PRESS BRIEFING ON SESSION OF POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
Press Briefing
PRESS BRIEFING ON SESSION OF POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
19970227
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
A technical symposium on issues involved in international migration, including the root causes and problems posed for recipient and sending countries -- which could pave the way for the convening of an international conference on that issue -- would be held in 1998 under the auspices of the Working Group on International Migration of the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) Task Force on Basic Social Services for All, the Chairman of the Commission on Population and Development, José Gomez de León Cruces (Mexico), told a Headquarters press briefing this morning.
In introductory remarks, he said the current session was the first time the Commission considered international migration issues. The Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis had prepared for the session a very thorough and well-documented report on the extent of international migration -- "a very important question which touched on delicate social, economic and political issues". Members had agreed on the importance of the topic, expressing the need to keep interest in it alive in the Commission and in other United Nations bodies and conferences.
A consensus was also expected on a number of recommendations, including the organizational aspects of the technical symposium, he said. In addition to international migration questions, the session had also learned about current world demographic trends. There had also been discussions on national experiences in the implementation and follow-up to the Programme of Action agreed upon at the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development.
Responding to questions, Mr. Gomez said discussions in the Commission had, to a large extent, covered the complexities of international migration, including ways to tackle and to incorporate recommendations on the subject in the United Nations agenda.
Joseph Chamie, Director of the Population Division, of the Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis, who was also at the briefing, said that many of the unresolved issues of the Cairo Conference relating to international migration had returned to the General Assembly and the Commission. Many Commission members had continued the discussions, and additional information had been provided on the relationship between international migration and development.
Commenting on regional actions, Mr. Gomez said that the Mexican Government had organized a meeting in March 1996 at Puebla at which international migration, as it affected the region, was discussed. The issue
Briefing on Population - 2 - 27 February 1997
was complex, and it was necessary to approach it first on a regional basis. He told a questioner that the rights of migrants had not been specifically dealt with at the Commission's current session, although it had been discussed at the Cairo Population Conference. References were also made to those rights in the recommendations of that Conference. Some delegations at the Commission's session had made comments on rights of migrants, but the issue was not a central topic on the agenda.
Mr. Chamie said that international instruments on rights of individuals were generally applicable to migrants as well. The debate at the Cairo Conference was whether new rights should be established. It continued to be a contentious issue, he said. He told a correspondent that the proposed technical symposium would be an expert gathering. The question of convening a conference on international migration would be discussed at the fifty-second session of the General Assembly later this year.
A Secretariat report to be submitted to the Assembly would reflect the views of Member States on whether such a conference should be held, he continued. The expert group meeting was a technical one and would in no way be a substitute for the conference, he added. The symposium was basically to provide additional scientific objective information on the policies and statistics on international migration. He noted that the Statistical Commission at its recent meeting had adopted a report relating to statistics on international migration. It made a number of recommendations which governments were encouraged to follow.
Mr. Gomez said that one of the reasons preventing some governments from taking a position on the convening of an international conference was that there was so far no clear agenda or topics to be addressed. He hoped the symposium would help clarify the situation.
Addressing comments to journalists, Mr. Chamie said it was important for the media to note that international migration also had positive impacts for development, and not, as frequently portrayed, a negative one. "International migration benefited many in the process. It can benefit the receiving country, the sending country and the individuals involved and their families."
Mr. Gomez said the issue of international migration should not be looked at in a confrontational manner. Discussions in the Commission had so far been fruitful, setting an example for regional meetings on the subject.
The Commission's session, which began last Monday, will end tomorrow, Friday, 28 February.
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