Mass Migration

From Global Public Policy and Sustainable Development Goals Perspectives

By: Delawar Barekzai January 1, 2017

Abstract
The Arab spring coupled with long-lasting conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Yemen,
and economic fragility in Africa resulted in mass migration towards relatively calm
neighboring countries, and economically prosperous European nations. Mass migration
not only put a burden on hosting countrys public fund but also challenge the status quo of
the culture and societal settings unless migrants integrate in the society. Mass migration
also created enormous security challenges in Europe with incidents that took the lives of
hundreds of innocent people.
Mass migration left a negative impact on the country of origin too. Post Conflict or conflict
states reconstruction requires significant human capacity to rebuild institutions and re-
engineer public services delivery. According to Central Statistic Organization of
Afghanistan (CSO), 70% of 274,000 immigrants who left Afghanistan to Europe between
2015 and 2016 were educated young Afghans who were either working with Government
or International NGOs (CSO, 2016)1. There is also a substantial asset outflow from the
country in the form of cash and gold by immigrants that often fall in the hands of cross
border smugglers and international human traffickers. More visible impact of mass
migration on the country of origin is conditional development aid. European Union at the
Brussels conference on Afghanistan in October 2016, conditioned substantial portion of
their development aid to the Joint Way Forward on dignified return of immigrants to
Afghanistan. This has changed the politics of development cooperation between
Afghanistan and the EU with a negative impact on development projects for instance.
To overcome the problems caused by mass migration, the SDGs considered issues that
concern migrants, refugees, and displaced persons internally and internationally.
However, it requires tremendous efforts to place them in National Development Agenda

1 Employment and Growth Survey, Central Statistic Organization Afghanistan (CSO 2016).
in-line with SDGs targets and objectives. One of the most important reasons for out-
migration is the lack of access to basic services like good quality education, public health,
social security coverage, and financial services. The first goal to end poverty in all its
forms aimed at implementing appropriate social protection floors (SPFs), and ensuring
that all population, specially the poor and vulnerable, have equal access to public goods.
Improving access to such services should lead to minimize migrants motives to move out
from home country. Additionally, it is important to explicitly extend these reforms to include
migrants in destination countries.
Another main reason for out-migration is the absence of appropriate employment
opportunities in the country of origin. That is why the 8th goal emphasized the importance
of implementing measures to ensure diversification in the job market to absorb domestic
workforce in areas highly prone to out migration, and migrant labor force in destination
countries. This includes encouraging investments in sectors that are labor-intensive and
helping returning migrants/experts to home countries find decent jobs.
Target 11.1 aim at By 2030, ensure access for all adequate, safe, & affordable housing &
basic services & upgrade slums. Most of the immigrants settle initially in inferior areas
due to uncertainty about income and living conditions. Governments should assess the
housing situation of immigrants, and policy makers should consider immigrants needs
equally in city level legislations to improve access to affordable housing and proper living
standards in poor areas.
It is worth mentioning that mass migration is global public challenge, to deal with global
public challenge, global public responsibility is a must. Countries must consider all
innovative solutions as global public goods, and shape their development agendas using
those innovative methods and initiatives. A country dealing with massive state conflicts
like Afghanistan not only need to align the SDGs agenda context oriented, but also a
capacity to link each SDG with other development initiatives and fiscal friendly budgetary
and implementation arrangements. To prepare such arrangements and variety of other
alternative courses of action, it has been never more important than now for the
international community to allocate enough resources and mitigate refugee crises in the
country of origin, the route, and country of destination.