VOA标准英语2009年-UN Report: Migration Improves Human Welfar

By Daniel Schearf
Bangkok
05 October 2009

A U.N. report says migrant workers improve human welfare at home and in host nations. The report says governments should make it easier for workers to travel abroad.

A new report by the U.N. Development Program says migrant workers bring significant benefits to both their host and home countries.

The UNDP's annual human-development report says migration¹ not only increases incomes and access to education and health care for the workers, it also creates jobs and innovation in host nations.

The report says the money migrant workers send home exceeds official development assistance by about four times in most developing countries, except in Africa.

But Helen Clark, the administrator² with the UNDP, says the global economic slowdown and rising unemployment have led to a backlash against migrants in some countries.

"This report suggests that fears about migrants taking the jobs or lowering the wages of local people, placing an unwelcome burden on local services, or costing taxpayers³ money, are generally exaggerated," she said.

The U.N. report says most people in host nations are not against migration when jobs are plentiful⁴ and says governments should take steps to help migration advance human development.

The report says official procedures and fees can slow migration and encourage illegal migration.

It cites as example agreements between Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand that make recruiting fees as much as five months of a migrant worker's salary, take four months to process, and require withholding⁵ 15 percent of wages until the worker returns to their home country.

The report says smugglers in the region charge migrant workers about one month's salary, but notes that migrants who choose the illegal route risk exploitation, fines, and jail time. 

Jeni Klugman, the author of the report, says the UNDP encourages governments to simplify procedures and lower the costs of migration, especially for low-skilled workers.

"The key argument in the report is not that migration is a substitute for development. It is no substitute for sustained and accelerated efforts to develop at home," said Klugman. "At the same time, it can be an important complement⁶. And in countries around the world we can see that the flow of ideas, of people, of money, can bring all sorts of transformative effects to home countries."

The U.N. report says governments also place undue⁷ restrictions⁸ on women migrants. It cites Burma, Saudi Arabia, and Swaziland's restrictions on women leaving the country and says more than 20 nations do not allow women to apply for passports on their own. 

The U.N. report also ranked people's well being on a Human Development Index based on data from 2007.

Out of 182 countries and territories, the top three on the development scale were Norway, Australia, and Iceland, while the worst off were Niger, Afghanistan, and Sierra Leone.

The report says a person in Norway earns an average income 85 times what someone in Niger earns, while a child born in Niger is expected to live 30 years less than a child born in Norway.

The HDI ranking is based on gross domestic product per capita, life expectancy⁹, literacy, and school enrollment¹⁰.  

1 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

2 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

3 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

4 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

5 withholding   

扣缴税款

参考例句：

• She was accused of withholding information from the police. 她被指控对警方知情不报。
• The judge suspected the witness was withholding information. 法官怀疑见证人在隐瞒情况。

6 complement   

n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足

参考例句：

• The two suggestions complement each other.这两条建议相互补充。
• They oppose each other also complement each other.它们相辅相成。

7 undue   

adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的

参考例句：

• Don't treat the matter with undue haste.不要过急地处理此事。
• It would be wise not to give undue importance to his criticisms.最好不要过分看重他的批评。

8 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

9 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

10 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。