poorer, with around 30% more people living in absolute povertyxx.

47. There is a clear link between violent conflict and the flight of people to seek
refuge in other countries. Recent research has shown that conflict and/or
repression or discrimination of minorities is a common feature in the top ten
countries of origin of asylum seekers to EU countriesxxi. A current example is the
ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - the source of more
than 2.4 million uprooted people at the end of 2002, including 2 million or more
internally displaced persons and nearly 410,000 refugees and asylum seekers. An
estimated quarter of a million people newly fled their homes during the year
2002.xxii .

48. However, it is important to recognise firstly that not all those fleeing violent
conflict become asylum seekers, and secondly that violent conflict is not the only
reason that people flee their home and seek asylum elsewhere.

49. Asylum seekers are by definition international they are people who cross an
international border to request protection in the territory of another state. But in
cases of mass movement in extreme violent conflict, for example the crises in the

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 Balkans and Great Lakes, many become de facto refugees and never enter the
asylum decision-making process of a state. Also, vast numbers of those who flee
do not cross an international border to become refugees or asylum seekers but
are internally displaced people (IDPs). There are approximately 25 million IDPs
worldwide, outnumber refugees by 2 to 1. In April 2002, it was estimated that
there were 1.3 million people internally displaced by the conflicts in Indonesia and
nearly 300,000 displaced by the conflict in Chechnya.xxiii

50. It is also evident that violent conflict is not the sole cause of flight for asylum
seekers claiming Convention refugee status or other forms of international
protection, such as humanitarian or temporary protection. Conflict is included as
grounds for granting asylum under regional refugee conventions (the Cartagena
and OAU conventions) but the 1951 UN Refugee Convention definition of a
refugee is someone who has fled their country owing to a well-founded fear of
being persecuted for reasons of race religion, nationality, membership of a
particular social group or particular social group or political opinion".xxiv These
kinds of human rights abuses by state or non-state actors, which are often though
not necessarily linked to violent conflict, are key push factors for refugees.

51. It is therefore essential that in order to comprehensively address the question of

forced migration through aid, both root causes and forms of displacement be
understood more broadly. Aid must also not only be targeted at preventing or
resolving those violent conflicts that produce significant numbers of people
seeking asylum in donor states, but at all situations of persecution that result in
forced migration. Oxfams analysis of the funding for the UN Consolidated
Appeals for humanitarian emergencies in July 2003, highlighted a clear skewing
of aid towards emergences in the political spotlight. Approximately $17 per capita
of people in need was committed for DRC, in Chechnya $11 and in Indonesia $7,
where as in Iraq it was $74xxv. Any further skewing of aid according to migration
management priorities of donor states would be unacceptable.

What are the differences in developmental terms between voluntary economic

and forced migration?

52. The difference between forced migration and voluntary economic migration in
legal and humanitarian terms is fundamental to understanding the development
factors associated with their migration. There are many categories of both forced
and economic migrant and much overlap and the distinction between economic
and persecutory push factors can be blurred, as what may have begun as a
voluntary movement can become forced and vice versa. For example, the
trafficking of women, girls and boys is at the extreme end of the migration
continuum representing forced movement for exploitative labour.

53. According to the 1951 Refugee Convention and other regional instruments a
refugee is someone fleeing persecution or violence and is therefore entitled to
protection in another country. Others fleeing for reasons not specified within the
1951 Convention, such as widespread conflict may be eligible for other forms of
humanitarian or temporary protection. IDPs flee for the same reasons as
refugees but are unable to cross an international border. Voluntary migrants
move for economic reasons and are not entitled to humanitarian protection under
law. There are of course areas at the migration asylum nexus where the two

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 categories overlap, for example persecution of minorities such as the Roma in
Eastern Europe has a strong dimension of economic exclusion.

54. There are different development dimensions within as well as between the two
groups. For forced migrants, development factors may contribute to the
immediate cause of flight, may cause onward or secondary movement from the
first country to which they flee, and are central in the realisation of durable
solutions, particularly integration and repatriation.

