Monday, May 23, 2011

LDCs meet calls for facilitating migration, remittance flows

The programme of action of the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, Istanbul that concluded on May 13 explicitly called for reducing remittance costs and improving the development impact of remittances.
The conference called on the LDCs to make efforts to improve access to financial and banking services for easy transaction of remittances; simplify migration procedures to reduce the cost of outward migration; take appropriate measures to better utilise knowledge, skills and earnings of the returning migrants; provide necessary information, as available, to workers seeking foreign employment.
The five day conference (May 9-13) also identified some actions like resisting unfair and discriminatory treatment of migrant workers and the imposition of unreasonable restrictions on labour migration in order to maximize the benefits of international migration, while complying with the relevant national legislation and applicable international instruments; developing, where appropriate and in accordance with domestic laws, a system of short-term migration, including workers from least developed countries; removing unnecessary restrictions on outward remittances and support the lowering of transaction costs; and supporting the least developed countries (LDCs) in establishing the International Migrants Remittance Observatory, on a voluntary basis.
It has also called on the development community to ‘undertake measures to enhance understanding, coordination and cooperation with regard to climate change-induced displacement, migration and planned relocation, where appropriate, at national, regional and international levels.

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