Tuesday 29 October 2002

Press Briefing Notes
Tuesday 29 October 2002
Spokesperson: Christopher Lom

1. ALGERIA - Migration Cooperation Agreement
2. BELGIUM - Migration from China to Europe
3. NORWAY - Assisted Voluntary Return Programme
4. COLOMBIA - Micro Credits for Displaced Persons

ALGERIA - Migration Cooperation Agreement - IOM and the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria will later today sign a status agreement for the opening of an IOM Office in Algeria. The agreement will be signed in Algiers by IOM's Director General Brunson McKinley and Secretary General of the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Abdelaziz Djerad.

Priority areas for cooperation agreed by IOM and the Algerian Government include migration programmes and policies that:

Develop regular migration for work programmes.
Promote development assistance for areas with high emigration potential.
Set up programmes to ensure the movement of skilled human resources, remittances and investments to promote sustainable development.
Offer voluntary return assistance for transit migrants in Algeria. .





IOM and the Algerian authorities are also carrying out a research project on migration and HIV/AIDS in Algeria to increase awareness and reduce the risks of HIV/
AIDS infection amongst mobile populations. Algeria, France and IOM are jointly funding this project.

"We are delighted to be taking our cooperation with Algeria one step further. The scope of activities for IOM in Algeria and the Western Mediterranean is considerable. Migration is a crucial issue for Algeria and for the region as a whole," said Brunson McKinley.

On 16 and 17 October, a two-day conference in Tunis brought together Ministers and representatives of member Governments of the Western Mediterranean Dialogue, the "5+5"(Algeria, France, Italy, Libya, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Portugal, Spain and Tunisia).

The event, organised by the Government of Tunisia in close cooperation with the IOM and with the support of the Government of Italy and others, allowed participants to discuss a broad range of migration issues and to establish a continuing forum for regional governmental dialogue. The conference approved a "Tunis Declaration" to guide future cooperation on migration management in the region.

BELGIUM - Migration from China to Europe - An IOM-organized workshop held yesterday in Brussels brought together policy makers and experts from Europe and People's Republic of China (PRC) to discuss migration from China to Europe. The objective of the workshop - part of an EC-funded IOM-EU project "Understanding Migration from China to Europe" - was to look at recent trends in Chinese migration to Europe and to assess their impact on both sending and receiving countries.

Following a previous workshop in Madrid, the Brussels seminar discussed:
· Policy recommendations, particularly on a pan-European level;
· Strategies for cooperation with China in migration management;
· Agendas for future research and dialogue between researchers and policy makers in Europe and China.

Main findings of Madrid workshop:
Emigration from China:

Migrants from China include more groups, use more migration means, involve more places of origins and target more destination countries. In many cases, women and children, migrate independently. Besides migrants arriving through family reunion and irregular migrants, there are also growing numbers of business migrants, students and tourists from China.
Zhejiang Province is by far the most important sending area. Northeastern China is becoming a new source region for regular and irregular migrants to Europe. There is evidence that human smuggling groups recruit potential irregular migrants from that region.
Migration dynamics in China are inherently linked to China's current economic and social transformation. Irregular migrants are most likely to be the relatively poor in a developed region in China. This indicates that inequality, rather than absolute poverty, is a major driving force. Development strategies aimed to facilitate capital formation, generate investment opportunities and develop vocational training may help eliminate irregular migration in these areas.
The recent crackdowns of irregular migration in Fujian province seems to be very effective as far as that province is concerned, but this may also have driven irregular migrants from Fujian to other parts of China, such as Guang-dong and Dan-dong in the Northeast.
The US attracts far more skilled and student migrants than Europe, but a higher proportion of skilled migrants return from Europe to China. This opens great potential for China-EU cooperation in education, technology and trade.





Chinese Migration to Europe:

There is little evidence that irregular migration from China to Europe is increasing. Consequently the public and policy makers in Europe may be over-reacting
to illegal migration from China.
Migration from China to different European countries is characterized by significant fluctuations in numbers over time. Migratory flows respond to immigration policies, particularly provisions relating to work permits, self-employment, foreign students, asylum, and amnesty.
Migration from China to Europe demonstrates strong economic rationality. The labour market situation and business opportunities are important influencing factors. Recent Chinese migrants have been very active in trading in Central and Eastern Europe, the garment industry in Italy and the catering industry in Germany.
In most cases, the Chinese in Europe seem to be able to co-exist with other populations peacefully.
Research indicates that the size of the groups of irregular migrants is usually small, and only rarely directly organized by criminal syndicates. In many cases smuggling is a means to facilitate family reunification.





Chinese-EU Migration - Country Reports:

Spain: The number of Chinese immigrants in Spain has increased six-fold over the last 10 years, reaching 36,000 in 2001. Qingtian county of Zhejiang province is
the most important place of origin. Almost 33% of the migrants work in restaurants, small retail firms and import and export businesses. Catalonia is the major concentration of the Chinese population due to its proximity to the rest of Europe and its strong commercial relations with the PRC. An amnesty programme conducted in 2000, attracted many Chinese from neighbouring countries.

