ISLAMABAD:

A two-day international conference on migration, education and development concluded at

the Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) on Friday with the message that Pakistan needs to
legislate on migration issues and also push host countries to protect the rights of
expatriates.

The conference was organised by the QAU Department of Anthropology in collaboration with
the Department of Social Anthropology of UK’s Sussex University. The event was supported by
the British Council and the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan among other
organisations.

During a day that was jam-packed with conference sessions and research presentations, members
of the academia shared their findings on the role of migration in education, health and areas of
socio-economic development.

The conference provided a platform to discuss a scientific evidence-based assessment of the

effects of migration on the social, cultural and economic dynamics of migrant workers and their
families, both at home and abroad. In the field of education alone, the participants discussed
issues such as the role of remittances in supporting education and the flight of intellectual capital.

Details were also shared about a joint research project between QAU and the Sussex University
under the British Council and HEC’s Inspire project for Pak-British university collaborations.

The research, which focused on remittances in education sector, found that families in which one
person was working abroad seemed to value education for their children more than non-migrant
families in the same localities.

In Azad Kashmir especially, the third and fourth generations of British Pakistanis, while living
abroad themselves, appeared to have created awareness about education among local youth,
according to the research. At the same time, the migrant families appeared to care for lavish
lifestyles and real estate purchase.

The participants said Pakistan is one of the largest importers of immigrants and its economy
relies heavily on remittances sent back by overseas Pakistanis. At the same time, speakers noted
that there was a lack of significant policy-making to protect the migrant workers or to prevent
brain drain.

An important observation that was also discussed during the closing ceremony was that a lot of
host countries, especially Gulf states where Pakistanis go to work have not ratified international
conventions on the rights of migrant workers.

The speakers during the closing session stressed the need for the government to lobby with host
countries to offer protections to Pakistani workers in accordance with international rules.
For Pakistani women who are married into expatriate Pakistani families, speakers suggested
there should be clauses in their Nikahnama that can protect them from abuse and violence.

The recommendations from the conference will be summarized and released soon, said Dr
Waheed Chaudhry, a professor of Anthropology at QAU who moderated the closing session.

QAU Vice-Chancellor Dr Etzaz Ahmad distributed certificates among the conference

participants during the closing ceremony.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 29th, 2014

Countr 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 201 201 201 201 201
y 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4
Pakista - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-0.9 -2
n 0.84 0.79 0.75 2.77 1.67 0.59 1.24 0.51 0.48 2.36 2.17 1.84 1.69

Definition of Net migration rate: This entry includes the figure for the difference between
the number of persons entering and leaving a country during the year per 1,000 persons
(based on midyear population). An excess of persons entering the country is referred to as
net immigration (e.g., 3.56 migrants/1,000 population); an excess of persons leaving the
country as net emigration (e.g., -9.26 migrants/1,000 population). The net migration rate
indicates the contribution of migration to the overall level of population change. High levels
of migration can cause problems such as increasing unemployment and potential ethnic
strife (if people are coming in) or a reduction in the labor force, perhaps in certain key
sectors (if people are leaving).

Definition: This entry includes the figure for the difference between the number of persons
entering and leaving a country during the year per 1,000 persons (based on midyear population).
An excess of persons entering the country is referred to as net immigration (e.g., 3.56
migrants/1,000 population); an excess of persons leaving the country as net emigration (e.g., -
9.26 migrants/1,000 population). The net migration rate indicates the contribution of migration to
the overall level of population change. High levels of migration can cause problems such as
increasing unemployment and potential ethnic strife (if people are coming in) or a reduction in
the labor force, perhaps in certain key sectors (if people are leaving).

Description: The map displayed here shows how Net migration rate varies by country. The
shade of the country corresponds to the magnitude of the indicator. The darker the shade, the
higher the value.

Source: CIA World Factbook - Unless otherwise noted, information in this page is accurate as of
January 1, 2014
See also: Net migration rate bar chart

