In the first stage of globalization, when the liberalization of capital and goods flows occurred, its fruits were reaped primarily by developed countries and their major trading partners, particularly Brazil, India, and China. Now that we are entering the era of mobility, more and more people will cross borders. In search of a better life, they can gradually shed the shackles of glaring inequality and accelerate progress in all developing countries.
To give just one example: in 2006, migrants sent $264 billion to their home countries, an amount three times the total volume of all international aid. In all developing countries, remittances are the foundation that allows people to access healthcare and education services and engage in grassroots entrepreneurial activity.
The free movement of people contributes to the development of the global economy. When a hospital in London needs nurses, it finds them in Ghana or Sierra Leone. When Google looks for programmers, their supplier is often developing countries. Until now, this movement of people has brought benefits mainly to wealthy states and has raised concerns about brain drain in poorer countries. However, we are beginning to understand how migration can be made beneficial for all.
Nevertheless, instead of analyzing the development benefits that migration promises, governments are slow to act. The results are unprecedented levels of illegal immigration, social tensions, discrimination, loss of faith in government, and the strengthening of criminal groups.
In previous eras, migration had similar scales. At the turn of the 20th century, about 3% of the world's population were 'on the move.' According to UN estimates, now, 100 years later, there are 191 million international migrants, which in percentage terms is almost comparable to past figures. And this number continues to grow. One recent OECD report indicates that in 2005, the number of 'permanent' migrants in developed countries increased by about 10%.
Today, migrants move faster and more easily thanks to low-cost passenger transport. The Internet, as well as telephone communications and satellite television, allow them to stay in constant contact with loved ones left behind at home. Through banks, they instantly transfer their hard-earned money to their families. At the same time, globalization has radically changed our labor markets, and growing economic inequality (along with natural and man-made disasters) is driving ever-larger emigration. That is why we call our era the era of mobility.
In September 2006, for the first time in history, the UN held a high-level meeting on migration. Its participants supported the proposal to create a Global Forum on Migration and Development, which was put forward by my predecessor. The Forum held its first session on July 9 in Brussels, with about 800 delegates from more than 140 countries participating.
The Global Forum represents an important first step in our efforts to harness the potential of migration for development. We learn, in particular, about the IntEnt program in the Netherlands, which helped migrants create about 200 companies in their home countries; about micro-banks in Mexico that allow local communities to effectively use remittances to invest in education, healthcare, and entrepreneurship; about the International Code of Practice for the Ethical Recruitment of Health Workers (United Kingdom – South Africa); and about how dual citizenship laws allow migrants to play a more active role in development in their home countries.
We cannot escape the fact that migration can also have negative consequences. The Global Forum on Migration provides an opportunity to address these issues in a comprehensive and proactive manner, so that the benefits of migration are fully realized in developing and industrialized countries. The key to this are tolerance, public acceptance, education, and mutual openness in the face of cultural differences, which are essential to our common global human values.
Migration can bring enormous benefits. If we take into account existing realities and begin a thorough and forward-looking conversation about how to better realize our common interests, we can jointly accelerate the onset of the third stage of globalization – when large numbers of people will for the first time gain access to the world's wealth.