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18 July 1994
Doc. 7128
1403-13/7/94-1-E
CONTRIBUTION
of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography
to the enlarged debate of the Assembly
on the activities of OECD in 1993
by Mrs AGUIAR,
Portugal, Liberal, Democratic and Reformers Group
I. Introduction
Each year the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography reviews OECD's activities in the committee's sphere of interest. This contribution is the result of this review and covers OECD's activities in 1993 in the fields of migration and demography.
II. International migration
OECD's work in this field was designed to respond to the growing concern of its member countries about the increase in migration. It was in this spirit that OECD organised the Conference on "International Migration and Co-operation: Challenges for OECD Countries", held in Madrid from 29 to 31 March 1993.
The conclusions of the conference, inter alia, stressed the need for international co-operation in order to control migration with the objective of making migration beneficial for both host countries and countries of origin. The committee is pleased to note this approach, which is also that of the Council of Europe, and which represents the basis for any lasting solution to the problems of migration.
In the same spirit, OECD emphasises the link between migration and development, which is the driving force behind migratory pressure. The implementation of development policies to encourage populations to remain in their own countries was the theme of the International Conference on Migration held in Rome in March 1991. A more searching review of the basic building bricks of such policies, that is to say development of the private sector and the healthy management of public and financial affairs, took place at the Madrid Conference on Migration and Development organised by OECD, Canada and Spain and held in May 1993.
It must also be noted that OECD's Development Centre has launched a new three-year research programme encompassing international migration.
A pre-requisite for any political decision taken on migration is the existence of reliable, complete studies and statistics on migration patterns and policies. On this head, the committee is pleased to note that the 1993 annual report of the Continuous Reporting System on Migration (SOPEMI), entitled "Trends in international migration", contains data on several countries of central and eastern Europe as well as Japan, following the recent extension of its network of correspondents. In view of the substantial migration in the countries of the former Soviet Union, it would be most desirable for these countries also to become members of the network.
In line with its new terms of reference, the Working Party on Migration continued its work on solutions to the specific migration-related problems encountered by member states. At its sixteenth meeting, in June 1993, the working party considered topics such as the employment of foreigners, the acquisition of nationality, the free movement of persons within the European Community and the Nordic countries, recent developments in east-west migration and migration patterns among gypsy populations in central and eastern Europe. In the light of the work under way within the Council of Europe on several of these fronts, greater co-operation between our two organisations could only be beneficial and is therefore most desirable.
III. Demography
The committee appreciates the effort which OECD, and particularly its Development Centre, has devoted to formulating policies rooted in the concept of sustainable development. Bearing in mind the work of the Parliamentary Assembly on the interplay between economic development, the state of the environment and demographic change,1 the committee suggests that the demographic factor should be given more weight in OECD's studies in this field. We would draw attention in this connection to the relevance of the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development, to be held in Cairo from 5 to 13 September 1994.
On a further major demographic issue, the ageing of the population, the committee notes that the effects of this are beginning to place a great strain on the welfare budgets not only of the member states of OECD but also of some Asian countries which have undergone rapid development (Taiwan, South Korea, etc.). Thorough-going studies on the topic should continue, in order to avoid the emergence of a serious crisis, which might erode the very foundations of the social policies of the states concerned.
IV. Amendments to the draft resolution in reply to
OECD's annual report for 1993
The committee proposes inserting the following amendments into the draft resolution of the Committee on Economic Affairs and Development:
"Consequently, the Assembly invites OECD;
i. to step up its work on the control of migration, particularly by helping to boost co-operation between countries of origin and host countries, and by emphasising the close link between migration and development;
ii. to continue to extend the network of correspondents contributing to the Continuous Reporting System on Migration (SOPEMI), inter alia by expediting accession to the network of the countries of the former Soviet Union;
iii. to give the demographic factor its due place in work on policies for sustainable development;
iv. to continue to study the ageing of the population and its consequences for the welfare policies of member states of OECD;
v. generally speaking, to strengthen co-operation with the Council of Europe on matters of migration and demography, such co-operation being based on a regular exchange of information relating to the respective work of the two organisations and on the complementary nature of their activities."
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Reporting committee: Committee on Economic Affairs and Development (Doc. 7123).
This contribution was approved by the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography on 29 June 1994.
Secretaries to the committee: MM. Newman and Sich.
1 1Doc. 7089 and Recommendation 1243 (1994) on demographic change and sustainable development.