3 The global framework

Globalisation is giving rise to new and stronger links between countries and regions, different peoples, and between rich and poor. While national policy remains decisive for individual countries’ development, the opportunity of any individual country to control its own destiny is increasingly influenced by external circumstances. International cooperation will therefore be progressively more important in tackling regional and global challenges that influence development.

Source UN Photo/Mark Garten

3.1 Global organisation is in everyone’s interests

At the start of 2009, the world was the middle of an economic downturn whose consequences we have yet to fully grasp. The developing countries are already hard hit by other crises. The food crisis, unstable prices for oil and other commodities, and unpredictable access to energy have given rise to uncertainty. Climate change will particularly hit the poor. There is a risk that the positive development trend will be reversed and that poverty will again increase dramatically. These serious and difficult issues must not be pushed into the background by the financial crisis. On the contrary, we must use measures to combat the financial crisis to address these major long-term challenges. The crisis has uncovered a great need to review our global mechanisms, and find solutions that will benefit the developing world.

The need for international rules and better global organisation and coordination is greater than ever. The major global challenges cannot be solved by any one country alone, but require a well-functioning international legal order in which relations between states are regulated through common norms and binding conventions. Given its geographical location, economy and resources, Norway is particularly dependent on robust international rules and good global governance mechanisms to safeguard its economy, social development and security. In this context, we clearly have a common interest with developing countries.

The UN is the most important international organisation with a mandate to play a leading role in developing global governance mechanisms. UN efforts in this area are supplemented by those of a number of other global and regional organisations.

Geopolitical changes, with an eastward – and partly southward – shift of the economic and political centre of gravity, mean that many large developing countries now have more power than they used to have. Under the leadership of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), they are demanding greater influence and participation in global governance. Organisations such as the UN, the World Trade Organization, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are under pressure to adjust their policies as a result of new power constellations. This means new experiences and considerations are brought onto the international agenda, and the international community is being challenged to take part in a broader debate about how international cooperation between countries, organisations and individuals is to be organised.

Increasing the influence of developing countries in the UN, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund could strengthen the legitimacy and credibility of these organisations in the landscape of international development actors. If these global organisations fail to strengthen their role and increase their relevance, there is a genuine risk that developing countries will not consider them to have any value.

Continued lack of confidence could lead to the emergence of competing institutions. The establishment of an Asian monetary fund has been discussed. Likewise, the need for an international financial institution specialising in middle-income countries has also been considered. The discussion must be seen in the context of the BRICS countries’ struggle to strengthen their position in the governing bodies of the World Bank. In Latin America, the Venezuelan–Argentinian initiative Banco del Sur was established for some of the same reasons. This can only be seen as an expression of deep scepticism towards and dissatisfaction with the Washington-based World Bank and International Monetary Fund. With regard to the UN, this scepticism is most evident when initiatives are launched outside or in parallel with the organisation.

In the wake of the financial crisis, the Group of Twenty (G20) has shown itself to be an important player in the international arena. The group is a substantially expanded version of the G8, and reflects the new global political and economic power balance.

The diversity of norm-building institutions and forums presents new opportunities to exert influence. A small group of countries and players can take the lead in developing a common understanding of the need for new guidelines and norms. This will make it easier to win the support of the rest of the world. Norway, for example, took this approach in the efforts that culminated in the adoption of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Other examples include the efforts targeting illicit financial flows, in which connection Norway chaired an international working group in 2008, and the Norwegian Climate and Forest Initiative, where one of Norway’s goals is to act as a catalyst for stronger international coordination of the work on tropical forest conservation. These are complex and sensitive issues involving strong international counter-forces, where it is necessary to establish a platform for developing new norms. However, in order to create robust instruments that command broad support and legitimacy, the results of these efforts must be channelled into formal processes, and be subject to intergovernmental negotiations, for example in the UN.

The stronger position of developing countries in global organisations can make them increasingly important allies for richer countries. For Norway, this could be particularly relevant in organisations that work in the complex interface between marine, resource, environmental and trade issues and on the development and implementation of internationally agreed norms, such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the International Whaling Commission (IWC), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

The financial crisis has uncovered several weaknesses in the international financial market, but the need for well-functioning international financial institutions has also become clearer. Stronger crisis prevention measures are needed in the financial sector. Both national and international regulation must be strengthened. More people are now advocating a new Bretton Woods conference, and both the World Bank and the IMF have appointed an external high-level commission to look into their roles and structures.

