Ms. Hania Zlotnik, Director of the Population Division at the Department of Economic and Social Affairs provided an update on global migration issues. She said in these recessionary times, the impact on migrants will be extremely negative.
The United Nations is working to boost actions promised at the Manila Forum in October where 163 countries participated. Mr. Esteban Conejos Jr., Under-Secretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs at the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, discussed the “importance of protecting the human rights of migrants and to ensure their security.”  The Forum underscored shifting away from economic development and brought it back to the actor him/herself–the migrant.
“We focused on the human side of development, ” he said.  “From the perspective of the individual worker, he or she goes abroad to provide for their family.”
Conejos said the focus must be to support and maximize the capacity of the migrant to be self-sufficient.  “For the first time in Manila, we saw civil society latching on to the benefits of development.”  Central concerns include flexibility, and opening market mechanisms to be responsive to the changing economic system.
Zlotnik explained, “Its not the financial crisis per say that is affecting migrants, but the economic changes-unemployment, which tends to affect migrants first.”
Countries with the highest unemployed migrants include Spain, and the United States, with hispanic unemployment ranking high for immigrants and non-immigrants.  In Mexico, up to September 2008- there were 700,000 illegal migrants trying to cross the border compared to well over 1 million over a year ago. But the numbers are down 40 percent-due to tightened security restrictions and returning illegal migrants.
The amount of monies sent home to families with thus further decrease. Experts in the World Bank show overall estimates to be a slow down in growth of remittances.
The slow down in the economy will also force more migrants in Europe and North Africa to return to countries of origin.  This is is the case with Polish workers, since the economy is not doing so poorly with new job creations in the past year.  Another example is in Morocco. In Australia and the United Kingdom, the governments are cutting the demand for skilled migrant workers due to the tough economic climate.
Daily Press briefing by Spokesperson
The Security Council discussed the latest developments in Somalia, and agreement by parties have given the peace process hope. Ongoing tensions continue between the President and the Prime Minister. Piracy is still a main concern, with over 120 attacks of robbery reported off the coast of Somalia this year alone. The Security Council also today approved 2, 785 military personnel in the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo).  Ms. Montas, Spokesperson, said “Previous experience with the DRC has shown the answer to the situation is a political solution –a  peacekeeping force cannot actually make peace, but we are pleased with the Security Council’s decision to send additional forces.”
Luis Moreno Ocampo , Chief Prosecutor, demanded arrest warrants of rebel groups in Darfur be presented to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Rebel troop attacked and murdered peacekeepers in April 2007 — considered a war crime underscored by the Rome Statute of the ICC.  Millions of internally displaced continue to be placed in camps, many have poor access to water, and are suffering from illnesses including Blue Nile Diarrhea.
MONUC (United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo) is reporting fighting has relatively stopped and it seems rebels are agreeing to a ceasefire at the moment. MONUC has implemented programs for women and children displaced by the crisis. In Afghanistan, the UN is working with recent returnees on Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
The IMF (International Monetary Fund) has approved 2.1 billion will go to Iceland to help the country restructure and re-stabilize the country’s failing system. The IMF has also approved millions in assistance to Lebanon for post-conflict reconstruction.
United Nations representatives are also pushing for climate change deals in countries based on the framework convention.

This morning the Washington Bureau will be covering the Federalist Society of Law and Public Policy Convention with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The Washington Bureau will also be covering the House Agriculture Committee hearing to review the role of credit derivatives in the U.S. economy. The Washington Bureau will also be covering the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s Third Annual Civic Literacy Report to the Nation.
In the afternoon, the Washington Bureau will be covering a news conference announcing the final resolution of the claims against Libyan government for the Dec. 21st, 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. The final event the Washington Bureau will be covering will be a discussion on war crimes and torture.

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) says that although improving U.S. infrastructure will be a costly investment, it is one that cannot be outsourced (0:44).

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Eric Lotke, Campaign for America’s Future director, said that investments made in public transportation would yield an impressive amount of jobs as well as other economic benefits (0:33).

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Christ Dodd (D-Conn.), Chairman of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, describes the recent financial problems facing the auto industry as self-inflicted wounds (0:17).

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Anthony Clark Arend, Professor of Government and Foreign Service at Georgetown University and Director of the Master of Science in Foreign Service in the Walsh School of Foreign Service says that whoever Obama appoints as attorney general must withdraw the Bush administrations memos regarding torture and detainee treatment (0:17).

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Anthony Clark Arend, Professor of Government and Foreign Service at Georgetown University and Director of the Master of Science in Foreign Service in the Walsh School of Foreign Service says that as soon as President elect Obama is inaugurated, he will need to signal to the international community that there will be foreign policy changes (0:35).

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In a hearing on a bailout for the auto industry before the House Financial Services Committee, Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-Penn.) asks Richard Wagoner Jr., chairman and CEO of General Motors, for the specific amount of money needed by GM and how long GM can last without government aid. Kanjorski says he wants the numbers so that Congress can take the appropriate amount of time to weigh whether or not to give the money. Wagoner gives vague answers, and Kanjorski presses him for more specifics. (2:46)

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In a hearing on a bailout for the auto industry before the House Financial Services Committee, Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) points out a distinction between reaction to proposed aid for white-collar jobs and proposed aid for blue-collar jobs. When the AIG and financial-industry bailouts were being debated, there was no discussion of the salaries for the employees, yet in the current debate there has been significant discussion of salaries of auto workers. Frank says people seem to be more willing to accept aid to the white-collar industry than to the blue-collar industry. (0:43)

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The American Security Project, a D.C. based national security research organization, held a telephone conference to discuss the foreign policy decisions facing incoming Obama administration.
“It seems clear to me that the last eight years have been an utter disaster with respect to the U.S. position on international law and even much of domestic constitutional law dealing with foreign relations,” Anthony Clark Arend, Professor of Government and Foreign Service at Georgetown University and Director of the Master of Science in Foreign Service in the Walsh School of Foreign Service.
“I have never seen the United States at such a low position with regard to its lack of leadership in international law and I’ve thought back and tried to find an administration where that was the case and I really haven’t seen it.”
Arend suggested that there are several steps President-elect Obama can take to improve the United States’ international standing. Including closing the Guantanamo Bay prison facility and issuing an executive order that would hold the intelligence community to the same interrogation standards found in the U.S. Army Field Manual.
There are other members of the Obama administration who will have sway in improving the United States’ foreign policy stance. Under the Bush administration there were various memos sent to the Department of Justice relating to torture and detainee treatment. “Whoever comes in as attorney general will need to immediately withdraw those memos,” said Arend who also recommended reforming how detainees are put to tried by repealing the American Commissions Act.
The future of American foreign policy needs to be discussed in depth, said Arend. This would take the form of creating a special bipartisan task force and may even lead to the creation of a new Geneva convention more in line with 21st century concerns.
Damon A. Terrill, former Attorney-Adviser in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State, who also spoke during the conference, said that following the departure of Bush, the U.S. has an obligation to explain to the international community what went wrong during the past eight years and make sure that they understand the mistakes will not be repeated. Terrill also stressed the importance of sending a similar message domestically to the public.
“We need to explain to the American people why it is, and how it is, that ensuring our commitment to the rule of law in our national security and foreign policy in fact makes them safer [and] enables their government to have a more effect…it is not a constraint. The rule of law enables,” said Terril.