(October 24,2008) At a global forum next week on migration, Caritas will be urging
nations to support the Millennium Development Goals, so that migration can become
an option, not a necessity. The international charity plans to promote migrant protection
and boosting the development of poor countries when it participates in the Global
Forum on Migration. The Manila conference will focus on "Empowering Migrants for Development."
This global forum is an annual international conference on migration and development
issues. It developed as a regular forum following a meeting called the High Level
Dialogue on Migration organized by the United Nations in September 2006. Caritas
Internationalis plans to emphasize at the forum the need to support women so as to
reduce the number of mothers forced to migrate. "Women who are searching for work
abroad so they can support their families and educate their children are particularly
vulnerable to exploitation if they're not protected," said Martina Liebsch, the Caritas
advocacy coordinator for migration, trafficking and gender. "People in developing
countries across the world frequently use migration as a livelihood and income diversification
strategy, but the costs of the journey and the life abroad may lead to more poverty
and insecurity rather than improved living conditions," a Caritas statement said.
"The right to not be compelled to migrate should be an essential element in any discussion
on migration," Liebsch affirmed.