2015•01•28     Kuala Lumpur

Globally, about one billion people are migrants and this number is increasing every day. Key causes of this growing trend include natural disasters, conflicts, poverty, political crises, lack of services, work and education, and discrimination.

On 13 January 2015, UNU-IIGH hosted its first Public Symposium on Migration. Held in conjunction with the 5th Meeting of the UNU Migration Network, the symposium brought together migration experts from five United Nations University institutes to share their research and knowledge about the global migration phenomenon, and its impacts on health, with a range of participants from Malaysia and Singapore — most of them currently involved in migration related work.

The symposium was opened by Obijiofor Aginam, Senior Research Fellow at UNU-IIGH, and was followed by a presentation by Richard Towle, UNHCR’s representative in Malaysia, who spoke on the challenges of offering humanitarian protection to refugees and migrants in Malaysia, who make up 8.4 percent of that country’s population.

Symposium presentation topics included:

• Migration, Prejudice and Human Security: What Institutions and Policymakers Can Do — Dr. Valeria Bello, UNU Institute on Globalization, Culture and Mobility (UNU-GCM)
• Migration and Cities: Responses in Academia and Policy to Everyday Realities — Dr. Megha Amrith, UNU-GCM
• Linkages Between Migration and Development: Exploring Health, Those who Stay Behind, Diaspora Engagement and Return Migration — Dr. Melissa Siegel, UNU Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT)
• Migration and Health — Dr. Syed Emdadul Haque, UNU-IIGH
• International Health Worker Migration to Europe: Implications for the Other Regions — Dr. Ana Amaya, UNU Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS)
• Climate Change, Human Mobility, and National Adaptation Planning — Dr. Andrea Milan, UNU Institute for Environment and Human Security UNU-EHS (via video)

The symposium’s lively discussion was an opportunity for sharing and support. Areas of particular interest included rights of migrants, access to health treatment, support for family members and support for insurance. The symposium succeeded in bringing stakeholders and experts together to debate challenging questions on global migration and policy with a unique focus on Asia.

Photo: UNU-IIGH

Photo: UNU-IIGH. (Back, left to right) Syed Emdadul Haque; Atsuro Tsutsumi; Namaitijiang Maimaiti; Chung Shun Wee; Ana Amaya; Obijiofor Aginam; Ana Mosneaga; Carmen Indira Singh; Yong Wye Yee.
(Front left to right) Jonathan How; Norshamshiah Ali Afandi; Megha Amrith; Valeria Bello; Melissa Siegel; Bernice Lau; Wan Kher; Liew Chun; Yvonne Khor.