Globalization and interdependence: international migration and development
Report of the Second Committee*
Rapporteur : Mr. Abdulmalik Alshabibi…………………………………………………………………….. (Yemen)
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B. Consideration of draft resolutions A/C.2/60/L.16 and A/C.2/60/L.62
6. At the 25th meeting, on 9 November, the representative of Jamaica, on behalf of States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Group of 77 and China, introduced a draft resolution entitled “International migration and development” (A/C.2/60/L.16), which read:
“ The General Assembly,
“Recalling its resolutions 58/208 of 23 December 2003 and 59/241 of 22 December 2004,
“ Recalling also its resolution 57/270 B of 23 June 2003 on the integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic and social fields,
“ Recalling further the development section of the 2005 World Summit Outcome,
“Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General,
“1. Decides that the High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development will be held in New York on 14 and 15 September 2006;
“2. Urges Member States to participate in the High-level Dialogue at the ministerial level;
“3. Decides that the Holy See, in its capacity as observer State, and Palestine, in its capacity as observer, shall participate in the High-level Dialogue;
“4. Invites relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes as well as the International Organization for Migration, to contribute to the preparation of and to participate in the High-level Dialogue, which will be open to those intergovernmental organizations and entities that have observer status with the General Assembly in accordance with the rules of procedure;
“5. Decides that the High-level Dialogue will consist of four plenary meetings and four interactive round tables;
“6. Also decides that the President of the General Assembly, the President of the Economic and Social Council and the Secretary-General of the United Nations will make introductory statements at the opening of the High-level Dialogue;
“7. Further decides that the High-level Dialogue will discuss the overall theme of the multidimensional aspects of international migration and development in order to identify appropriate ways and means to maximize its development benefits and minimize its negative impacts;
“8. Decides that the round tables will be open to all Member States, the Holy See, in its capacity as observer State, and Palestine, in its capacity as observer, and representatives of relevant entities of the United Nations system and the International Organization for Migration as well as to other relevant regional and international intergovernmental organizations that have observer status, and also decides that the round tables will be organized as follows:
“(a) The first set of the two interactive round tables will be held concurrently in the afternoon of the first day;
“(b) The second set of two interactive round tables will be held concurrently in the morning of the second day;
“(c) Summaries of the deliberations of the four round-table sessions will be presented orally by the chairpersons of the round-table sessions during the concluding plenary meeting of the High-level Dialogue;
“9. Also decides that the themes for each of the four round tables will be the following:
“(a) Round table 1 will focus on the impacts of international migration on economic and social development;
“(b) Round table 2 will focus on measures to ensure respect for and protection of the human rights of migrants, migrant workers and members of their families;
“(c) Round table 3 will focus on promoting international cooperation including building partnerships for the benefit of countries and migrants alike, and optimizing the role of regional consultative processes;
“(d) Round table 4 will focus on the role of the United Nations system in enhancing coordination and collaboration on international migration and development;
“10. Further decides to hold informal interactive hearings in June/July 2006 with representatives of non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and the private sector, to be presided over by the President of the General Assembly, and requests the President of the Assembly to prepare a summary of the hearings prior to the High-level Dialogue in September 2006;
“11. Decides that the President of the General Assembly will determine the list of invited participants and the exact format and organization of the hearings, in consultation with Member States and representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, civil society organizations and the private sector;
“12. Also decides that representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, civil society organizations and the private sector, one from each grouping, selected during the informal interactive hearings, may also participate in each of the round tables of the High-level Dialogue, and decides that the President of the General Assembly will determine the list of such representatives, taking into account the principle of equitable geographical representation, in consultation with Member States;
“13. Further decides that arrangements concerning the participation of non-governmental organizations, civil society and the private sector in the High-level Dialogue will in no way create a precedent for other meetings of the General Assembly;
“14. Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to prepare a comprehensive overview of studies and analyses on the multidimensional aspects of migration and development, including the effects of migration on economic and social development in developed and developing countries, and on the effects of the movements of highly skilled migrant workers and those with advanced education, as a substantive input for the High-level Dialogue;
“15. Requests the Secretary-General to address in his comprehensive report the issue of short-term movement of service providers and its impact in sending and receiving countries;
“16. Encourages the regional commissions to facilitate dialogue at the regional level in preparation for the High-level Dialogue;
“17. Requests the President of the General Assembly, in consultation with the Member States, and with the assistance of the Secretariat, to organize events prior to the High-level Dialogue with a focus on its overall theme;
“18. Notes that the Commission on Population and Development, the Commission on Social Development and the Commission on the Status of Women will consider the issue of international migration within their respective mandates by the time of the High-level Dialogue, and invites their inputs through the Economic and Social Council;
“19. Invites appropriate regional consultative processes and other major initiatives undertaken by Member States in the field of international migration to contribute to the High-level Dialogue;
“20. Takes note of the submission to the Secretary-General of the report of the Global Commission on International Migration and looks forward to its consideration at the High-level Dialogue;
“21. Reiterates that the High-level Dialogue will result in a summary by the President of the General Assembly;
“22. Requests the Secretary-General to prepare a note on the organization of work of the High-level Dialogue;
“23. Recalls its request to the Secretary-General to submit a report to the General Assembly at its sixty-first session on the implementation of resolution 59/241;
“24. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its sixty-first session the sub-item entitled ‘International migration and development’.”