Italy: It is estimated that there are between 47,000 to 60,000 Chinese in Italy. A major influx occurred after 1989, when the authorities opened a new channel for entrepreneur immigrants. Chinese now own 35% of all non-EU immigrants owned small business, and 70% of all non-EU immigrants owned textile industries. Between 1998-2000, a new regulation allowing Chinese entrepreneurs to bring contract workers from abroad, brought in another wave of Chinese. The 1998 amnesty programme may have encouraged more Chinese to migrate to Italy.

France: Estimates of the number of Chinese in France range from 100,000 to 300,000. The overwhelming majority are from Zhejiang province, particularly from the south part (Qiangtian, Wenzhou, Rui'an and Wencheng). In 2001, 2,948 Chinese submitted asylum applications. Unauthorized Chinese immigrants in France apply for asylum in order to obtain official record of their residence, which is necessary to benefit from future amnesty programmes. As in Italy and Spain, many Chinese in France entered via other countries. Many Chinese in France have family in other European countries.

Germany: The number of Chinese in Germany has nearly tripled over the last decade, reaching 63,111 in 2000. Chinese enter Germany as students, asylum seekers, employees, and for family reunification, amongst others. The increasing trend is most obvious in student migrants, whose number nearly doubled from 6,526 in 1999 to an estimated 12,000 in 2001. Chinese who enter for employment consist of cooks, highly skilled computer specialists, and a small number of employed traders. The total number of labour migrants increased from 6,958 in 1999 to 9,432 in 2001. But the number of Chinese asylum seekers dropped from 2,072 in 2000 to 1,531 in 2001. This may be due to the efforts of the German Federal Border Police and Slovakian Authorities to tighten the shared border.

Denmark: This is not a popular destination country for Chinese immigrants. The majority of Chinese in Denmark are women who migrated as spouses of Danish citizens. The catering business is one of the few offering employment/business opportunities for Chinese. In 2001, only 65 Chinese applied for asylum, out of a total of 12,403 applications. The absence of a large Chinese population in Denmark is attributable to the tightly regulated welfare system and labour market. The strict ID checking system makes it almost impossible for unauthorised migrants to access any public service.

NORWAY - Assisted Voluntary Return Programme - IOM's Assisted Voluntary Return programme (AVR) for failed asylum seekers launched in Oslo in May has now helped 671 people to return home.

They included migrants of 28 nationalities including Ukrainians, Yugoslavs, Croats, Bosnians, Czechs, Russians, Latvians, Slovaks and others. Some 53 different nationalities have now applied to the IOM programme for help to return home.

A further 2,329 migrants are expected to eventually travel home under the programme when IOM receives temporary travel documents from their respective embassies. About 85% of asylum seekers arrive in Norway with no documentation.

Under the AVR programme, IOM Oslo has already worked with 21 diplomatic missions in Norway and abroad to arrange the necessary travel documentation. Embassies have provided documentation to 123 migrants, and 108 applications are pending.

Last week a Consular Officer from Belarus Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden traveled to Oslo to interview and issue temporary travel documents for six returnees.

COLOMBIA - Micro Credit for Displaced Persons and Host Communities - The IOM office in Colombia is working with an NGO, the Picachos Foundation, to provide micro credits to the internally displaced and other vulnerable people living in the city of Florencia, in Caquetá province.

So far, more than 500 persons have been awarded loans at 3% interest to create small businesses and improve their living conditions.

The community chose nine persons, mostly women, to visit the neighbourhoods and reach out to those who may have an idea for a new business. This group also helps potential participants fill in the required forms and prepare the necessary documents. They are also involved in the verification process by interviewing family, friends and business owners to gather information that will be considered when making the final decision on whether the loan will be granted.

Dolly Sánchez is the IOM project coordinator, "This group of nine persons, chosen by the community to get the word out and reach out to potential entrepreneurs, is very dynamic. They all have a very positive attitude and are hard workers. The community trusts them and listens to them. This is what makes the project successful."

One of the beneficiaries is Luz Stella Betancour, who is blind and set up a chicken farm with her micro credit. Mrs. Betancour is now supporting her entire family with her earnings.

Almost 70% of the loans so far have been awarded to women. Having their own business and controlling their finances is vital for the women and their families, as most displaced women have been forced to become head of households.

IOM and its partners are filling an important gap for these families who otherwise would not qualify for business loans. Based on the number of credits awarded thus far, the reimbursement rate stands at 92%

Miguel Angel Claros of the Picachos Foundations explains, "In 2001 we awarded some 70 loans per month totalling US$30,000 in the Caquetá region alone. There are some 350 small businesses that have changed the lives of many people. The income from their businesses allows these families to buy food and animals for production, to improve their homes and to buy necessary items that before they did not have access to."

This project is part of IOM's Post-Emergency Assistance to Internally Displaced and Host Communities programme financed by USAID.