brief 36
The Security- Migration Nexus
Challenges and Opportunities of African Migration to EU Countries
by Jerry Sommer and Andrea Warnecke (eds.)
Migration is an old phenomenon. However, the recent discussions about migration are still burdened with fears. New potentials and challenges of migration have recently reinforced calls for the establishment of an overall system of international migration governance. This development has strongly influenced the highly interwoven discourses on peace-building, security and development policies.
In these discussions financial and social remittances of migrant communities to foster peaceful development and stability in their countries of origin play an important role. But the concepts of ‘brain circulation’ to tackle the dilemma of brain drain from developing countries through a more flexible system of international migration governance are equally important.
However, despite these promising concepts, in European countries the perception persists that international migration and migrant communities are more or less substantial threats to the security situation of the recipient countries. Hence, while the issues of security and migration are certainly closely connected, there seems to be little agreement as to the exact nature of this link and its implications for all affected stakeholders.
Against this background, the Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC) organized an international conference entitled “The Security-Migration Nexus: Challenges and Opportunities of African Migration to EU Countries” which was held at Bonn, 22–23 February 2008. The event was commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and brought together 150 experts from academia, political and civil society institutions as well as diaspora representatives not only from Germany, but from different European countries.
Trying to incorporate the security needs and aspects of all affected stakeholders, that is the societies in the countries of origin and residence and in particular the migrants themselves, the first conference day was dedicated to discussing the ‘Feasibility of Triple-Win’ from a research perspective. It started with the wide ranging and thought provoking keynote speech of Prof. Rita Süssmuth, the former President of the German Federal Parliament. For many years now she has been actively involved in issues of migration and integration, e.g. as a member of a number of national and international expert commissions like the Global Commission on International Migration.
Building on these results and findings, the second conference day followed up these debates by focusing on practical and applied policy implications of these issues for both state and non-state actors. Among the stakeholders involved in these discussions were representatives of the German Federal Agency for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), the Migration for Development in Africa program of the International Organization for Migration, the Federation of African Associations in NRW, the German Technical Coorporation (GTZ), the German Development Bank (KfW), as well as of the African Rally for Peace and Development (ARPD). Also, the second day provided for an active participation of all participants through an ‘open space forum’.
In this ‘BICC brief’ we are documenting the papers and speeches presented at the conference. It highlights the complexity of the issues, perspectives and requirements that have to be taken into account when dealing with the nexus of security and migration—both on a scientific and policy-oriented level. Following up the active discussions during the conference, we hope that this publication will foster an open and balanced dialogue between the affected stakeholders—migrants, countries of origin and of residence—and contribute to a more thorough understanding of their mutual expectations and requirements.
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