October 7, 2009 – Yesterday the National Press Center of the Republic of Belarus hosted a presentation of the Human Development Report 2009 “Overcoming Barriers: Human mobility and development” commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme.

The report breaks a new ground in the study of both internal and international migration. It discusses how the improved policies on people’s mobility could contribute to human potential development. “The HDR debunks many of the myths that surround debates over migration. For instance, the report challenges the stereotypes that portray migrants as ‘stealing our jobs’ or ‘scrounging off the taxpayer,’ or their image as ‘victims.’ This is not the case – let’s remember Alexander Rybak, the winner of Eurovision 2009 and the most famous migrant from Belarus to Norway,” said UNDP Resident Representative in Belarus, Mr. Antonius Broek.

“The report presents an objective picture and analysis of real facts. One of the most interesting findings of the HDR is that despite the diffused opinion, the main bulk of migration in the world occurs not between developing and developed states. Three quarters of almost one billion migrants travel inside their own countries,” said Sholeh Safavi, Representative of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

The Head of the Department for Citizenship and Migration of the Ministry of Interior of Belarus, Aleksey Begun referred to the latest statistics which show that Belarus is a receiving country: the ratio of number of people leaving Belarus for other states on permanent residence and the number of incoming migrants reveals a migration surplus. “We will use the report to make Belarus an attractive country for migrants though improving the efficiency of migration management and developing necessary instruments, including legislative ones,” Aleksey Begun underlined.

By tradition, the report presentation was accompanied by announcement of the latest data on the human development index (HDI) of Belarus as well as the position of the country in the global HDI rating. This year, Belarus took the 68^th place in the human development index rating of 182 states and territories covered by the HDI evaluation. The assessments were drawn for 2007 on the basis of the latest data collected by the UN and other international organizations.

To get an access to the countries’ HDI ratings, the Human Development Report 2009, and the complete set of media materials on the HDR, please go to www.hdr.undp.org.

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