Net migration rate (migrant(s)/1,000 Year of

Country Name
population) Estimate

Lebanon 84 2014

Qatar 27 2014

Zimbabwe 22 2014

Jordan 17 2014

Libya 16 2014

Cayman Islands 15 2014

Singapore 15 2014

Bahrain 14 2014

United Arab Emirates 14 2014

San Marino 8 2014

Luxembourg 8 2014

Norway 8 2014

Spain 7 2014

Djibouti 6 2014

Australia 6 2014

Canada 6 2014
Sweden 5 2014

Switzerland 5 2014

Liechtenstein 5 2014

Botswana 5 2014

Italy 4 2014

New Caledonia 4 2014

Nepal 4 2014

Macau 3 2014

Ireland 3 2014

Monaco 3 2014

Portugal 3 2014

Yemen 3 2014

United Kingdom 3 2014

Brunei 2 2014

United States 2 2014

Greece 2 2014

Denmark 2 2014

Antigua and Barbuda 2 2014

New Zealand 2 2014

Czech Republic 2 2014

Malta 2 2014

Netherlands 2 2014

Austria 2 2014

Hong Kong 2 2014

Russia 2 2014

Israel 2 2014

Croatia 1 2014

Hungary 1 2014

Belgium 1 2014

Saint Kitts and Nevis 1 2014

France 1 2014

Germany 1 2014

Seychelles 1 2014

Rwanda 1 2014

Taiwan 1 2014

Costa Rica 1 2014

Belarus 1 2014

Palau 1 2014
Finland 1 2014

Suriname 1 2014

Iceland 1 2014

Angola 0 2014

Turkey 0 2014

Kazakhstan 0 2014

Slovenia 0 2014

Chile 0 2014

Malawi 0 2014

Namibia 0 2014

Slovakia 0 2014

Madagascar 0 2014

Liberia 0 2014

Korea, South 0 2014

Cote d'Ivoire 0 2014

Iraq 0 2014

Japan 0 2014

Mauritius 0 2014

Papua New Guinea 0 2014

Serbia 0 2014

Central African Republic 0 2014

Equatorial Guinea 0 2014

Eritrea 0 2014

Guinea 0 2014

Argentina 0 2014

Andorra 0 2014

Azerbaijan 0 2014

Bahamas, The 0 2014

Bhutan 0 2014

Belize 0 2014

Benin 0 2014

Burundi 0 2014

Venezuela 0 2014

Burkina Faso 0 2014

Swaziland 0 2014

Guinea-Bissau 0 2014

Thailand 0 2014

Togo 0 2014
Bangladesh 0 2014

Korea, North 0 2014

India 0 2014

Ukraine 0 2014

Iran 0 2014

Paraguay 0 2014

Ecuador 0 2014

Cameroon 0 2014

Brazil 0 2014

Egypt 0 2014

Nigeria 0 2014

Kenya 0 2014

Ethiopia 0 2014

Romania 0 2014

Burma 0 2014

Barbados 0 2014

Cambodia 0 2014

China 0 2014

Panama 0 2014
Vietnam 0 2014

Congo, Democratic Republic of

0 2014
the

Malaysia 0 2014

Bosnia and Herzegovina 0 2014

Oman 0 2014

Poland 0 2014

Macedonia 0 2014

Tanzania -1 2014

Niger -1 2014

Saudi Arabia -1 2014

Cape Verde -1 2014

Colombia -1 2014

Bolivia -1 2014

Zambia -1 2014

Lithuania -1 2014

Uganda -1 2014

Mongolia -1 2014

Mauritania -1 2014
Algeria -1 2014

Uruguay -1 2014

Laos -1 2014

Kuwait -1 2014

Tajikistan -1 2014

Honduras -1 2014

Indonesia -1 2014

Philippines -1 2014

Vanuatu -2 2014

Sri Lanka -2 2014

Mexico -2 2014

Senegal -2 2014

Pakistan -2 2014

Tunisia -2 2014

Solomon Islands -2 2014

Afghanistan -2 2014

Turkmenistan -2 2014

Dominican Republic -2 2014

Guatemala -2 2014
Mozambique -2 2014

Gabon -2 2014

Ghana -2 2014

Gambia, The -2 2014

Mali -2 2014

Latvia -2 2014

Uzbekistan -2 2014

Comoros -3 2014

Peru -3 2014

Kiribati -3 2014

Bulgaria -3 2014

Sierra Leone -3 2014

Saint Lucia -3 2014

Nicaragua -3 2014

Grenada -3 2014

Georgia -3 2014

Albania -3 2014

Estonia -3 2014

Morocco -3 2014
Chad -4 2014

Cuba -4 2014

East Timor -4 2014

Haiti -4 2014

Sudan -4 2014

Jamaica -5 2014

Dominica -5 2014

Armenia -6 2014

Greenland -6 2014

Kyrgyzstan -6 2014

South Africa -6 2014

Trinidad and Tobago -6 2014

Tuvalu -7 2014

Fiji -7 2014

Congo, Republic of the -7 2014

Lesotho -8 2014

El Salvador -8 2014

Sao Tome and Principe -9 2014

Puerto Rico -9 2014

Somalia -10 2014

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines -10 2014

Guyana -10 2014

Moldova -10 2014

Samoa -10 2014

Nauru -14 2014

Tonga -18 2014

Syria -114 2014