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71. Such a goal gives the post-2015 agenda an opportunity to acknowledge and
highlight the human and labour rights of migrants, which will in turn enhance their
contribution to the global economy. States must hold employers accountable for
ensuring that migrants are not exploited and repeal policies that create precarious
working conditions for migrants, such as sponsorship systems. Natio nal law should
guarantee productive employment and decent work for all, including migrants,
irrespective of status and circumstances, in countries of origin and destination.
Targets and indicators
72. Targets should include promoting the financial inclusion of migrants and
provide incentives for migrants to trade with and invest in countries of origin and
destination, in addition to promoting a strategy to enable, engage with and empower
migrant diasporas and their entrepreneurship. 5
73. In recognition of the push and pull factors of migration, a target should be
developed to ensure the appropriate governance of migration, to promote the
matching of skills and jobs and of labour supply and demand between countries,
including by creating fair, safe and regular channels for migration, including for
low-skilled labour. In addition, the targets should aim to counteract deskilling and
include increasing the proportion of migrants who are working at the skill level that
is most relevant to their education, training and work experience, so as to facilitate
their integration into the local labour force and their reintegration into the labour
market in the country of origin. 5
74. With regard to remittances, the World Bank estimates that $436 billion will be
sent as remittances in 2014. 24 Private money transfers play a role in increasing
household incomes and ultimately improving health and educational o utcomes in
countries of origin. 25 Consequently, a target on reducing to less than 3 per cent the
transaction costs of migrant remittances, as suggested by the Open Working Group
on Sustainable Development Goals, would go a long way to improving the
economic status of families. Reducing the cost of sending remittances should not,
however, be used in lieu of a national policy for poverty reduction, taking into
account that remittances are privately owned sums of money.
75. A target to promote the formalization of informal-sector activities and
employment should have specific indicators on the formalization of the specifi c
economic areas in which migrants work, for example the construction, fishing,
hospitality, care-giving, extraction and agricultural sectors, and include the
proportion of migrant workers in the informal sector who having to the formal
sector during the reporting period.
76. A target on recruitment would assist States in lowering the overall human and
financial costs of migration. It could focus on ensuring ethical, transparent and
responsible engagement of intermediaries at both ends of the migration proc ess by
establishing effective governmental regulatory monitoring frameworks and using all
international cooperation channels available.
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24
25
14-59006
See www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2014/04/11/remittances-developing-countriesdeportations-migrant-workers-wb.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Policy Coherence for Development:
Migration and Developing Countries (Paris, OECD Publishing, 2007).
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