For the Government, it is important that the reform of international financial institutions is sufficiently comprehensive to ensure that we are better able to prevent and deal with financial crises in future.

The special role of the UN

The UN is a unique arena for developing binding international norms and regulations. Conventions and international commitments are adopted through intergovernmental negotiations in the UN.

The UN is the most important player in the field of human rights in terms of monitoring and developing norms. The High Commissioner for Human Rights is responsible for ensuring respect for human rights and compliance with human rights norms. All UN organisations emphasise the rights dimension in their mandates.

The UN is the most important forum for the peaceful resolution of conflicts. Here heads of state and government and national representatives meet. The ideas and ideologies of different states are weighed and discussed. This function is becoming increasingly important the more complex the world becomes.

In the field of security policy, the UN can help to resolve conflicts that threaten international peace. In extreme cases, the UN Security Council can legitimise the use of force by the international community, although, where strong national interests are involved, it will often be difficult to agree on common solutions. Today, the UN has peace-keeping forces numbering more than 100 000 in countries where security efforts are needed to safeguard ongoing peace processes.

The UN’s humanitarian efforts are based on universal norms and rules, humanitarian principles and the Geneva conventions, which protect civilians and human dignity. While the challenges are certainly many – such as access for and security of humanitarian personnel, coordination, advocacy efforts and funding – there is also great potential for taking action. Well-coordinated humanitarian efforts can open closed doors for the UN, and can to a certain extent compensate for a lack of room for manoeuvre on other fronts.

The Millennium Development Goals were adopted by heads of state and government at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000. They set the agenda, direction and targets for economic and social development. The progress of the work on the millennium goals is monitored by the UN.

The UN is often criticised for not being efficient enough, particularly in the implementation of its development projects. Norway takes this criticism seriously and has become involved in the efforts to make the UN more effective. In an institution as large as the UN and with the UN’s role and ambitions, the reform process must be more or less continuous. We need a UN that is credible and that complies with the high standards set by the organisation itself.

Norway is one of the UN’s foremost supporters. We have always supported the principles of the rule of law, the integrity of the nation state, the need for solidarity, the principle that right must prevail over might, and the importance of cooperation and the peaceful resolution of conflicts. And, not least, we emphasise that globalisation should be socially and economically inclusive. However, the UN needs to reduce the resources used on internal bureaucracy in order to ensure that the effect of its overall efforts is greater than is the case with today’s fragmented approach. That is why Norway is involved in developing concrete, realisable and effective measures to improve the UN.

Textbox 3.4 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities entered into force in May 2008. This means that the 650 million people with disabilities worldwide have protection against dis­crimination. Eighty per cent of this group live in developing countries, often in deep poverty and with poor access to health and educational services. The Convention contains separate articles on women’s and children’s rights since these groups may suffer double discrimination.

Source Photo: UN Photo/Christopher Herwig

The Government will:

• continue its efforts to ensure a well-functioning international legal order in which relations between states are regulated through common norms and binding conventions

• promote a more democratic governance structure in multilateral organisations that takes greater account of the interests of developing countries and reflects geopolitical changes

• seek to ensure that UN agencies intensify their efforts to achieve the goals adopted by the international community, within their respective mandates

• help to ensure that the UN organisations’ operational activities underpin their normative mandate to a greater extent

• intensify and coordinate Norway’s efforts to promote workers’ rights in developing countries

• intensify efforts to promote a socially just distribution policy.

3.2 Global public goods

The major challenges facing the world cannot be solved by any one country on its own. A stable climate, the conservation of genetic diversity, clean air, peace and security, the absence of infectious, epidemic diseases, the development of new knowledge and technology, international trade, and financial stability are examples of important global public goods – goods that are important to all countries and that must be secured through joint global efforts.

Global public goods are important to all countries, but again it is the poorest countries that are most vulnerable. They are least able to deal with new epidemics, are hardest hit by climate change, and are most at risk from conflicts and instability. The fight against poverty depends on the strengthening of certain public goods. This has long been clear, particularly in the areas of health and knowledge generation. The Government wishes to increase focus on the importance of public goods relating to climate and the environment, peace and security, and a stable financial system.