55. In terms of impact on the host country and contribution to the country of origin
from abroad, key factors underlying difference are that forced migrants move first
and foremost to find protection, not economic opportunities, their flight is
unplanned, they are suddenly severed from their livelihoods and often deprived of
the means to a livelihood in the host state. In the UK for example, asylum seekers
are prohibited from working. This is because of political perception that this is a
pull factorxxvi, opinion which is disproved by Home Office research. Oxfam
believes that the right to work for refugees and asylum seekers is a central part of
ensuring a life with dignity and can bring significant economic and social benefits
to the individual and to the host community.

56. In developing countries the impact on the host country also depends on the scale
of the migration. A mass influx of refugees to a neighbouring country can have a
extremely negative development impact as already stretched local resources,
including water, land and firewood, are put under extreme pressure, particularly
where international humanitarian assistance falls short of the levels necessary to
meet the basic needs of the refugee population. Oxfams experience in
displacement settings across the world has shown that hosting large numbers of
refugees has a real impact on the resources and stability of local populations. In
Western Pakistan our programme found that the establishment of camps hosting
Afghan refugees resulted in a drain on water supplies and exacerbated violence
among local warring factions.

57. As an additional development impact, mass departure from communities has a

significant demographic, hence developmental, impact on the remaining
population, particularly women and the elderly whose livelihoods are often
already suffering from the effects of conflict.

58. Return of forced and voluntary migrants also has different development
implications. In the case of refugees or IDPs they may choose to return to their
homes once the threat to their lives or safety has passed. In many cases this
involves the return of large numbers to a country or region in an immediate post-
conflict phase where infrastructure and livelihoods have been destroyed and
basic resources are scarce, as for example in Afghanistan.

South-south migration

Does aid to those countries which border conflict areas act as a pull factor and
increase the number of refugees?

59. Refugees fleeing violence and persecution to neighbouring countries are severed
from their means of subsistence and have a right to protection, including safety,
dignity, durable solutions and the fulfilment of their basic needs including shelter,

13
 food and water. The flight to a neighbouring country is a forced and spontaneous
one in the face of danger. As many neighbouring countries are themselves
underdeveloped and often suffering from the effects of conflict, it is impossible for
them to meet the needs of significant numbers of refugees without international
assistance.

60. The poor conditions for refugees in neighbouring countries serve as a strong
counter-indication to the assertion that aid is a pull factor. Indeed in some cases
conditions have proved so dire that refugees have been faced with the choice of
returning home to face violence and conflict or remaining in the neighbouring
country to face starvation and disease. Oxfam continues to witness situations
where basic provision fall well below the Sphere minimum standards for
humanitarian responsexxvii. This is well illustrated by the situation for over 500,000
Burundian refugees in Tanzania. The entire refugee population in camps is
dependent on monthly food distribution for its nutritional needs as movement is
restricted to a 4 kilometre zone around the camps. Until recently the World Food
Programme was forced to cut basic food rations by 50% due to inadequate donor
support. Over the past 5 years the UNHCR budget has been cut by 38%xxviii.
Conditions for Afghan refugees at the Pakistan border present a similar situation
of insecurity and inability to meet basic needs.

61. Whilst in many situations lack of basic provisions is a result of assistance

shortfalls, in others cases states have taken the deliberate and unacceptable
measure of cutting off assistance including food, in order to coerce refugees to
leave. There has been evidence in a number of situations that this has been used
in combination with other means of coercing refugees to return home to an
uncertain and potentially unsafe situation. Oxfams experience showed that when
the Government of Indonesia cut off already inadequate aid to East Timorese
refugees in West Timor, the result was not only increased returns, but also a
worsening health status of the remaining refugee population, and further pressure
on host community resources.

62. There are evidently sensitivities around the provision of aid to refugees in regions
where the basic needs of the local population are often unmet. UNHCRs Agenda
for Protection, a global set of goals for all actors involved in refugee protection,
calls for refugee issues to be anchored within national and regional and
multilateral development agendas and for states to consider allocating
development funds, possibly a percentage thereof to programmes simultaneously
benefiting refugees and the local population in host countries.xxix

Development Cooperation and Policy on Migration

How consistent (in both a national and international context) are donor
governments approaches to migration with their policies on development
cooperation, humanitarian relief and refugee protection?