7. At its 37th meeting, on 15 December, the Committee had before it a draft resolution entitled “International migration and development” (A/C.2/60/L.62) submitted by the Vice-Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Juraj Koudelka (Czech Republic), on the basis of informal consultations held on draft resolution A/C.2/60/L.16.
8. Also at the 37th meeting, the Committee had before it a statement of programme budget implications submitted by the Secretary-General in accordance with rule 153 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly (A/C.2/60/L.70).
9. At the same meeting, the representative of Switzerland proposed an oral amendment to operative paragraph 7 of the draft resolution by which the words “within existing resources;” would be added to the end of the paragraph.
10. At the 38th meeting, on 16 December, the Secretary of the Committee read out a statement of programme budget implications arising from the proposed oral amendment to operative paragraph 7 of draft resolution A/C.2/60//L.62.
11. Also at the 38th meeting, the Committee adopted the oral amendment to operative paragraph 7 by a recorded vote of 159 to 2, with one abstention. The voting was as follows:
In favour:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Against:
Japan, United States of America.
Abstaining:
Israel.
12. Statements in explanation of vote were made before the vote by the representatives of the United States of America and Japan.
13. Also at the same meeting, the Committee adopted draft resolution A/C.2/60/L.62, as orally amended (see para. 15).
14. In the light of the adoption of draft resolution A/C.2/60/L.62, draft resolution A/C.2/60/L.16 was withdrawn by its sponsors.
III. Recommendation of the Second Committee
15. The Second Committee recommends to the General Assembly the adoption of the following draft resolutions:
Draft resolution I
Facilitation and reduction of the cost of transfer of
migrant remittances
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolutions 58/208 of 23 December 2003 and 59/241 of 22 December 2004,
Acknowledging the important nexus between international migration and development and the need to deal with the challenges and opportunities that migration presents to countries of origin, destination and transit, and recognizing that migration brings benefits as well as challenges to the global community,
Recognizing that remittance flows constitute sources of private capital and that remittances have increased over time, complement domestic savings and are instrumental in improving the well-being of recipients,
Recognizing also that remittance flows constitute one of the important aspects of international migration and that they particularly benefit the households of migrants and could impact the economies of recipient countries,
Recognizing further that there is a need to address and promote conditions for cheaper, faster and safer transfers of remittances in both source and recipient countries, and the need to facilitate the potential of their productive use in recipient countries by beneficiaries that are willing and able to do so,
Noting that, despite some recent initiatives to facilitate and to reduce the costs of remittances transfers, the costs incurred by migrants remain high and could be reduced,
Noting also the fact that many migrants without access to regular financial services may resort to informal means of transferring remittances,
1. Reaffirms the importance of reducing the transfer costs of migrant remittances, facilitating their flow and, as appropriate, encouraging opportunities for development-oriented investment in recipient countries by beneficiaries that are willing and able to do so;
2. Encourages Governments and other relevant stakeholders to consider adopting measures, in accordance with national legislation, that facilitate migrant remittance flows to recipient countries, including through, inter alia:
(a) Simplifying procedures and facilitating access to formal means of remittances transfers;
(b) Promoting access to, and awareness on the availability and use of, financial services for migrants;
3. Invites development partners and relevant international organizations to support developing countries in their capacity-building efforts to facilitate the flows of migrant remittances;
4. Looks forward to the High-level Dialogue of the General Assembly on International Migration and Development to be held in 2006, which will offer an opportunity to discuss the multidimensional aspects of international migration and development in order to identify appropriate ways and means to maximize their development benefits and minimize their negative impacts;
5. Invites interested countries to voluntarily convey to the Secretary-General information on their practices, initiatives and proposals in regard to the facilitation and the reduction of the cost of migrant remittances, in the context of the preparation of the Secretary-General’s comprehensive overview for the High-level Dialogue.
