“Migration is a fact of life in our globalizing world. “Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed.

“It is not a question of whether to halt the movement of people across borders. The question is how we plan for such movements and make the most of them.”

The global total of international migrants has increased to 214 million in 2010 from 155 million in 1990, with the number of internal migrants even larger as most move within their countries rather than across national borders, according to the Secretary-General’s latest report on new trends in migration.

Among major factors contributing to these growing trends, the report spotlighted changes in socio-economic conditions, conflict, environmental degradation, an increase in human trafficking and the integration and disintegration of countries.

Given the growing numbers of international migrants, Mr. Ban urged the global community to pursue “five key goals” in resolving what he described as “a complex issue that demands a comprehensive solution.”

In particular, he underscored the need for safe, legal channels of migration; the alignment of migration policies to the demands of the labour market; addressing the problems of those migrants without legal status; promoting integration into host societies; and facilitating so-called return or circular migration that allows migrants to return to their native homes at the right time.

“Migration is often a hot-button issue,” admitted Mr. Ban, who pointed to the fact that smaller countries tend to suffer when skilled people leave. But, he noted, they also benefit from remittances, while destination countries benefit from needed labour and economic growth.

In his address to the Commission, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Wu Hongbo, concurred that migration remains “a dynamic driver” of development for countries on the receiving end.

“An increasing number of migrants are going to new places in different directions compared to 20 years ago, while others follow well-worn paths,” Mr. Wu stated.

“For most, the migrant’s age-old goal remains the same, and that is to seek new opportunities to improve the lives of themselves and their families, while contributing to the growth and wellbeing of host countries.”

On a cautionary note, Mr. Ban warned that migration should “not be the primary solution to the demographic challenge.”

“The best response to population trends is to implement the Cairo Programme of Action on Population and Development,” he continued. “This includes empowering women, providing all people with access to reproductive health care, and educating the next generation.”

Adopted in 1994 by 179 Member States, the Programme of Action articulated “a bold new vision about the relationships between population, development and individual well-being,” according to the UN Population Fund.

“Violence against women is a heinous human rights violation, global menace, a public health threat and a moral outrage,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement attributable to his spokesperson.

“The Secretary-General hopes that all the partners who came together at this historic session and others around the world will now translate this agreement into concrete action to prevent and end violence against women and girls,” the spokesperson added.

Violence against women is a heinous human rights violation, global menace, a public health threat and a moral outrage.

Thousands of representatives of governments, inter-governmental organizations, civil society, the private sector and UN partners collaborated on the outcome document of the two-week 57th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York.

The 17-page ‘Agreed Conclusions’ of the Commission “condemns in the strongest terms the pervasive violence against women and girls, and calls for increased attention and accelerated action for prevention and response,” said in a statement the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), which supports the Commission.

UN Women said it welcomed the important focus on prevention in the document, particularly through education and awareness-raising, as well as an emphasis on addressing gender inequalities in the political, economic and social spheres.

Among the priorities in the document is the establishment of multi-sectoral services for survivors of violence, including for health, psychological support and counselling, as well as the need to protect the right to sexual and reproductive health.

Ending impunity is also highlighted in the text, according to UN Women, in the context of punishing perpetrators, along with improving collection of evidence and responding to victims.

As many as seven out of every 10 women will experience violence in their lifetimes, according to UN figures. While more than 125 countries have specific laws that penalize domestic violence, some 603 million women live in countries where it is not considered a crime.

“By adopting this document, governments have made clear that discrimination and violence against women and girls has no place in the 21st century,” the UN entity said. “There is no turning back.”

UN Women’s Executive Director, Michelle Bachelet said she was “particularly heartened” that an agreement was reached now given that in 2003, when the Commission took up the topic of violence against women, participants could not agree on a plan.

“We will keep moving forward to the day when women and girls can live free of fear, violence and discrimination. The 21st century is the century of inclusion and women’s full and equal rights and participation,” added Ms. Bachelet.

The World Economic Situation and Prospects 2013, the first chapter of which was published today by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), states that the global economy is expected to grow at 2.4 per cent in 2013 and 3.2 per cent in 2014 – a significant downgrade from the UN’s forecast of half a year ago.

“This pace of growth will be far from sufficient to overcome the continued jobs crisis that many countries are still facing,” said a news release on the report. “With existing policies and growth trends, it may take at least another five years for Europe and the United States to make up for the job losses caused by the Great Recession of 2008-2009.”

Noting that weaknesses in the major developed economies are at the root of the global economic slowdown, the report stresses that most of them, but particularly those in Europe, are trapped in a “vicious cycle of high unemployment, financial sector fragility, heightened sovereign risks, fiscal austerity and low growth.”

Several European economies and the euro zone as a whole are already in recession, and euro zone unemployment increased further to a record high of almost 12 per cent this year. Also, the US economy slowed significantly during 2012 and growth is expected to remain “meagre” at 1.7 per cent in 2013. Deflationary conditions continue to prevail in Japan.

The economic woes in Europe, Japan and the US are spilling over to developing countries through weaker demand for their exports and heightened volatility in capital flows and commodity prices.

“A worsening of the euro area crisis, the ‘fiscal cliff’ in the United States and a hard landing in China could cause a new global recession. Each of these risks could cause global output losses of between 1 and 3 per cent,” warned Rob Vos, Director of DESA’s Development Policy and Analysis Division and team leader for the report.

Stating that present policies fall short of what is needed, the report calls for changing course in fiscal policy and a shift in focus from short-term consolidation to robust economic growth with medium to long-term fiscal sustainability.

It also recommends avoiding premature fiscal austerity, while noting that the reorientation of fiscal policies should be coordinated globally and aligned with structural policies that support direct job creation and green growth. In addition, it recommends that monetary policies be better coordinated globally and regulatory reforms of financial sectors be accelerated to stem exchange rate and capital flow volatility, which pose risks to the economic prospects of developing countries.