Migratory Regimes in South America:
An Analysis of the South American
Conference on Migration
Cristián Doña – Reveco
Department of Sociology and Department of History
Michigan State University
The Third Cumbre of the Great Plains
Omaha, April 28th, 2007
Introduction
International Migration and International Relations
Origins of this
paper
A strange (disciplinary)
relationship
Interdependence
and regimes
Questions and Objectives
•
•
•
How do states cooperatively debate or discuss about
Int'l migration in a multilateral framework
Which are the states’ objectives on taking this
discussion to an Int'l arena.
Analyze the origins and development of the South
American Conference on Migration as an example of
cooperative multilateral approach to Int'l migration.
Definition of Int'l regimes
Regional Consultative Processes
Analytical approach
(outline)
A short history of the Conference
Analysis of the Conference
Conclusion
Official documents
Sources
An interview
Personal experience
A note on current intra regional migration in
South America
•
•
•
•
Since the 1970s South America has experienced a
constant increment in migration from within the
region.
Argentina (40pp) and Venezuela (33pp).
In the last 35 years the majority of regional migrants
are from bordering countries.
The reduction of extra regional migration stocks and
percentages has been associated to a higher
mortality due to aging and to a return migration in
some few cases
Foreign born population counted in countries of
South America. Census rounds from 1970 to 2000
Country of
residence
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
Paraguay
Peru
Uruguay
Venezuela
Year of
Census
1970
1980
1976
1992
1970
1980
1970
1982
1993
1982
1990
1972
1982
1972
1982
1975
1985
1971
1981
Total South America
N
580,100
746,137
37,303
38,483
68,058
103,540
28,771
36,914
61,182
52,072
50,657
63,151
146,770
22,930
22,200
36,551
36,106
197,403
585,086
%
26.45
40.16
64.24
64.35
5.54
9.32
32.37
43.77
57.63
69.06
69.22
79.25
86.77
34.13
33.17
27.73
35.05
33.89
54.45
Total Foreign Born Year of Total South America
Census
N
%
N
%
2,193,330 100.00
801,802 49.93
1991
1,857,703 100.00
1,020,249 66.60
2001
58,070 100.00
2001
64,148 66.99
59,807 100.00
1,229,128 100.00
1991
112,497 14.65
1,110,910 100.00
2000
136,935 20.02
88,881 100.00
1992
63,015 54.99
84,345 100.00
2002
131,084 67.11
106,162 100.00
75,404 100.00
2001
70,104 67.32
73,179 100.00
79,686 100.00
163,141 85.55
1992
169,140 100.00
153,152 89.08
2002
67,186 100.00
1993
20,813 39.47
66,925 100.00
131,800 100.00
1996
45,253 48.99
103,002 100.00
582,560 100.00
621,975 60.73
1990
1,074,629 100.00
709,003 69.91
2001
Total ForeignBorn
N
%
1,605,871 100.00
1,531,940 100.00
95,764 100.00
767,780
683,830
114,597
195,320
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
104,130 100.00
190,706 100.00
171,922 100.00
52,725 100.00
92,378 100.00
1,024,121 100.00
1,014,121 100.00
International Regimes
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Origins of the concept.
Krasner’s classical definition: “sets of implicit or
explicit principles, norms, rules, and decision-making
procedures around which actor’s expectations
converge in a given area of Int'l relations”.
Int'l regimes represented an effort to theorize about
Int'l governability; focusing on the rules and
agreements that were thought to influence and
define the behavior of governments.
A typology of international regimes
Institutions
Strong
Strong
Refugees and political
asylum
(UNHCR)
International Finances
(IMF and World Bank)
Weak
Multilateralism
Weak
International Labor
Migration
(ILO and IOM)
Trade
(GATT/WTO)
Regional consultative processes (RCPs)
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Int'l migration needs to be governed at the regional
level.
The conformation of RCP fosters the
multilateralization of the discussion on policies and
approaches toward Int'l migration.
State owned process, thematically oriented or
geographically based, flexible topics, yearly
meetings, informal processes
Organized by a IO
Regional consultative processes (RCPs) – IOM’s
Definition
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Informal non binding groups,
Representatives of government, IOs, sometimes,
civil society and NGOs.
Fora within which members exchange information
and concerns with relation to int’l migration.
In these loose fora, regional plans are develop with
the objective of taking cooperative action on
migration related issues, as well as, the groundwork
for future multilateral agreements is laid
Regional consultative processes (RCPs)
Weaknesses
• Countries don’t assume the agreements reached at
annual conferences or take too long to implement,
• There is no punishment
• Lack of financing, diminish autonomy
• State sovereignty
Currently there are RCP in almost every region of the
world
Regional consultative processes (RCPs)
Common topics to all RCPs
1. Promotion of exchange of information toward a
common understanding of migration issues,
2. Protecting the fundamental rights of migrants
including the right to non-discrimination,
3. Reinforcing efforts to prevent and combat
undocumented or irregular migration including
smuggling and trafficking, and
4. Assisted voluntary return as strategy to reduce
irregular migration.
South American Conference on Migration
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Origin: Lima, 1999 South American meeting on
migrations, integration and development .
Six conferences and three technical meetings
OIM serves as a technical secretariat
South American Conference on Migration
Plan of action constructed along three main axis:
a) To favor and develop every policy, program and action
that ease the circulation, staying and residence of the
nationals of the region’s countries within countries of the
region;
b) To coordinate actions that allow assistance and
protection of the human rights of migrants, especially
South American;
c) To promote including the migratory variable on every
bilateral and multilateral negotiating process related to
economic, commercial and environmental agreements
that are developed by the governments of the region
South American Conference on Migration
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Greatest achievement: to have become a legitimate
forum for the exchange of opinions and information
on the migratory processes that affect the countries
of the region.
Problems: Non binding fora.
Relative strength: similar countries.
South American Conference on Migration
Jorge Martínez:
The main limitation is the other side of the coin of its main strength:
being an intra regional consultation process between countries which
socioeconomic and migratory specificities are not highly asymmetrical;
that are part of a sub regional integration process, and are inscribed in
a region with a common historical past and a culture with many
affinities. These characteristics are the ones, to my understanding, that
have shaped to a certain place the failure of the SACM, that is the
same destiny of many different regional and sub regional integration
initiatives. It seems that the more symmetric, the more political
integration speeches, the greater recognition —although vague— of a
Latin-American identity, the greater indifference towards a regional
migratory governability.
South American Conference on Migration
Example: OSUMI
• Space for the permanent production of strategic
information to inform the decision-making processes
on migratory issues,
• Originally considered a regional information network,
focal points in each government, and a state-of-theart Web Portal for the public and a governmental
meeting place for the period between conferences,
• http://www.osumi-oim.org/
Conclusion
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Pessimistic: Probably it will never be more than a
forum,
There is no political will for it to grow, why?
Donors prefer the Ibero-american Secretariat or
other for a.
Needs its own political organization, charter and
financing (CEPAL and Gurrieri)