In recent years, we have gained a greater understanding of just how important global public goods are, also in relation to our own future. The challenges cut across national borders, income status and generations. This forms the basis for a new debate on both our own and the international community’s willingness to invest in the global community and highlights the fact that we have a common destiny. We must seek to find solutions together, not individually.

Securing financing for global public goods is an important and difficult challenge. Their global nature makes it difficult to distribute the costs, and many will take the opportunity to free-ride, relying on others to pick up the tab. Others again may be willing to pay, but are unable to do so. This results in the underfinancing of important global tasks.

The world today lacks an international system for financing global public goods. It has long been debated both in Norway and internationally whether it should be possible to use aid funds for this purpose. Many measures that contribute to strengthening global public goods also help to strengthen national public goods, particularly in the fields of health and knowledge generation. It is obvious that measures of this kind fall within the definition of aid. A good example is the fight against malaria in Zambia, which helps to reduce the risk of malaria spreading to other countries while at the same time being important to Zambia’s own population. Rescue packages for banks that are threatened as a result of the financial crisis also contribute to securing a global public good – a stable international finance system – but, naturally, such packages should not be financed through aid funds. There are many different measures to promote public goods between these two extremes, some of which can be defined as aid and others not.

For aid to qualify as Official Development Assistance (ODA), it must meet a set of criteria agreed by the donors who make up the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC). Only funds approved as ODA are taken into account when assessing whether donors achieve the internationally stipulated target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income or, for Norway’s part, whether we achieve our national target of 1 per cent.

Source Message from a group of Aboriginal activists in Queensland in the 1970s. The quote has often been attributed to Lila Watson, who was a member of the group. Poster by Ricardo Levins Morales/Northland Poster Collective

The measures planned under Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative comply with the ODA criteria. Projects that successfully reduce deforestation and forest degradation will improve the living conditions and rights of local and indigenous peoples, conserve biological diversity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The measures are funded via the aid budget in cooperation with the recipient countries. It is an absolute requirement that the ODA criteria are complied with and that the recipient country wants this kind of cooperation.

However, it will not be possible to finance all the public goods via aid budgets. Aid should primarily be used to fund measures of a local or national nature. The international community must find other mechanisms for funding the global public goods.

The Government will therefore look into the possibility of developing a new international instrument that can encourage greater efforts to strengthen the global public goods. The possibility of collaborating with OECD/DAC is being considered, as the Committee has already started a process of this kind on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Financing must be raised through collaboration with private investors, and innovative financing mechanisms must be developed. Some measures are already well under way. A British initiative to issue vaccination bonds has already raised funds that could provide half a billion vaccinations in poor countries in the next ten years. In France, an air passenger solidarity tax has been introduced that is providing funding to combat various diseases. The Kyoto Protocol allows for the establishment of new markets for emissions trading and investment in emission-reduction and -removal projects.

By ratifying the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, a majority of developed countries committed themselves to binding and costly obligations to reduce their carbon emissions through various measures and to develop a system for pricing emission allowances. A new climate regime that successfully establishes a global carbon price will in practice ensure payment for a global public good, a stabilised climate.

Health as a global public good

The absence of infectious diseases and major epidemics is a global public good. Good public health and health security depend on collaboration between individuals, local communities and countries. A well-functioning health system with binding cooperation between states makes it possible to prepare for and protect against threats to public health, including infections, biological terrorism, armed conflicts, natural disasters and climate change. Research and product development aimed at preventing and dealing with epidemics – such as the development of diagnostics, databases, medicines and vaccines – are important in order to secure this global public good.

Increased efforts to improve health in poor countries could result in considerable benefits for rich countries. One direct benefit is a reduced risk of diseases such as bird flu spreading across national borders. Improving public health will also reduce the risk of diseases such as AIDS and tuberculosis becoming resistant to drugs, increase the probability of eradicating certain diseases such as polio, and reduce the global prevalence of malaria and tuberculosis. Indirect economic benefits include increased activity, production and purchasing power, which results in a larger global market.

Source Photo: Ken Opprann

The international efforts to combat infectious diseases are linked to the efforts to achieve Millennium Development Goal (MDG) number 6, Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. Malaria and tuberculosis can be brought under control by 2015 if progress continues and is not impeded by climate change. There has been a marked reduction in the number of children dying of malaria in some countries. A sixfold increase in the funding of HIV programmes has begun to produce results, particularly in the form of access to AIDS medicines and the prevention of mother-to-child transmission. More than three million people are now receiving treatment for AIDS, but unfortunately between two and three new persons become infected for every new person who receives treatment. Some countries are now experiencing a reduction in the number of new cases, while in others it is increasing. A broad range of preventive measures is required to address the underlying causes of the spread of infection, such as gender inequality, malnourishment, discrimination and lack of access to education and health services.