63. Migration policy, asylum policy, development, humanitarian trade and foreign
policy need to be joined up in order both to effectively address the root causes of
migration, safeguard legal obligations towards refugees and ensure the best and
most equitable migration benefits for sending and hosting states and the
individual. However, to date donor governments resolve to combat illegal

14
 migration has not been matched with similar commitments to assume
responsibilities and international obligations to tackle the root causes and rights
of the displaced.

64. Many donor governments deterrence-focussed preoccupation with migration

management has to date been notably at odds with their international obligations
of refugee protection. One illustrative area is that of border controls and
interception. Significant resources have been channelled towards EU and
member states agreements in this area at both a bi-lateral and multi-lateral level
prompting fears that they fail to adequately incorporate human rights and refugee
protection safeguardsxxx. In the run up to enlargement, the EU spent 145 million
on enhancing border controls but only 7 million on improving asylum systems in
accession countries.xxxi Recent research for the UK Home Office stated that
there was strong circumstantial evidence that visa, border, carrier and
interceptions measures aimed at preventing access to the EU has led to growing
trafficking and illegal entry of bona fide asylum seekers,xxxii placing them in the
hands of smugglers, often stopping them from reaching a country to claim asylum
and fuelling the illegal migration networks that European policies aim to combat.

65. Also policies on development cooperation and humanitarian relief markedly at

odds with other areas of policy that influence root causes of economic and forced
migration i.e. trade policy and arms policy respectively. In a linking of the two
issues, a recent agreement between Italy and Libya on combating irregular
migrants stipulates that Italy provide financial support to assist Libya in combating
illegal migration. It has been reported that Italy is also urging EU partners to ease
the restriction on the sale of military equipment to Libya so as to provide this
country with more sophisticated materials to combat illegal immigration.xxxiii

66. Since the early 1990s there have been calls at the EU level for coordinated
policies in order to address the causes of forced migration. The cross-pillar High
Level Working Group on Asylum and Migration was an initial move towards this,
but its action plans have been widely criticised for their focus on migration
control rather than human rights or refugee protection, a lack of consultation with
countries concerned, and a failure to generate follow-up actions.

67. The debate around integrating migration into EU external relations has also
prompted criticism, particularly around suggestions that development assistance
to third countries may be made conditional on migration cooperation i.e.
readmission, interception measures, and other means of preventing outward and
onward movement. These were evident in proposals at the June 2002 Seville EU
Summit and also in the drafting process of the EU Commissions December 2002
Communication on Integrating Migration in the European Unions Relations with
Third Countries. In negotiations around the latter document tensions were
evident between the departments for development cooperation and humanitarian
aid, and the DG for justice and home affairs, the former calling for aid to be
targeted towards the root causes of displacement, and the latter arguing that
development aid can be a useful tool to combat irregular movement, and return
irregular migrants.

68. Whilst the final Seville Summit Conclusions talk of not jeopardising development
cooperation objectives and the Commission Communication calls for an
incitative rather penalising approach to migration cooperation, Oxfam would

15
 caution against any future aid conditionality, either direct or indirect, or the
adoption of measures that would run counter to commitments to address root
causes.

Should DFID adopt a less neutral approach and develop a policy on

development-friendly migration? If so, how should it fit with DFIDs own
Country Assistance Strategies and how should DFID promote such a policy
across government?

69. By ignoring the potential benefits of migration flows to developing countries, a

neutral approach denies one of the major potential sources of development. In
the meantime, migration policies made by other government departments have
implications for development. DFID should engage with these policies, for
example by working with the Home Office to make the new temporary migration
schemes development-friendly, and by bringing a protection perspective to the
debate on refugees and asylum seekers. Challenging some of the negative
myths about migrants would also help. DFIDs Country Assistance Strategies
should analyse and aim to address the root causes of migration, especially forced
migration, and support sending countries to provide a policy environment which
maximises the development benefits of migration.

Gender and Migration

70. While many suggest that there is an increasing feminisation of migration, others
suggest that women already made up 46.6% of the global total of international
migrants in 1965 and that the issue is more that women are less visible and over-
represented in undocumented migrationxxxiv. It is also important to realise that
women are increasingly migrating as independent or at least semi-independent
agents in contrast to the past when they were seen purely as the followers of
their male relatives who were the primary migrants.

