Nexus between migration and other transnational issues

Migration is both a development strategy and a development outcome. Migrants make choices to move to improve their livelihoods, to meet their economic and their social aspirations. Migrants bring significant benefits to their new communities in the form of skills, strengthening the labour force, investment and cultural diversity. Migrants also play a role in improving the lives of communities in their countries of origin through the transfer of skills and financial resources, contributing to positive development outcomes.

As much as migration has an impact on development, migration is also affected by development. The development contexts in which people live, where they move to, and the places they go through to get there play a role in shaping people’s resources, aspirations, motivations and opportunities to migrate. Conflict, climate change, labour markets and other development-related factors call all impact the drivers and nature of migration. (See chapter Migration and Development for more information). 

The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development marks an important milestone in recognizing the interconnections between migration and development.  The Agenda regards migration as a multidimensional reality of major relevance for the development of countries of origin, transit and destination. The central reference to migration is made in Target 10.7 under the Goal “Reduce inequality in and among countries”. It calls for States to “Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well- managed migration policies.” However, migration and migrants are also relevant to the implementation of the other goals and many of their targets, and it will not be possible to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without due consideration of migration. Noting the 2030 Agenda’s multi-disciplinary, cross-sectoral nature, it is thus useful to assess the impact of migration on a range of development issues and to also understand better how development can impact on migration and migrants.

Bilateral, regional and international trade regimes are beginning to have a profound effect on migration.  The European Union's evolution of a harmonized migration regime to serve as a counterpart to its customs union is but one example. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) includes migration-related provisions permitting freer movement of professionals, executives, and others providing international services from signatory countries (Government of Canada, ND).  The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is another example, with trade in services often requiring greater freedom for service providers to move internationally.

Trade agreements do not necessarily refer to migration, however, in setting out the terms for mobility of persons across international borders. For example, the GATS agreement uses the term ‘movement of natural persons’ in discussing the category of concern. It defines natural persons are those “who are either service suppliers (such as independent professionals) or who work for a service supplier and who are present in another [World Trade Organization] member to supply a service (World Trade Organization, ND)". In other words, these individuals continue to be employed (or are self-employed) in their country of origin but undertake the work in another country. The agreement explicitly excludes people who are seeking jobs in the employment market of the destination country as well as those seeking permanent residence. (Further details in chapter International Migration Law)

The relationship between trade and migration is complex. Historically, trade and migration were seen as substitutes—if trade between two countries increased, migration would decrease. Political leaders sometimes justified elimination of trade barriers by arguing that such policies would reduce the need for migration by providing greater economic opportunities at home. The former President of Mexico famously stated during the negotiations of NAFTA that Mexico would prefer to send its tomatoes to the United States than its tomato pickers. Yet, the situation is more complex. Tomato pickers and others from Mexico still emigrated in the 1990s and early 2000s because wages were higher in the U.S. than in Mexico, even with freer trade arrangements. Over the long term, overall changes in the economy—many related to trade—did provide increased economic opportunities, slowing emigration in the late 2000s. Moreover, trade in services can often serve as a complement to migration. As in the trade agreements discussed above, provisions regarding movement of natural persons is tantamount to migration, even if the term is not used. Furthermore, increases in migration can increase trade between countries as migrants seek products made in the countries of origin, help companies overcome barriers to trade through their knowledge of the language and cultural norms of both countries, and invest in enterprises that export and/or import goods and services.

The interconnections between movements of people and security raise a few issues relevant to migration management. Security can be defined in several different ways. Three concepts are particularly important:

• First, national security, that is, the ability of a country to protect itself from the threat of violence or attack.
• Second, international or global security, that is, “military and diplomatic measures that nations and international organizations such as the United Nations and NATO take to ensure mutual safety and security (RAND, 2019).
• Third, human security, namely, “the right of people to live in freedom and dignity, free from poverty and despair" (United Nations , 2012), which encompasses a broad range of issues affecting personal well-being, including economic, social, environmental, health and others.

Recognizing that there is a relationship between migration and security does not mean that migrants are security threats. In fact, they are much more often the victims of insecurity than the perpetrators. Moreover, migration can itself reduce security risks. As a study on violent extremism concluded:

As noted in topic Environmental Drivers, environmental change can be a powerful driver of human mobility that affects countries throughout the world (Ionesco, Mokhnacheva, & Gemenne, 2017). Migration, however, can also be a highly effective mechanism that helps people adapt to a changing environment (Lazcko & Aghazarm, 2009). Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change identified three forms of human mobility that may result from the short- and long-term impacts of climate and other environmental change: migration, which often happens in anticipation of worsening impacts, such as loss of livelihood and habitat; displacement, which is often in direct response to the impacts of acute natural hazards or environmentally-induced conflict; and planned relocation, which occurs when entire or large segments of communities must move because the land they occupy cannot support human life at present or in the near term. See chapter Migration, Environment and Climate Change for further information on these interconnections as well as the policy discussions that have been underway during the past decades.

In December 2018, two international initiatives offered recommendations on addressing the interconnections between migration, the environment and climate change. The UNFCCC Task Force on Displacement recommended that States consider  adopting national and subnational legislation, policies, and strategies; enhancing research, data collection, risk analysis, and sharing of information; strengthening preparedness, including early warning systems, contingency planning, evacuation planning, and resilience building strategies and plans; integrating human mobility challenges and opportunities into national planning processes; considering to assist internally displaced persons; and facilitating orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people affected by the adverse impacts of climate change, as appropriate and in accordance with national laws and policies (UNFCCC, 2018). Also in December 2018, States adopted language in the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) that addressed the need for an integrated approach to movements in the context of sudden- and slow-onset natural disasters, the adverse effects of climate change, and environmental degradation (United Nations, 2019). The GCM urged States to develop adaptation and resilience strategies; develop coherent approaches to address the challenges of migration movements; develop or build on existing national and regional practices for admission and stay of appropriate duration based on compassionate, humanitarian or other considerations; and cooperate to identify, develop and strengthen solutions, including by devising planned relocation and visa options, in cases where adaptation in or return to their country of origin is not possible (United Nations, 2019).

As with the other issues discussed in this section, the interconnections between health and migration are complex. Chapter Health and Migration provides further information on this topic. Migrants share in the health problems of those who do not move but experience health issues unique to their migratory status. Just what the impact of migration on health varies depending on the ways that people move, from where and to where they go, their pre-existing health status and needs, and what their experiences are on route and in the destination. Those migrating into dirty and dangerous work situations may be at heightened risk for health problems. Those who experience trauma during any of the phases of migration may be at risk for mental health problems. Access to healthcare can be challenging for migrants.  In some cases, they are not eligible for publicly funded healthcare. In other cases, they find it difficult to access services because of irregular status, language and cultural barriers, or poverty. 

In some cases, however, migrants benefit from what is sometimes called the