According to United
Nations, there were 258 million international migrants in the world in 2017,
increasing almost 50% since 2000. The number of migrants, representing 3.4 % of
the world’s population, is increasing faster than the global population. There
is no doubt that population of migrants is driven by economic prosperity,
inequality, violence, conflict and climate change.
Migrants do contribute in development of
their native countries- as they send a huge amount of remittance to their
family members. Around 80% of the world’s migrants move between countries in a
safe and orderly fashion. However, due to recent crisis in Afghanistan, Syria
and Some part of African Nations, more than 60,000 people have died on the move
since the years 2000.
Besides in transit countries or the country
of destination, racism, discrimination and human-rights violations are
continuously reported. The process of developing a compact for the safety and
security of migrants was started in early 2017. Due to the process, the New
York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants was adopted in September 2016.
In the New York Declaration for Refugees and
Migrants, adopted in September 2016, the General Assembly decided to develop a
global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration. The process to develop
this global compact for migration started in April 2017.
Global
compact for migration and Indian migration provisions
The Global Compact for Migration, the
agreement has been formally adopted by 164 nations in Morocco on 11th
December, for the first time ever, United Nations member states, except the U.S.
Working
areas
Nations agreed on a deal to better manage international
migration, addresses its challenges strengthen migrant rights and contribute to
sustainable development.
Objective
To ease
pressure on host countries, to enhance refugee self-reliance, to expand access
to third country solutions, to support conditions in countries of origin for
return in safety and dignity.
It seeks to better manage migration at local,
national and global levels, in order to reduce the risks and vulnerabilities of
migrants. It creates a non-legally binding and co-operative framework.
The Global Compact for Migration, it is first
inter-governmentally negotiated agreement, prepared the United Nations, to
cover wide-ranging dimensions of international migration in a holistic and
comprehensive manner.
Controversies
Related Global Compact for Migration
The number of countries opposing the pact is
increasing almost daily as the sentiments of nationalism are higher. The
Dominican Republic is the latest country to join Australia, Austria, Bulgaria,
Israel, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia in refusing to sign the
document that they negotiated for 18months.
The Global Compact for Migration is creating
heated political tension in other countries, too. In Belgium, the government
was even in danger of collapse over it. Italy and Estonia have not attended the
conference. Switzerland, which led the negotiations as co-facilitator, won’t
back the Global Compact for migration in Marrakesh either, instead of delaying
the decision until voting in parliament.
The US quit negotiations early on, in
December 2017, and was followed by Hungary seven months later.
What
analysts say about it?
Many analysts have recognized that the final
text is far from perfect. Yet most agree about the significance of the
negotiation for multilateralism and global cooperation. High-level officials
and decision makers in the field of migration – recognised that the compact was
both the best and the worst moment to negotiate the GCM.
The attention on migration in the past has
created the conditions to start an unprecedented global negotiation but within
the most hostile environment possible. The risk of countries leaving the pact
overshadowed the process from the beginning.
Why Global compact for migration is not much
welcoming?
First, states with a restrictive migration
agenda, such as Hungary, consider the symbolic act of approving the GCM as a
sign that they are promoting migration, the regulation of migration is not seen
as a matter of laws, policies and “border walls”, but also as a matter of
communication. Some officials believe that if a country is perceived to be open
towards immigration, it is providing incentives for migration, whereas harsh
rhetoric is seen as a deterrent.
Such perspective partly uncertain the
complexity and multifaceted reasons why people migrate. It is also unrealistic
to believe that many would- be migrants closely follow the Global Compact for
the Migration process. But countries with a restrictive migrations agenda don’t
want to take any risks. Instead, their aim to reaffirm their restrictive
position by rejecting the GCM.
India is also a part of the Global Compact
Migration
Current
scenario related to migration in India
India has a long history of migration. More
than a century ago, large numbers of Indian migrants, many of them involuntary
ones moved to Africa and the Caribbean and within the Indian subcontinent
itself. Some of the top destinations of Indian migrants in more recent decades
include Persian Gulf countries, North America and Europe.
As of 2015, 15.6 million people born in India
were living in other countries. India has been among the world’s top origin
countries if migrants since the United Nations started tracking migrant’s
origin in 1990. The number of international Indian migrants has more than
doubled over the past 25 years, growing about twice as fast as the world’s
total migrant population.
Origins and Destinations of international migrants
Nearly
half of India’s migrants are in just three countries: the United Arab Emirates,
Pakistan and the United States. About 3.5 million Indians live in the UAE, the
top destination country for Indian migrants. Over the past two decades,
millions of Indians have migrated there to find employment as laborers. Pakistan
has the second-largest number of migrants from India residing in the nation.
Almost 2 million and more live in the U.S
making it the country’s third-largest immigrants groups. Among Indian
Americans, nearly nine-in-ten were born in India. As a whole, India Americans
are among the highest educated and have some of the highest income among the
racial and ethnic group in the U.S
India is on world’s top destinations for
international migrants
As of 2015, about 5.2 million immigrants live
in India, making it the 12th largest immigrant population in the
world. The overwhelming majority of India’s immigrants are from neighboring
countries such as Bangladesh (3.2 million), Pakistan (1.1 million), Nepal
(540,000) and Sri Lanka (160,000)
India’s religious minorities have been more
likely to migrate internationally
According to the 2010 Pew Research Centre
Estimate. Religious minorities make a larger share of India’s international
migrant population than they do among the nation’s domestic population. About
19% of the India international migrant’s populations were Christian, compared
with only 3% of the population in India. Similarly, an estimated 27% of the
Indian international migrant's population was Muslim, compared with 14% of the
population in India. The reverse is true for Hindu: only 45% of India’s international
migrant population was Hindu, compared with 80% of the population in India.
Reasons for Migration
The main reason for migration is the
employment or business related migration. The male migration constitutes the
highest level of migration in India due to employment purpose.
People migrate in large number from rural to
urban areas in search for employment. Mostly from the agriculture sector,
people don’t find their own place worthy to get adequate income, so they
migrate as urban areas give them a better opportunity of employment.
Rural people migrate to the urban centre for
better education and health services as they are not able to get these services
in rural areas.
Another reason is the lack of security,
interethnic conflicts, and political disturbance drives people away from home.
Pull and
Push factors
People migrate due to ‘push factor’ such as
hunger and starvation. They do not find any means of livelihood in their
village; they are pushed out to the nearby country or distant town. The
appalling living conditions like slums, lack of safe water, forcibly, the
absence of sanitation, overcrowding with the attendant increase in crime
insecurity for women, sexual abuse, exposure to frequent epidemics.
Economic Effect
A major benefit for the source is the
remittance sent by migrants. Remittances from the international migrants are
one of the major sources of foreign exchange.
Estimated at 30 million with a presence in
189 countries, the Indian Diaspora produces an annual economic of about 400$
billion, almost 30% of India’s GDP.