71. An important dimension of undocumented migration is the smuggling and

trafficking of women, primarily as domestic workers and for forced labour and
sexual exploitation. The migration of Third World or East European women to
work as domestic helpers in wealthy countries has been a major growth area
since the 1980s. Usually these women migrate on their own or are the principal
wage-earners for themselves and their families but they can be particularly
vulnerable to isolation and exploitation. For example, Oxfams work in the
Lebanon suggests that many migrant women from Sri Lanka and the Philippines
are denied their rights, beaten by their employers, forced to work long hours and
had their passports taken away. Protection should therefore be guaranteed for
the increasing number female migrants working as domestic or care workers and
those who are vulnerable to trafficking.

72. Gender affects all aspects of a migrants experience, from the initial decision to
migrate (e.g. at which stage of life and in which capacity), to experience in the
labour market (recruitment, working conditions), the sending and use of
remittances, the decision to return, and the change in social position caused by
migration. At its best, the migration experience has the potential to challenge
existing social norms and rigid hierarchical structures, expanding the

16
 opportunities of previously restricted groups. This is true for household behaviour
and the social position of women. For example, many women interviewed during
the Albanian research left to pursue a more free and rewarding life in a less
patriarchal environment. Particular attention should therefore be paid to opening
up opportunities for women to gain work in the UK labour market, reflecting UK
Government policy of promoting equal opportunities in employment.

73. UNHCR estimates that in any refugee population approximately 50% are women
and girls. Women and men are affected differently at every stage of the forced
migration chain including reasons for flight, vulnerability on their journey,
procedures and provisions in the country of refuge and long-term solutions. In
camp situations in region of origin donors and agencies must ensure that the
rights, needs and vulnerabilities of refugee women and girls are taken into
account. In industrialised countries, including EU member states, there is a
notable lack of disaggregated data on refugee or asylum seeking women, which
indicates a more entrenched gender-blindness. Oxfam calls on governments in
these countries, including the UK to ensure that asylum systems, including
determination procedures and reception provisions are adequately tailored to the
particular needs and experiences of female asylum seekers.

Summary of Recommendations

Oxfam recommends that the UK and EU governments reframe their migration

policies to integrate social and economic development in migrants home
countries with entry and integration in host societies.
Oxfam calls for the UK Government to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of
Migrant Workers and their Families and to take active steps to enforce the
protection of these rights.
UK should continue to pursue a policy of positively managed economic migration,
especially for low skilled workers, which creates a legal route of entry separate
from other existing routes, such as asylum, family reunification or high skill
economic migration.
Entry criteria should be flexible enough to allow migrants to adjust to the
prevailing labour market and social conditions within the UK, and for their
personal migration projects to be realised.
The UK Government should establish a comprehensive support and education
system for migrants on arrival in the UK, aimed at educating migrants about the
UK labour market, their legal rights and obligations as workers, advice and
support on finding a job, how to access services, general social and cultural
information about the UK, and English language teaching.
Oxfam would be concerned if aid policies were to be used as a conditional
mechanism to prevent migration rather than to ensure that there are development
benefits from migration.
Oxfam is broadly supportive of the position of developing countries which
propose that the temporary migration of natural persons be included in the WTO
General Agreement on Trade in Services.
Investment in conflict prevention should be targeted according to need rather
than in order to reduce numbers of asylum seekers in donor countries.
Oxfam does not support the view that provision of basic humanitarian assistance
in countries neighbouring conflict is a pull factor. The threat to cut aid should
never be used as a migration management tool to deter or return refugees.

17
 Migration policy, asylum policy, development, humanitarian trade and foreign
policy need to be joined up in order both to effectively address the root causes of
migration, safeguard legal obligations towards refugees and asylum seekers and
ensure the best and most equitable migration benefits for sending and hosting
states and the individual.
Oxfam calls for particular attention should be paid to opening up opportunities for
migrant women to gain work in the UK labour market, reflecting UK Government
policy of promoting equal opportunities in employment.
The rights, needs and vulnerabilities of refugee women and girls must be an
integral and active consideration in humanitarian assistance and in asylum
systems of the UK and other developed countries.