Draft resolution II
International migration and development
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolutions 58/208 of 23 December 2003 and 59/241 of 22 December 2004,
Recalling also its resolution 57/270 B of 23 June 2003 on the integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic and social fields,
Recalling further the 2005 World Summit Outcome,1
Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General,2
1. Decides that the High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development will be held in New York on 14 and 15 September 2006, and also decides that the High-level Dialogue will discuss the overall theme of the multidimensional aspects of international migration and development in order to identify appropriate ways and means to maximize its development benefits and minimize its negative impacts;
2. Invites Member States to participate in the High-level Dialogue at the ministerial level or highest level possible;
3. Decides that the Holy See, in its capacity as observer State, and Palestine, in its capacity as observer, shall participate in the High-level Dialogue;
4. Invites those intergovernmental organizations and entities that have observer status with the General Assembly to participate in the High-level Dialogue;
5. Invites relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, as well as the International Organization for Migration, to contribute to the preparation of, and participate in, the High-level Dialogue;
6. Decides that the participants in the High-level Dialogue will participate in accordance with the rules of procedure of the General Assembly;
7. Also decides that the High-level Dialogue will consist of four plenary meetings and four interactive round tables, within existing resources;
8. Further decides that the President of the General Assembly, the President of the Economic and Social Council and the Secretary-General will make introductory statements at the opening of the High-level Dialogue;
9. Decides that the round tables will be open to all Member States, the Holy See, in its capacity as observer State, and Palestine, in its capacity as observer, and representatives of relevant entities of the United Nations system, including its relevant special rapporteurs, and the International Organization for Migration, as well as to other relevant regional and international intergovernmental organizations that have observer status, and also decides that the round tables will be organized as follows:
(a) The first set of two interactive round tables will be held concurrently in the afternoon of the first day of the High-level Dialogue;
(b) The second set of two interactive round tables will be held concurrently in the morning of the second day of the High-level Dialogue;
(c) Summaries of the deliberations of the four round-table sessions will be presented orally by the chairpersons of the round-table sessions during the concluding plenary meeting of the High-level Dialogue;
10. Also decides that the themes for each of the four round tables will be the following:
(a) Round table 1 will focus on the effects of international migration on economic and social development;
(b) Round table 2 will focus on measures to ensure respect for and protection of the human rights of all migrants, and to prevent and combat smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons;
(c) Round table 3 will focus on the multidimensional aspects of international migration and development, including remittances;
(d) Round table 4 will focus on promoting the building of partnerships and capacity-building and the sharing of best practices at all levels, including the bilateral and regional levels, for the benefit of countries and migrants alike;
11. Further decides to hold, within existing resources, one-day informal interactive hearings in 2006 with representatives of non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and the private sector, to be presided over by the President of the General Assembly, and requests the President of the Assembly to prepare a summary of the hearings prior to the High-level Dialogue in September 2006;
12. Decides that the President of the General Assembly will determine the list of invited participants and the exact format and organization of the hearings, in consultation with Member States and representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, civil society organizations and the private sector;
13. Also decides that representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, civil society organizations and the private sector, one from each grouping being selected during the informal interactive hearings, may also participate in each of the round tables of the High-level Dialogue, and that the President of the General Assembly will determine the list of such representatives, taking into account the principle of equitable geographical representation, in consultation with Member States;
14. Further decides that arrangements concerning the participation of non-governmental organizations, civil society and the private sector in the High-level Dialogue will in no way create a precedent for other meetings of the General Assembly;
15. Requests the Secretary-General, within existing resources, to prepare a comprehensive overview of studies and analyses on the multidimensional aspects of migration and development, including the effects of migration on economic and social development in developed and developing countries, and on the effects of the movements of highly skilled migrant workers and those with advanced education;
16. Invites the Secretary-General to address also in his comprehensive overview in consultation with relevant United Nations organizations, short-term and seasonal workers within the issue of labour movements;
17. Invites the regional commissions to contribute to and coordinate dialogue at the regional level in preparation for the High-level Dialogue;
18. Invites the President of the General Assembly, within existing resources, in consultation with Member States, and with the assistance of the Secretariat, to organize prior to the High-level Dialogue up to two panel discussions with a focus on its overall theme;
19. Notes that the Commission on Population and Development, the Commission for Social Development and the Commission on the Status of Women will have considered the issue of international migration within their respective mandates by the time of the High-level Dialogue, and invites their inputs through the Economic and Social Council;
20. Also notes that the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families will have considered the issue of protecting the rights of all migrant workers as a tool to enhance development, within its mandate, by the time of the High-level Dialogue, and invites the Secretary-General to make the summary of the Committee’s discussion available for the High-level Dialogue;
21. Invites appropriate regional consultative processes and other major initiatives undertaken by Member States in the field of international migration to contribute to the High-level Dialogue;
22. Takes note of the report of the Global Commission on International Migration, and notes its contribution to the debate on international migration and development, and also takes note of the report as an input for consideration at the High-level Dialogue;
23. Reiterates that the outcome of the High-level Dialogue will be a Chairperson’s summary, which will be widely distributed to Member States, observers, United Nations agencies and other appropriate organizations;
24. Requests the Secretary-General to prepare a note on the organization of work of the High-level Dialogue;
25. Recalls its request to the Secretary-General to submit a report to the General Assembly at its sixty-first session on the implementation of resolution 59/241 of 22 December 2004;
26. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its sixty-first session the sub-item entitled “International migration and development”.
* The report of the Committee on this item will be issued in five parts, under the symbol A/60/490 and Add.1-4.
1/ Resolution 60/1.
2/ A/60/205.
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Document Type: Report
Document Sources: General Assembly
Subject: PLO/Palestine
Publication Date: 09/11/2005