10 December 2003  –  Foreign  Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople  today  said  that  the  Global Commission  on International  Migration will help focus  international  efforts to  ensure and  protect the  rights of migrants.  The Secretary also welcomed the launching of the Global Commission yesterday in Geneva by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

"The Global Commission will be characterized by a fusion of the efforts of government and non-government actors for and on behalf of migrants. The Philippines is a member of the Core Group responsible for establishing this Global Commission and will actively participate in its work," Secretary Ople said.

Launching the independent Global Commission on International Migration yesterday in Geneva, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said migration provides enormous potential benefits to receiver countries as well as sender countries. Mr. Annan said the new, non-UN panel would help promote greater public understanding about migration - a debate which has "generated more heat than light" in some countries, he added.

“We concur with the Secretary-General who said that the world's approach to migration will be an important test of our commitment to universal values, and our capacity, as an international community, to cooperate for mutual advantage. Migration is indeed not just an economic issue, but one of human rights as well," Secretary Ople said. The Philippines has over 7 million of its national overseas.

The Commission will be co-chaired by Jan Karlsson, a former Migration Minister from Sweden, and Mamphela Ramphele of South Africa, a managing director of the World Bank. Philippine Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas is a member of the Commission. The panel - which will examine how international migration can be better managed - is expected to begin work next month and complete its final report by the middle of 2005. END.