The health-related MDGs have spurred new partnerships between multilateral, bilateral, voluntary and, not least, private actors, such as the GAVI Alliance (Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Knowledge as a global public good

Knowledge can be a global public good. Without research and innovation, products like antibiotics and mineral fertilisers – which are vital for global health and food security – would never have been developed. New technology can be expected to address some of the climate challenges. Knowledge can foster state-building and economic growth. As a result of information technology, trade and migration, knowledge is now being spread more quickly than ever before. At the same time, the economic importance of knowledge has also increased. Education, research and technology are crucial for social and economic development. Economic growth and poverty reduction in the West in the last century was largely the result of the development of new knowledge and technology.

Today, national and regional authorities compete to spearhead research and innovation in order to ensure future economic growth. Private enterprises account for an increasingly large share of global research efforts. The fact that knowledge has become a strategic economic resource for companies and national authorities has led to increasing privatisation and commercialisation of knowledge, and it cannot therefore be defined as a public good. New knowledge is often first developed as a commercial product that gradually becomes generally available.

The economic progress experienced by some developing countries is partly due to the emphasis placed on research. This is particularly the case in several Asian countries, which have experienced much stronger growth in research than both Europe and the US. In the period 1999–2004, China took over from the US as the country with the world’s largest tertiary education system. Figures from UNESCO show that China had 19 million students, compared with 17 million in the US in this period. Asia now has 31.5 per cent of global research resources, compared with 14.5 per cent in 1990. The private sector is becoming more and more knowledge-based and mobile. These are parallel development trends. Economic activity moves to where the expertise is available. Private-sector investment in research is growing significantly and tends in most countries to be far greater than public investment. Scientific and technological knowledge is essential to the development of new and better products, processes and services, and the knowledge content in international trade is growing rapidly.

There is a general tendency towards increased internationalisation of research efforts and of quality assurance of higher education and research. The global educational landscape is characterised by a growing number of students and high and unmet demand. This is creating an increasing need for international frameworks, including systems for quality assurance and recognition of qualifications between countries. Europe is addressing this through the Bologna process, which has the goal of creating a European Higher Education Area by 2010. This need is also being addressed by UNESCO and the OECD.

Despite the global increase in investments in higher education and research, we note that the poorest developing countries are falling behind in the knowledge race. The knowledge gap between rich and poor countries is huge, and growing. In the least developed countries, there are only 4.5 researchers on average per million inhabitants, compared with 3 300 researchers per million in the developed countries. The least developed countries only account for 0.1 per cent of the world’s total investments in research. Africa’s share amounts to 0.6 per cent. The developing countries are also clear losers as regards international companies’ investments in knowledge-based production. Studies carried out for the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) have shown that half of the least developed countries had poorer innovation capability in 2001 than in 1995.

Research and development is essential for lasting, sustainable growth and for a diversified production structure. It is also vital for building robust democracies. Innovation and private-sector development often take place in collaboration between academics and technical experts. Both are of equal importance. A well-developed system of elementary education, including technical and occupational training, is essential for recruitment to higher education and high-quality research.

The Government will:

• focus on global public goods that are of direct importance to development, particularly in the areas of climate, environment, security, health, knowledge and research

• take the initiative for the development of a new international instrument to stimulate efforts to strengthen global public goods

• focus on effective integration of health services aimed at achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals

• contribute to the development of global knowledge as a public good

• strengthen higher education and research in key areas of international development

• give priority to Norwegian research cooperation with India and China, particularly in the climate field

• help to ensure that our partners’ educational services are designed to promote gender equality.

3.3 Global cooperation for increased food security

Food is not a global public good; on the contrary, food is a rival good, and access may be inhibited. At the same time, food security cannot be increased without a substantial degree of global cooperation and international control, because although food security is a national responsibility, it is significantly affected by a number of different external factors. Terms of trade, the price of oil, international seed and genetic resource policy and climate change are important global framework conditions.

Data from the UN and the World Bank show that the number of people with insufficient access to food increased by more than one hundred million during 2008, from 850 million to around a billion, as a result of higher food prices. Around 25 thousand people die every day from hunger and related diseases. Children and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding are particularly hard hit.

