Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Distinguished panelists and delegates,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

Firstly I would like to express that the Group of 77 and China welcomes this Informal Thematic Debate on International Migration and Development, as we are sure this Debate will provide useful inputs for the second High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development to be held by the UN General Assembly in 2013

The Group of 77 and China actively supports the undergoing work on the issue within the UN System, as well as in the Global Migration Group and other relevant intergovernmental and regional organizations. In this sense, let me recall the active engagement of the G77 and China with partners at the Commission of Population and Development last month in the negotiation of migration issues as special theme for the forty-sixth session of the Commission. The special theme agreed upon - "New trends in migration: demographic aspects"- is aimed at further contributing with useful inputs to the High-level dialogue in 2013.

Mr. Chairman

International migration and development mutually influence one another through a complex relationship. As recognized in the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, orderly international migration can have a positive impact on both the communities of origin and the communities of destination.

With enhanced global transport and communication connectivity, transnational workers are crossing borders in numbers larger than ever before. Such labour migration has brought opportunities, including in the form of remittances and the availability of human capital, as well as challenges for origin and destination countries.

Moreover, demographic growth, increasing economic disparities and environmental challenges are structural factors leading to steadily growing migration flows in the foreseeable future.

Therefore, it is imperative to address these challenges on the basis of common responsibility of all nations, genuine partnership and common understanding, in order to assure that international migrations can contribute to the development of both origin and destination countries while minimizing the negative impacts.

The Group of 77 and China urges all Member States to renew the political will to address the challenges and opportunities of international migration, both regular and irregular, in a balanced manner and to promote respect for and protection of human rights in the development and implementation of policies regarding migration.

Mr. Chairman

Member States, with the support of UN agencies, must strive for a comprehensive approach to international migration and development, in particular by building partnerships and ensuring coordinated action to build capacities, including for the management of migration, in particular in developing countries.

As agreed in the Cairo agenda, government of countries of origin and of countries of destination should seek to make the option of remaining in one's country viable to all people. In this regard, we stress the importance of Official Development Assistance and other sources of international resource mobilization to support the efforts of developing countries to eradicate poverty and promote the right of peoples to development, as a key instrument to control migration flows, which are motivated, inter alia, by the search for better welfare and job opportunities.

It is of serious concern the situation of migrants that become victims of exploitation or discrimination. Destination countries must refrain from enacting legislative or administrative provisions of discriminatory character against migrants, detrimental to family reunification or to the right to transfer remittances to their family in their country of origin. It is important that Parties of international legal instruments effectively implement their provisions, so as to allow regular migration flows between sending and receiving countries to take place in an orderly, legal and safe manner. The Group of 77 and China urges all countries to strengthen the protection of the human rights of all migrants, fostering their full and positive insertion in the recipient society.

Mr. Chairman

We believe that addressing global migration is supportive to the achievement of the international agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals.

The Group of 77 and China is confident that this Informal Thematic Debate will contribute to a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between international migration and development. In doing so, it will help improve the work of Member States, the international community and UN agencies towards ensuring that international migrations contribute to the development of both sending and receiving countries while protecting the human rights of all migrants.

Thank you.