ENDNOTES
i Exploding the Migration Myths: Analysis and Recommendations for the European Union, the UK and Albania. R.

King, N. Mai, M Dalipaj. Oxfam and Fabian Society.

ii See Ronald Kaye: Blaming the victim in Russell King and Nancy Wood (eds) Media and Migration: Constructions of

Mobility and Difference. London: Routledge, 2001, pp. 5370.

iii See Sarah Spencer Mousetraps are not enough The Guardian Oct 28th, 2003; Sarah Spencer (ed.)
iv Exploding the Migration Myths: Analysis and Recommendations for the European Union, the UK and Albania. R.

King, N. Mai, M Dalipaj. Oxfam and Fabian Society.

v UNHCR The state of the worlds refugees: In Search of solutions, OUP, 1995, UNHCR, Global Report 2000. Geneva.
vi UNHCR: asylum applications lodged in industrialised countries: levels and trends 2000-2002, UNHCR statistical

yearbook 2001.
vii Internally Displaced People : A global Survey. Norwegian Refugee Council, 2002.
viii Hugo: op. cit., p. 49; Salt and Hogarth: op. cit., p. 31.
ix IOM: World Migration Report 2000, p. 46
x Albania: Country Strategy Paper 2002-2006 & Multi-Annual Indicative Programme (MIP) 2002-2004, European

Community Cards Programme, 30 November 2001

xi John Salt, International Migration and the United Kingdom: Recent Patterns and Trends, December 2001, p 126.
xii Bimal Ghosh, Return Migration: Reshaping Policy Approaches in Return Migration: Journey of Hope or

Despair? ed. Ghosh (Geneva:IOM 2000), 185.

xiii Dilip Ratha, Ch 7: Workers Remittances: An Important and Stable Source of External Development Finance, in

Global Development Finance 2003 Striving for Stbility in Developmnet Finace World Bank (2003) p 158.
xiv Ref: Donald Terry

xvPaine (1974), cited in Russell King, Generalisations from the History of Return Migration, in Return Migration:

Journey of Hope or Despair? Ed Bimal Ghosh (Geneva:IOM, 2000)

xvi Ref: Sussangkarn and Chaiamong (1996), cited in Ghosh.
xvii Rodrik, D. Immigration Policy and the Welfare State, paper presented at the Conference on Immigration Policy,

Trieste, 23 June 2001 cited in Rigged Rules and Double Standards: trade, globalisation, and the fight against poverty.
Oxfam International 2002.
xviii Shattered Lives: The case for tough International Arms Control. Oxfam International and Amnesty International

2003.
xix Development and Peace, Paul Collier, in Global Future, First Quarter 2003.
xx The global menace of local strife, The Economist, 24 May 2003.
xxi States of Conflict: Causes and patterns of forced migration to the EU and policy responses. Stephen Castles, Heaven

Crawley and Sean Loughna, IPPR 2003.

xxii USCR World Refugee survey 2003.
xxiii Internally displaced people a global survey, Norwegian Refugee Council 2002.
xxiv Article 1A (1), 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
xxv Beyond the Headlines: An agenda for action to protect civilians in neglected conflicts. Oxfam International 2003
xxvi See UK Nationality Immigration Act 2002.
xxvii Sphere Project. Humnitarian Charter and Minimum standards in Disaster Response. Geneva 2003.
xxviii Evidence compiled by Oxfam GB humanitarian staff in Tanzania.
xxix UNHCR Agenda for Protection. 6 June 2002. A/AC.96/965/Add.1

xxxvi Refugee Councils response to the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Unions enquiry into New
Approaches to the Asylum process. www.refugeecouncil.org.uk

18
xxxii An assessment of the impact of asylum policies in Europe 1990 2000; R Zetter, D Griffiths, S Ferretti, M Pearl.
June 2003
xxxiii Migration Policy Goup, Migration News Sheet, August 2003, p.8
xxxiv Annie Phizacklea: Migration and globalization: a feminist perspective, in Khalid Koser and Helma Lutz (eds): The

New Migration in Europe. London: Macmillan, 1998, pp. 2138, ref. p. 22.

19