Despite a temporary fall in prices, we must expect a higher price level for food in future. It is estimated that the world’s population will increase by three billion in the next forty years. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), food production will have to more than double in the same period if the needs are to be met.

Norway has been a driving force in international efforts to establish the right to food as a fundamental human rights principle. We played an active part within the framework of FAO in the development of voluntary guidelines for the right to food. These have been an important tool for increasing focus on this issue.

Water- and food-borne diseases, serious animal diseases and crop pests can dramatically reduce the volume and quality of production, and thereby access to food. Such diseases can often turn into epidemics, and can thus be very costly.

Many countries, Norway included, have emphasised that food aid must not undermine local production and the development of local markets. The problem of dumping of surplus production from the West is much less now than it used to be. However, less surplus production in the rich part of the world, could, in the worst case, lead to the opposite problem, namely that insufficient food aid is available in a crisis. It is therefore important to prioritise food security.

The input factors in agricultural production are much more expensive when oil prices are high. The price of oil particularly affects the price of mineral fertiliser and transport services. At the same time, a high oil price stimulates alternative agricultural production in the form of biofuel. The strong fluctuations in oil prices in 2008 have substantially reduced predictability for small farmers. This, combined with limited access to credit and poorly developed markets, means that many small farmers are not in a position to take the risk that new investments entail. The risk of increased extreme weather as a result of climate change further reduces willingness to take risk. These factors are beyond the control of individual states and make it more difficult for them to take responsibility for the population’s food security. Norway will increase its agricultural aid as part of an international effort to strengthen agriculture in poor countries.

More emphasis needs to be placed on food security internationally in the development of new climate, energy and trade policy measures. Norway will promote the use of existing mechanisms for cooperation and coordination rather than the creation of new structures. The mandate of the Committee on World Food Security, which was established under the auspices of FAO in 1973, is to be a forum for discussion and policy development in the food security context. Norway is seeking to ensure that this committee is given a more central role as a global forum for food security.

Genetic resources are a form of «life insurance» in terms of food security. Traditionally, these resources have served as buffers against threats such as insect attacks and plant diseases. FAO estimates that 75 per cent of the genetic diversity in agricultural crops has been lost in the last century. In recent years, it has become clear that climate change will create the need for a broad supply of genetic resources in agriculture. There are many indications that growing conditions for important food crops will change significantly in the course of relatively few years. Parts of Africa are expected to experience problems as a result of more droughts and more extreme temperatures, but other parts of the world could also experience dramatic changes.

More research is required in the various fields that are relevant for developing more climate- and environmentally-friendly agricultural technology. The Government therefore supports the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Norway is a significant contributor to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The World Food Programme is also an important channel for Norwegian humanitarian assistance. Norway will continue its engagement with these three Rome-based UN agencies, and will promote closer cooperation and coordination between them, not least in light of the reform efforts in the UN.

Opportunities and challenges relating to biofuel

Together with the EU, the US and other countries, Norway aims to increase the use of biofuel. For Norway, the main goal is to promote biofuel as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. For the US and several other countries energy security is a strong incentive.

National efforts to increase the use of biofuel will lead to substantial imports of such fuel – or its raw materials – from developing countries. Because developing countries have better conditions for biofuel production, increased demand is expected to boost employment and value creation in agriculture. The prospect of increased export revenues is an important factor for developing countries that are considering converting some of their arable land to energy production. For some developing countries, biofuel could become a major export. For others, the various requirements that will be stipulated for biofuel, for instance in the European market, will constitute a serious challenge, and for them biofuel will primarily be a means of improving their own energy security and reducing their present dependence on oil.

But there are many challenges involved in ensuring that the production and use of biofuel results in a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. A significant increase in the production of raw materials for biofuel can only be achieved by cultivating areas that are currently fallow, replacing food production or clearing new areas. Clearing areas where carbon sequestration is high will lead to the release of substantial amounts of greenhouse gases from the vegetation and the soil. The climate footprint of the various biofuels produced will vary a great deal depending on the type of biofuel, changes in land use, cultivation methods and processing involved.

The extent to which biofuel production is sustainable will also depend on many factors. Both the authorities and private sector players should give careful consideration to the following questions: Is the land actually fallow or are there traditional users who are unable to document their customary rights? Will biofuel production be at the expense of food production and will this weaken local and national food security? Will profits from production be reinvested or sent out of the country? Will there be valuable technology transfers? Could biological diversity be threatened?

