Inter-Parlamentary Forum of the Americas Forum Interparlamentaire des Amériques Foro Interparlamentario de las Américas Fórum Interparlamentar das Américas

Working Group 3 - Migration and Borders

Working Group 3, “Migration and Borders” was chaired by Mr. Carlos Santiago Nájera, from Guatemala, and facilitated by Mr. Rodolfo Tuirán from Mexico, who made a presentation on migration in Latin America.

During the meeting of Working Group 3, the delegates gave a brief explanation of migration in their countries. Migration is a global phenomenon with many diverse causes including, more commonly, the economic asymmetry among countries, differences in salaries, socioeconomic polarization, poverty, internal conflicts and natural disasters. In each country these causes differ.

Several of the consequences of migration were raised: the loss of human capital, the “brain drain” and the altered balance of costs and benefits to the economies of origin and of destination; and the receipt of currency through remittances, among others. In this regard, the productive use of remittances could become an instrument for
development in the countries of origin of migration.

Group 3 noted that the Latin American migrants to the United States enrich the society in the economic, social and cultural senses.

Mention was made that government action is carried out at several levels :

At the national level, migration is regulated by the establishment of laws and policies to control the flow of migration. It is important to point out the need to modernize the administration of migration.

Opportunities for dialogue have been created at the bilateral and multilateral level between the countries of origin and destination of migration; consulting mechanisms have been established; programs to regulate migration have been created and cooperation in this regard has been strengthened.

Group 3 indicated the convenience of accompanying the economic integration process within the countries of the region regarding the updating of migration policies; the importance of advancing the standardization of domestic legislation in order to combat migration traffic; the significance of ratifying international instruments that guarantee the protection of human rights and combat the trafficking of persons and foster cooperation among countries.

A proposal was made to strengthen the work of FIPA’s Migration and Borders Group with the executive and judicial branches of each member country and with international organisms such as the IOM, WTO, UNICEF, UNIFEM, human rights organizations, the European Union, among others.

FIPA must be a forum that allows the analysis of international resolutions on migration with the objective of enriching the work of this group so parliamentarians can adopt said resolutions in their own countries in order to legislate on the respective subjects.

The lack of participation of the parliamentarians of the United States of America was deeply regretted since they are a fundamental party in the search for solutions for all countries.

Recommendations:

We, the delegates of the national legislatures represented at the Inter–Parliamentary Forum of the Americas (FIPA), currently in session in Mexico City,

Conscious that migration is a global phenomenon that has many diverse causes, including, more commonly, the economic asymmetry among countries, differences in salaries, socioeconomic polarization, poverty, internal conflicts, and natural disasters,

Recommend:

To strengthen, at the bilateral and multilateral levels, the creation of opportunities for dialogue among the countries of origin and destination of migration. To this end, it is necessary to establish consultation mechanisms to create norms and programs that foster secure, legal and orderly migration.

To advance the standardization and harmonization of national legislation to prevent and eradicate illegal trafficking in human beings and the forgery and adulteration of documents.

To promote the creation and ratification of international instruments that protect the human rights of migrating persons, with special emphasis on the rights of children, adolescents and women.

To promote the critical analysis of the responsibilities of the countries of origin of migration together with those of the countries of destination.

To strengthen the cooperation and coordination of nations in the fight against terrorism and to guarantee the careful balance between the objectives of security and those that facilitate the international movement of people.

To encourage the production and circulation of information and knowledge in order to achieve greater reliability and effectiveness in the policies and norms relating to migration.