Norges politikk på migrasjon og utvikling

I would like to start by commending UNDP, for working globally towards advocating for change that facilitates human development.

The Human Development Report is a flagship of its kind. It gives us important impetus by combining thematic policy analyses with detailed country focus on human well-being, and not just on economic trends. Developed and developing countries alike need to reflect on how we formulate policy and we need sound guidance to do so.

This year’s UNDPs Human Development Report gives us valuable impetus and inspiration in the field of migration.

It is the view of the Norwegian Government, that in order to optimize the potential benefits of international migration, a protective and empowering policy environment is necessary in both host and origin countries.

Migrant workers, with their families, account for almost 90 per cent of total international migrants. Consequently, policies and regulations ensuring decent work for all, including on a non-discriminatory basis migrant workers, are key.

It is reasonable to assume that migrants are best able to contribute to development when they are protected and empowered in terms of their basic human rights - socially, politically and economically.

In order to ensure protection of migrants, states of origin, transit and destination need to implement the fundamental international human rights laws as represented in the conventions. As a recently elected member of The Human Rights Council, the Norwegian Government will strive towards universal implementation of these conventions basic human rights for all. 

The protection of migrants is particularly important for lower skilled temporary workers, children and women.

The report’s findings that migration can be an empowering experience enabling in particular female migrants to contribute more freely to development in host countries and countries of origin, are particular interesting.   

Women’s rights and gender equality are vital components of a migration and development framework, as within all areas of policy. The gender perspective is imperativ if we are to realise the vision of better coherence between migration and development policies and increase the development impact of migration. This is a priority of the Government.

The issues raised in this year’s Human Development Report are more crucial now than ever. The financial crisis makes transborder co-operation between policy-makers vital. The crisis has already impacted on the movement of people across borders, investments, official aid and the flow of private capital. However, according to the World Bank, remittance flows remain resilient in comparison to other financial flows.

The Human Development Report’s focus on migration provides me with an opportunity to present the actions taken by the Government in the area of migration and development:

Norway has increased its focus on and efforts towards the development dimensions of international migration. We have engaged multi-sectors and non-traditional stakeholders, and enhanced our efforts towards increasing the benefits of international migration for developing countries.

This has recently been reconfirmed as a priority area by the Government and Parliament through two white papers - one on Development cooperation and the other on Foreign Affairs.

Acknowledging the need for coherence between migration and development, Norway has adopted a number of measures which aims towards facilitating the objective of maximising the development impact of international migration.

Our main priorities in moving forward are to:

• Cooperate with the EU and countries of origin on migration and development through a cooperation platform for East Africa;
• Facilitate more efficient, accessible and less costly services towards remittances;
• Cooperate closer with the Diaspora communities and the NGO’s working on development cooperation on the migration and development agenda;
• Implement a pilot project for development cooperation between Norwegian governments and Diasporas;
• Increase the recruitment of persons from the Diaspora communities to the Foreign Affairs Service.

The importance of involving Diaspora communities is highly emphasised. There is a lot of willingness in Diasporas to contribute to development efforts, particularly in their countries of origin. The Government has taken steps to increase involvement of Norwegian Diaspora as well as immigrants in Norway in our development cooperation and policy.

A pilot project Pakistan has been established as a trial scheme designed to provide lessons learned and best practices for strengthening development cooperation between the Norwegian authorities and immigrant communities in Norway.

Remittances are extremely important for poverty alleviation and development, and have due to the financial crisis become even more vital. The Norwegian ministry of Foreign Affairs has funded the adjustment of a national website called Finansportalen.no to include a function that gives information on the cheapest and quickest ways of sending money to developing countries. The purpose is to foster competition among the suppliers, which will assert pressure to reduce the high costs of sending money from Norway to developing countries.

Let me conclude by underlining that the benefits of international migration, not only for the migrants themselves but also for origin and host societies, are contingent on coherence between migration and development policies.

I am certain that the topics raised in the report will provide us with a fruitful debate on challenges and solutions that lay ahead. Thank you for your attention!