Presentation from the Final Conference of the EURA-NET project in Brussels, 2nd December 2016.

1. CHALLENGES FACING SENDING COUNTRIES
EU-Asian Mobility at the time of Migration and Refugees Compacts
CEPS, Brussels, 2 December 2016
Maruja M.B. Asis
Scalabrini Migration Center

2. Sending countries in the EURA-NET Project
E Asia
South
Asia
SE
Asia
SE Asia

3. Sending countries are diverse & dynamic
• They have different migration histories &
migration governance frameworks.
• They are not solely sending countries; they have
also become destination countries.
• China attracts foreign talent and students
• China & India receive return migrants (highly skilled)
• Thailand, main hub of neighboring countries in Mainland
SE Asia; attracts migrants from Europe
• The Philippines remains largely a sending country

4. Temporary migration: profiles & migration governance
since the 1970s
CN IN PH TH
MIGRATION PROFILE & TRENDS
Permanent migration is also
significant
X X X
Temporary migrants mostly
students
X
Temporary migrants mostly
workers
X X X
Return migration is evident X X X
MIGRATION GOVERNANCE
Institutions, legal framework &
policies in place (outmigration)
X
Institutions , legal framework &
policies in place (in-migration)

5. Global discussions on migration
• Platforms for migration discussion in the last decade
• 2006 & 2013 High Level Dialogue on International Migration &
Development
• Since 2007: Global Forum on Migration & Development
• 2016 Summit on Migrants and Refugees
• New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants

6. Challenges for sending countries
(in the context of temporary transnational migration)
• Unequal relationship between sending & destination
countries
• Protection of migrants at all stages of migration
• Irregular migrants tend to be regarded as violators
• Restricting the rights of low-skilled migrant workers
• Responsibility to address the root cause(s) of
migration
• Responsibility to address the social costs of migration

7. Towards realizing the triple win
• The “real secret” to Asian Americans’ upward
mobility in the US
• Society treated them with a little more respect
• Extending the “real secret” to migrants, refugees
& displaced peoples will result in the real triple
win
• Origin countries
• Destination countries
• Migrants