Seminar
Side Event at GFMD on Return Migration: Drivers, Impacts, and Policy Options
When : Jun 29, 2017 Venue : Federal Foreign Office, Minister room 3Location : Berlin, Germany

Event description:

Return migration has gained attention in many migrant-receiving countries that experienced a surge in the flows of asylum seekers and migrants. Yet, this is a relatively neglected topic in the migration policy debates. Reintegration of return migrants is an even more obscure topic.

Objectives: With a spectrum of expert interventions, this side event at the GFMD 2017 will present the multifaceted development impacts of return migration and reintegration. Distinguished speakers will share their experiences in dealing with return and reintegration programs including those who are forcibly deported, those offered financial incentives to return, and those who voluntarily return to their country of origin or a third country.

Guiding Questions :

• Can return migration foster development?

• Which type of return is most successful to contribute to development in origin countries?

• Are there positive or negative effects of forced return on the destination countries, the countries of origin and the

returnees themselves?

• What are the costs of deportations/forced return?

• What does successful reintegration of return migrants mean?

• What are the lessons learnt and success stories from countries which have been able to re-attract their migrants?

The session will start with a quick presentation by Dilip Ratha of the latest trends in migration and remittance flows worldwide. He will then briefly report progress, including several hypotheses being tested, on a study of return migration under preparation at the World Bank. The panelists will then discuss return migration and reintegration from the perspective of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development through its implementing agency GIZ (Mr. Beier), the European Commission (Mr. Manservisi), and the Permanent Mission of India to the UN (Mr. Rai).

Read background material.

Speakers

Speakers
Christoph Beier
Christoph Beier
  • Vice Chair of the Management Board
  • GIZ
Anil Kumar Rai
Anil Kumar Rai
Counsellor (Humanitarian Affairs)
  • Permanent Mission of India to the UN
Dilip Ratha
Dilip Ratha
Head of KNOMAD
  • Lead Economist
  • World Bank