Covid 19 And Migration In The Mediterranean Region

For thousands of years, migration has been a source of social and economic well-being for people living on different shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Whether through higher earnings for migrants, access to labor for receiving countries, or remittances for sending communities, migration has been an important driver of development in the Mediterranean region. The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has severely disrupted this complex web of movements, raising questions about whether migration will continue to be an important driver of the region’s well-being. As time passed, it became clear that the drivers of migration are so strong that mobility restrictions can only reduce movements, not halt them entirely. Building Resilient Migration Systems in the Mediterranean Region: Lessons from COVID-19 presents evidence on the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on mobility in the region to inform policy responses that can help countries restart migration safely and better respond to future shocks. While some of the challenges that emerged during the pandemic are specific to public health crises, others are common to different types of shocks, including those related to economic, conflict, or climate-related factors. To inform this reform process, this book suggests a set of actions that can help Mediterranean countries to maximize the benefits of migration for all people living in the region, while at the same time ensuring the sustainability of migration flows. As a whole, these proposed policy actions point to a vision of migration resilience that, even during crises, can address key labor shortages, keep both migrant and native populations safer, sustain household incomes, and ameliorate blows to economic growth. The COVID-19 pandemic has created momentum for policy reforms. Whether this crisis can illuminate the way toward better adapting migration systems to future crises will depend on learning its lessons.

The Mediterranean region has faced a significant number of challenges that have stemmed from turbulent events taking place on its Southern shores: conflicts and instability, the migration crisis, disruptions of regional value chains, souring regional relations, and foreign power interferences that have severely affected the region. The Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the Southern Mediterranean, but the health crisis had ambiguous effects on the underlying economic, social, and political trends of the region. It has exposed and exacerbated much of the previous sources of tension and, obscured many of them as public attention moved towards facing the public health emergency. Will the Covid-19 pandemic spur governments and civil societies to action? Or will it just serve as another smokescreen behind which to hide the region’s longstanding problems?

Regional Integration in the Union for the Mediterranean: Progress Report monitors major trends and evolutions of integration in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The Report examines five domains of regional integration, namely trade integration, financial integration, infrastructure integration, movement of people, as well as research and higher education.

Since 2000, IOM has been producing world migration reports. The World Migration Report 2020, the tenth in the world migration report series, has been produced to contribute to increased understanding of migration throughout the world. This new edition presents key data and information on migration as well as thematic chapters on highly topical migration issues, and is structured to focus on two key contributions for readers: Part I: key information on migration and migrants (including migration-related statistics); and Part II: balanced, evidence-based analysis of complex and emerging migration issues.

"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.