ABUJA PLAN OF ACTION

We, the Participants in the 29th Annual Forum of Parliamentarians for Global Action, in
recognition of a) the positive role played by migrants both in origin countries and host
countries and in their contribution to the economies of both, and b) the unique and diverse
responsibilities that Parliamentarians have in the area of migration management, and in
follow-up to the Dublin Declaration of Action adopted at the 27th PGA Annual Forum in
November 2005, shall seek in our respective Parliaments and other regional and international
fora and meetings in which we participate to:
1. Advocate for and support the implementation of policies and laws aimed at poverty
reduction and employment generation in recognition of the fact that poverty and
unemployment are often catalysts leading directly and indirectly to large-scale displacement of
peoples and forced migration;
2. Endeavour to persuade our respective national Governments to become party to
international and regional treaties requiring humane treatment of migrants and their families
and which also facilitate their social integration;
3. Seek to mainstream and address migration concerns as integral components in national,
regional and international development plans;
4. Advocate for and support the formulation and implementation of host country strategies that
seek innovative ways to regulate migration flows in a fair, equitable and humane manner and
that promote the assimilation of migrants.
5. Advocate for and support the formulation and implementation of origin country strategies
aimed at enhancing employment in existing and new sectors with a view to lessening migrant
flows;
6. Take appropriate measures to manage the flow of migrants in a way that is more responsive
to the significant demand for migrant workers from societies in which aging populations and
other factors create this demand, while striving to respect the fundamental human rights of a)
migrant workers, in particular equality of treatment with host country workers, b) their families
and c) especially their children;
7. Take steps to eliminate all forms of gender discrimination connected with migration, in
recognition of the particular vulnerability of women, including those left behind by emigrant
partners and those who migrate;
8. Assess more closely and systematically the impact of remittances on national economies of
countries from which workers have migrated in significant numbers and, where appropriate,
draft or support legislation aimed at financial and other institutions which seek to profit
unreasonably from financial transactions of this nature;
9. Encouraged by origin country initiatives, formulate and stimulate the implementation of
policies aimed at persuading professional, skilled and other qualified workers to voluntarily
remain in or return to their countries of origin, in recognition that the ‘brain drain’ impact has
a particularly adverse effect in developing countries and regions;
10. Advocate for, introduce or support new legislation promoting greater investment in
institutions of education and emerging domestic sectors thereby reducing the necessity for
large scale emigration;
11. Develop or support more effective national policies and legislation and regional and
international conventions aimed at preventing, eradicating and punishing the trafficking,
smuggling and enslavement of human beings, especially women and children;
12. Enforce a dialogue between origin and host countries involving the International Labour
Organization, UNAIDS, governments, trade unions and other relevant agencies to establish
consensus for treating migrants with HIV/AIDS in accordance with international norms such
as Resolution S-26/02 of the United Nations General Assembly and develop strategies and
policies to improve information sharing between origin and host countries, and to ensure the
provision of counselling, testing, prevention and health services for migrants.

Done in Abuja, Nigeria, this 13 day of November, 2007