Managing Migration will Take Political Courage and Leadership

Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 22 January 2015 – Tackling the issue of migration will take political courage and leadership, together with policies to manage the movement of people across borders, according to a panel at the World Economic Forum 45th Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters. With growing hostility towards migrants in the wake of the recent Paris and Brussels attacks, panellists agreed on the need to recognize the significant contribution migrants make to their communities around the world.

“One out of seven people in the world are on the move,” said William Lacy Swing, Director-General, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Geneva. “Humanitarian disasters are occurring simultaneously and they are increasingly complex and we are living in a period of the greatest anti-migration sentiment. We need policies to manage the movement of people.”

Swing added: “We have to deal with the paradoxes of national sovereignty versus individual freedom and between national security and human security. If we can wrap up those paradoxes in a formula, we’ll be all right.” However, he noted, this will take political leadership and courage. “There isn’t enough political courage on migration right now.”

International solidarity in managing migration will help to meet the myriad challenges posed by people leaving their countries in search of a better life, said Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, President of the Republic of Mali. Malians are being forced to migrate to escape growing terrorist activity in the north of his country and “climatic ups and downs” in the region bordering Mauritania and Senegal. “I am seeking to create conditions to make my country attractive so that young Malians can stay in Mali,” the President declared. At the same time, programmes in partnership with destination countries such as France are encouraging Malians to return home.

Simonetta Sommaruga, President of the Swiss Confederation and Minister of Justice and Police, called for a responsible migration policy. “We have to strike a balance to weigh the risks and advantages; this is easier said than done. We need to talk about this in Europe so we can have a joint refugee policy. There is a need to do better.” Sommaruga added that European populations are living in a time of insecurity and are “haunted by fear about far too many immigrants”, which is a perception politicians must work to overcome.

Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, pointed to populist parties. “Some politicians say we should fight against migration and close the borders. This is extremely irresponsible,” he said. “We often leave space open for populists to get their message across. We need to get facts [about migration] across.” Schulz called for a different kind of international cooperation to solve migration challenges. “We have to be aware of the fact that as long as there is poverty, there will continue to be migration to Europe,” he said. “How do we get jobs, economic growth and stability in the crisis regions of the world?”

Panellists acknowledged that migration can be a powerful tool for development and that migrants contribute significantly to their home countries through remittances. The World Bank estimates that remittances in 2014 totalled $582 billion. Hikmet Ersek, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Western Union Company, USA, noted that remittances are a direct investment in recipient countries. He argued that migrants make valuable contributions at home and abroad. “What do we want to control? People’s free movement or not? We want money that flows, growth that flows and goods that flow, but we hate it when people cross borders,” he said.

Ersek joined in the call for political leadership. “Migration and refugee issues have to be talked about in a way that people can understand. We don’t have leadership in Europe or different parts of the world. Political leadership on migration is needed,” he said.

More than 2,500 participants are taking part at the 45th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland from 21 to 24 January 2015.

The Co-Chairs of the Annual Meeting 2015 are: Hari S. Bhartia, Co-Chairman and Founder, Jubilant Bhartia Group, India; Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director, Oxfam International, United Kingdom; Katherine Garrett-Cox, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer, Alliance Trust, United Kingdom; Young Global Leader Alumnus; Jim Yong Kim, President, The World Bank, Washington DC; Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman, Google, USA; and Roberto Egydio Setubal, Chief Executive Officer and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, Itaú Unibanco, Brazil.