Source Photo: UN Photo/Fred Noy

The Government believes it is vital to establish effective international sustainability criteria for biofuel. The EU is playing a leading role in the work on developing a system for sustainable biofuel production, and the forthcoming directives on renewable energy and fuel quality include criteria for sustainability and reporting. The Government believes it is important to support the UN’s parallel efforts in order to ensure that the criteria established have the maximum global legitimacy and include as much of the global turnover as possible. The EU and Norway intend to focus on the development of second generation biofuel, or synthetic biofuel, which can, for example, be produced from waste and from cellulose from timber. This will again raise questions regarding the effect on the environment, but these fuels will compete less directly with ordinary food production. There is a great need for generating new knowledge in this area. This is a challenge that must be met. At the same time a balance must be struck between different considerations, if we are to succeed in releasing the potential of biofuel as a climate measure and source of income and energy security.

The Government will:

• increase agricultural aid as part of a broad international effort to strengthen the agricultural sector in developing countries

• support regional and international processes for agricultural development and food security, particularly in Africa, with emphasis on strengthening measures to adapt agriculture to changes in the climate

• help to ensure better coordination and effectiveness in international forums with regard to management of oceans and marine resources

• focus on strengthening women’s access to income and employment in the food security context

• support efforts to clarify small farmers’ rights to the land they live on and cultivate, including land reform efforts

• work towards the adoption of international guidelines for biofuel that are based on sustainability criteria and independent scientific evaluations

• increase focus on the connections between climate change, biofuel, agriculture and food security

• support international research into agriculture that is adapted to changes in the climate.

3.4 Migration and development

The links between migration and development are increasingly in focus. Labour migration was discussed on a broad basis during the Storting’s consideration of the white paper Labour Migration (Report No. 18 (2007–2008) to the Storting) and the recommendation by the Standing Committee on Local Government and Public Administration. Some of this discussion sheds light on the links between migration and a broader development policy, and is included here.

The reasons for migration from poor countries are many and complex. For many people, moving to another country is seen as an opportunity to improve their own and their families’ living conditions, as was the case for the Norwegian migrants to the US in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. Some are motivated by the desire to obtain qualifications or work, and some are fleeing from war, persecution or disasters. A significant proportion of migration is for the purpose of family reunification. Of the world’s 200 million migrants, two-thirds originally come from developing countries, and 22 million of these are from the poorest countries. More than 90 per cent of the world’s migration is labour-related.

In an increasingly internationalised labour market, highly qualified workers have greater opportunities than those with poorer qualifications. Some countries, such as the Philippines, have a deliberate policy of training a larger number of health workers than the country needs, in order to export the surplus to countries with higher wages. It is assumed that these migrants will send money home and thereby increase the income of family members who remain behind. The same applies to seafarers. For many years, Norwegian shipowners have employed Filipino seafarers who have been specially trained to serve on Norwegian vessels.

In other words, while lack of development may seem to be the reason for migration, migration may also be part of the reason for lack of development, as valuable competence is lost. At the same time, migration can also be used as an active policy instrument to promote development. Since those with the highest qualifications travel most, migration can also be a consequence of development.

Migration will continue to increase in step with globalisation. It is therefore something of a paradox that globalisation has enabled money, goods and services to move very freely across national borders, while there are still substantial restrictions on people moving to other countries.

Norway is a member of the steering committee for the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD). The forum focuses on three themes: 1) mainstreaming migrants’ human rights throughout the development debate, 2) harnessing the potential benefits of migration, and 3) policy and institutional coherence. In this work, Norway places particular emphasis on the development-promoting effects of international migration and how they can be strengthened, for example in relation to private remittances and investment in development locally. Other important themes are the challenges relating to the brain drain of health workers, HIV/AIDS-related travel restrictions and the fight against human trafficking. Norway places great emphasis on the gender perspective in migration policy.

Norway’s policy in relation to migration is closely linked to our collaboration with the EU. Our association agreements on the Schengen and Dublin cooperation mean that we are both directly and indirectly affected by the policy pursued in Europe.

