80 likes | 212 Views
A Global Greencard? Putting Migration Back into Development. Malcolm Langford, Director, Socio-Economic Rights Programme Norwegian Centre for Human Rights. Arguments For Open Borders. Locational luck as basis for life? Migration as a right – (Rawls and Nozick)
E N D
A Global Greencard? Putting Migration Back into Development Malcolm Langford, Director, Socio-Economic Rights Programme Norwegian Centre for Human Rights
Arguments For Open Borders • Locational luck as basis for life? • Migration as a right – (Rawls and Nozick) • Migration as a duty – (Rawls, Pogge and Sen) • Economic gains* • Historical justice *Particularly to LICs for sending low-skilled/educated citizens.
Arguments for Closed Borders • Sovereignty? • Other Rights at Stake– E.g. Self-Determination • Compatriotism – Special Obligations • Communitarianism – Protection of Ethno-National Culture or Cultural Rate of Change • Utilitarian – Closed Borders better for Achieving Democracy and Public Order - Little impact on poverty and brain drain problem • Social Welfare – Avoids Social Dumping • Reflective Equilibrium – Faily open borders
Reflective Equilibrium? • “Fairly open borders” • Open borders for some individuals not others • Open borders for some countries not others • Open borders at some times but not others
A Proposal • 2015: Include a goal/target of promoting free movement of labour • Target could be 10, 20 or 30 per cent of persons living in income poverty being granted greencards between 2015 and 2030. • Target would cover all middle-to-higher and higher-income countries – with some graduatrion for GDP PPP • Greencards would give permanent residency rights and path to citizenship except if serious crimes committed.
Implementation • Implementation could follow the model of the US Diversity Visa (one of the ’Greencards’) • Target would be monitored by World Bank, ILO and IMO. • IMO could provide international coordination for scheme as is done with UNHCHR refugeess • Countries could possibly buy out their migation quota in a similar was as carbon emissions.
Open your borders or open your wallets! Veit Bader, Ethics of Immigration (2005) Citizenship in Western liberal democracies isthe modern equivalent of feudal privilege – an inherited status that greatly enhance one’s life chances. Jospeh Carens, Aliens and Citizens (1987)