Saudi FM and new UK counterpart discuss regional situation in phone call    Saudi Arabia, Syria sign 11 qualitative deals at Damascus Fair    Saudi skies witness rare Blood Moon total lunar eclipse    European leaders to visit US to discuss war in Ukraine, Trump says    South Korean worker describes panic and confusion during Hyundai ICE raid    The key to happiness    66% of 12.9 million extremist messages, monitored by Etidal in 90 days, incite violence    KSrelief launches relief and humanitarian projects during visit of Al-Rabeeah to Syria    OPEC+ to increase further oil output in October    Japan's Prime Minister resigns after election defeat pressures    Saudi Justice Ministry to host 2nd International Conference on Judicial Training in Riyadh    Over 47,000 transport violations detected during 340,000 TGA inspections in August    Amended Contractors Classification Law regulations set criteria for dividing major projects    Gamers frustrated as Hollow Knight: Silksong crashes stores on launch    'My mother was my shelter and storm': Arundhati Roy on her fierce new memoir    Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr. set to meet in exhibition boxing match in 2026    HONOR to participate in Global Symposium for Regulators 2025 in Saudi Arabia    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series laptops redefine learning, creating and gaming    Al Hilal sign Turkish defender Yusuf Akcicek on €22m deal until 2029    Al Qadsiah sign German midfielder Julian Weigl to strengthen defensive midfield    Al Ahli secure Flamengo starlet Matheus Gonçalves in long-term deal through 2027    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Migrants essential to recovery of global development post-COVID-19: UN study
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 22 - 10 - 2020

Global human mobility has halted with the overall impact of COVID-19, hitting people on the move hard. As borders re-open slowly, a new UN Development Programme (UNDP) report illustrates how governments can shape migration to benefit development and boost recovery.
The report, Human Mobility, Shared Opportunities: A Review of the 2009 Human Development Report and the Way Ahead, looks back at the last decade and assesses how future policy responses could facilitate safe, orderly, and regular migration.
The study recommends expanding legal pathways, reducing transaction costs on remittances, guaranteeing migrants' rights, especially for women, fostering integration and social cohesion, and mobilizing diasporas. With forced migration doubling over the last 10 years to around 79 million people, tackling its causes will be essential for development.
"The pandemic and the pause in travel is a chance to reshape human mobility and build forward better. Promoting the benefits, reducing the costs and making migration a choice will prepare us today to face the further challenges of climate change, growing inequality, and the digital transformation of labor tomorrow," said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner.
People on the move are extremely vulnerable to the health, economic, and social impacts of the coronavirus. With their high economic and labor contributions, migrants are also essential to recovery. ‘Nobody is safe until everyone is safe' means an inclusive response, including migrants.
"The 2008 Global Economic Crisis was followed by a decade of much-politicized debate, some progress and many missed opportunities on human mobility. We must redouble efforts now and focus on progress over the next ten years if we are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals," concluded Achim Steiner.
Managed well, human mobility propels economic growth, reduces inequalities, and connects diverse societies. Although they make up for only 3.5 percent of the world's population, migrants generated 9 percent of global GDP in 2015, for example.
Research by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank shows that a percentage increase in the migrant share of the population in high-income countries boosts per capita income by two percent. If immigrants increased the workforces of wealthy countries by three percent, that would boost world GDP by US$356 billion by 2025.
"Healthy economies and societies depend on human mobility. COVID-19 recovery efforts must include migrants, ensuring that neither their rights are marginalized nor their potential for contribution is left to waste," added UNDP's Assistant Administrator and Director for the Crisis Bureau, Asako Okai.
The report says that since 2009 little progress has been made in addressing the mobility of low-skilled migrants. Migrants' rights are more protected on paper, but their access to social protection and services is still limited in most countries. And transaction costs for documents, travel, and money transfer remain stubbornly high.
At the same time, new approaches are enhancing the benefits of human mobility for migrants and their families, and also for countries of origin and destination. These include efforts to expand legal migration pathways, digital innovations to help people earn a living on the move, a renewed focus on social protection, and on the participation of diasporas in the policies of countries of origin.
"Migrants help provide the building blocks for prosperous societies bringing knowledge, support, networks, and skills in countries of origin, transit, and destination," says António Vitorino, Director General for the International Organization for Migration (IOM). "Yet the development benefits of migration are not guaranteed. Positive outcomes depend on having conducive social, cultural, political and economic structures in place."
Together with the International Organization for Migration, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and partners in the UN Network on Migration, UNDP stands ready to support policymakers in amplifying the empowerment effects of migration and mitigating increased vulnerabilities in view of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Agenda 2030.
The report is published as UNDP marks 30 years of its annual landmark Human Development Reports with a series of events.


Clic here to read the story from its source.