In recent years, we have seen an increasing internationalisation of the EU’s migration policy. The EU bases its migration policy on cooperation and partnership with third countries. The EU is in the process of entering into various forms of migration cooperation with countries of origin and transit countries, with a view to formulating mutual interests and challenges, setting limits for cooperation and mobility, and coordinating migration-related aid from the EU countries.

Over time the close links that are developing between migration policy and development policy in the EU will lead to significant changes in the union’s policy towards Africa and the countries east of the EU, which are home to a large number of potential migrants to the EU. Norway has been invited to participate in the development of a concrete collaboration between the EU and relevant third countries on migration and development. The goal is to identify cooperation projects with relevant countries of origin and transit countries, that can help to improve living conditions and employment opportunities, and that can prevent unwanted migration. The Horn of Africa and East Africa have been mentioned as areas where it is desirable for Norway to contribute to the development of a new policy. This is due to our long experience of development assistance in these areas. The Government will consider further cooperation with the EU and relevant third countries on migration and development. Initially, this will involve developing and taking part in pilot projects in one or a few countries, and these efforts may be expanded subsequently on the basis of the experience gained.

Brain drain

Research shows that migration increases in step with the level of education. The better qualified a person is, the more attractive he or she will be on the international labour market. Some professional groups are more in demand than others. Engineers, for example, and people with science and maths qualifications are in short supply in many European countries. This is a favourable situation for those concerned, but it can entail a major loss for a country of origin that has a great need for the same human resources.

The consequences of the brain drain are greatest in the health sector. Worldwide, there is a dramatic shortage of health workers. The World Health Organization has estimated that more than 4.3 million more workers are needed in the health sector than are currently available. More than half of them must be highly qualified, such as doctors, nurses and midwives.

The shortage is most serious in the poorest countries, where the health challenges are greatest. While lifestyle-related diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease dominate the picture in rich countries, the main health challenges for many countries in Africa are still infectious diseases such as malaria, measles and tuberculosis. However, a steadily increasing group of people in these countries are also contracting diseases that are related to lifestyle factors such as poor diet, inactivity and increased consumption of alcohol and tobacco. On top of this, Africa is also hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic, which is putting health services under a great deal of strain at the same time as health workers are also affected by the disease. Together, these factors constitute a burden on African health services that is difficult for them to deal with themselves. It is therefore unfortunate, and in many people’s opinion unethical, for rich countries to pursue an active recruitment policy among African health workers to meet their domestic needs.

The issue is complex and full of dilemmas. Many health workers wish to travel to a country where their work will be different and income higher. Prohibiting the migration of health workers would be a violation of human rights. At the same time, however, there is a desperate need for their labour in their home countries, which, in many cases, have invested considerable resources in their training. The inhabitants of these countries have an enshrined right to access to health services. The migration of skilled workers, and health professionals in particular, is an example of how conflicts can easily arise between the interests of individuals and the interests of society as a whole.

Norway is playing an active part in the international efforts to address the global challenges relating to health workers. The aim is to ensure ethical international recruitment of health workers and, above all, to find tools to address the situation in countries with the least developed health services and the greatest shortage of health workers. These efforts are primarily being carried out within the World Health Professions Alliance and the World Health Organization, which are working to develop a common frame of reference for ethical recruitment, financing, training and partnerships. The Minister of the Environment and International Development represents Norway in a high-level group in this context. This theme is also one of the items on the agenda of the Global Health and Foreign Policy network of foreign ministers.

Reducing the migration of health workers from the least developed countries and regions will not on its own be sufficient to address the shortage of health professionals in these areas. The OECD estimates that African-born doctors and nurses working in OECD countries correspond to 12 per cent of the total estimated shortage in the region. In South-East Asia, the region with the greatest shortage of health professionals, the proportion is nine per cent. The figures show that the initiative aimed at ensuring ethical recruitment must be complemented by other measures to secure the necessary coverage of health professionals in these countries and regions.

The principle underlying Norway’s policy of not actively recruiting from countries that have a shortage of health workers is set out in the 2007 budget proposal and in the white paper Labour Migration. In addition, two working groups have been appointed that will submit reports on this issue to the Ministry of Health and Care Services and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in spring 2009.

The Government will:

• focus on the effects of international migration that promote development and how they can be strengthened

• take part in global, regional and bilateral dialogues on the development of policy on migration and development

• play a proactive role in efforts to establish an international framework for ethical recruitment of health workers from developing countries

• consider cooperation with the EU and relevant third countries on migration and development.