Interregional Workshop on International Migration
Geneva, 22 September 2011
South-South Migration between
Africa, Latin America & the Caribbean:
Challenges and Opportunities
Susanne Melde
Research Officer
OUTLINE
1.
Introduction
2.
Intra- and inter-regional migration
3.
Regional and national frameworks
in sub-Saharan Africa and LAC
4.
Challenges and opportunities
5.
Conclusions
2
1. INTRODUCTION
What is the ‘South’?
The migration and development debate:
- the South-
North bias
- the highlyskilled bias
Notions of mobility and migration
3
1. INTRODUCTION: SOUTH-SOUTH
MIGRATION & DEVELOPMENT
The importance of South-South migration (2005):
Almost 50 % of emigrants from developing countries
resided in developing countries in 2005
- almost 65% in sub-Saharan Africa in 2010 (WB, 2010)
and 60% in LAC in 2000 (SICREMI, 2011)
Over 80 % of South-South migration estimated to take
place between neighbouring countries
(Ratha and Shaw, 2007)
Large internal movements
Often overlooked in research and policies:
 Possible contribution of South-South
migration to human development
4
2. MIGRATION WITHIN AFRICA &
AFRICA – LAC
Intra-regional:
•
Migration poles in sub-Saharan Africa:
Côte d’Ivoire, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina
Faso, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia
(WB, 2010)
•
Migration poles in Latin America & the Caribbean:
Argentina, República Bolivariana de Venezuela, Mexico,
Brazil, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador,
Chile, Paraguay and Bolivia (WB, 2010; SICREMI, 2011)
5
2. MIGRATION BETWEEN AFRICA &
AFRICA – LAC
Inter-regional:
Africa- LAC routes
- Africa – South America (e.g. Argentina, Brazil,
Colombia, Ecuador)
- Transit from Africa via Andean countries towards the
US and Canada (preliminary data of IOM study, forthcoming)
- West Africa – Caribbean: anecdotal evidence
 Relatively small compared to intra-regional but
emerging trend
LAC – Africa: e.g. Cuban doctors in South Africa,
Brazilians in Angola
Other important trends:
Africans in China; Chinese and Indians in Africa;
Chinese, Indians and Filipinos in LAC
6
 Lack of data
2. MOBILITY OF THE HIGHLY
SKILLED
… also among developing countries:
Towards
the
Gulf
Cooperation
Council countries
(9.6 million highly skilled immigrants in 2000), Malaysia, Taiwan
Province of China
... South Africa (1.3 million in 2000)
Within the Caribbean
(80% received tertiary education,
Mac Andrew, 2011)
About 17.5 % of immigrants are
tertiary educated
(Docquier and Marfouk, 2005)
 Mainly intra-regional flows
 Lower skilled migration much more important
7
3. REGIONAL AND NATIONAL
FRAMEWORKS IN THE ‘SOUTH’

Immigration legislation
like visa waiver in Ecuador increased African immigration

Regularization of immigrants: by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay,
mostly concerning MERCOSUR nationals, not Africans

Social integration: CARICOM Agreement on Social Security

Labour mobility:
- intra-regional
- few bilateral agreements and
- few comprehensive labour migration policies that would
cover South-South movements
8
3. REGIONAL AND NATIONAL
FRAMEWORKS IN THE ‘SOUTH’

Diaspora engagement:
Emigrant ministries, high councils, diaspora desks, etc.
- focus on diasporas in Europe and North America (Africa’s “6th region”)
- those in the South are often overlooked

Trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants:
anti-TiP legislation at national and regional level
(e.g. SADC, ECOWAS, bi-regionally ECCAS – ECOWAS, OAS)

Irregular migration: e.g. cooperation between Cape Verde and Brazil

Refugee protection: at national level based on international
frameworks, e.g. Senegalese in Argentina
9
3. REGIONAL AND NATIONAL FRAMEWORKS
IN THE ‘SOUTH’
Regional:
•
Migration and development
Mobility: Free movement of people
 Objective vs. implementation
 Proliferation of sub-regional integration processes
Regional Consultative Processes on Migration
Broader development objectives, economic integration
Other (e.g. Community of Portuguese Language Countries - CPLP)
10
3. REGIONAL AND NATIONAL
FRAMEWORKS IN THE ‘SOUTH’
- Migration frameworks at regional, bilateral or
national levels, not Africa – LAC
 Yet global and regional human rights
treaties and declarations apply
- Need for strengthening inter-regional
South - South cooperation
e.g. CPLP and ACP in Africa – LAC context;
Third Global Meeting of Chairs and Secretariats of RCPs
11
4. CHALLENGES TO MAKE MIGRATION
WORK FOR DEVELOPMENT
Lack of general data and research on impact of SouthSouth (im)migration on development
Immigration in countries in the South often forgotten in
policies and strategies
Obstacles to migration for lower skilled workers
 Particular groups barred from movement (e.g. women)
High degree of informality in labour markets
Challenge protection of human rights of migrants and
their families, discrimination and xenophobia
Lack of access to social protection schemes and
lack of portability of social insurance benefits
12
4. OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE MIGRATION
WORK FOR DEVELOPMENT
South-South cooperation has been existing for a long time
Intra-regional migration entails less distance and costs
Less cultural and linguistic differences
integration and reduce psychological problems
facilitate
More opportunities for lesser skilled migration
Outreach and data needs to include diasporas residing in
the South
 Enabling environment needed
 Need to integrate the potential benefits of human
mobility in national & regional development
planning, in particular South-South migration
13
5. CONCLUSIONS
Often overlooked: Migration among developing countries
and its development potential
 Evidence needed to inform policies
 Strengthening of South-South cooperation on M&D
 Importance of human rights and social protection
Decreasing costs of migration and fostering remittances
Opportunity for developing gender-sensitive policies
Encouraging inter-regional approaches to tackle
youth unemployment, informal labour markets and
the creation of employment
14
5. CONCLUSIONS - Continued
Example of the ACP Observatory on Migration:*

Consolidating existing migration data and information on
South-South migration and development

Provide policy-makers, the civil society, media and the
public at large with reliable and harmonized information on
migration

Creating a network of research centres, universities,
government agencies, civil society, the private sector and
migrant associations in the six ACP regions

Training and capacity reinforcement of multi-disciplinary
South specialists and experts
* The total budget for the project is 9 404 776 €. The European Union
contributes with 7 994 060 € .
15
12 Pilot Countries of the ACP Observatory on Migration
East
Africa
Central
Africa
Kenya
Tanzania
West
Africa
Cameroun
Pacific
DRC
Senegal
Angola
Southern
Nigeria
Africa
Papua New
Guinea
Caribbean
Timor-Leste
Lesotho
Trinidad &
Tobago
Haiti
The ACP Observatory on Migration:
Facts and Figures
 24 Meetings of National
Consultative Committees
in 10 countries
 1.259 studies in a
Compendium of research
on South-South migration
National studies
792
Regional studies
240
Cross-cutting studies
227
Total
1 259
 36 practionners trained in
data collection on
diasporas and
remittances, 22 on data
management software
and 28 on environmental
migration, internal
migration and health
 7 Calls for Tenders launched for Research studies in pilot
countries – 2 studies in progress
17
Thank you
Contact: [email protected]
Please visit our website:
www.acpmigration-obs.org