VERONA, Italy, JULY 2, 2001 (Zenit.org).- There is a World Trade Organization to regulate the exchange of merchandise. So why not a World Migrations Organization to oversee the movement of workers?
That is what economist Stefano Zamagni, professor of the University of Bologna, suggested during a congress organized by the Italian bishops´ conference. The congress was held on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the International Catholic Migrations Commission, of which Zamagni is president.
«People are not less important than merchandise or services and yet, the present situation is characterized by the total absence of a transnational center, capable of addressing migratory problems globally and consistently,» said Zamagni, who was a member of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace from 1990 to 1999.
«It is true that the moving of individuals and peoples has always existed, but in the era of globalization, the phenomenon of migration has changed profoundly,» he said Friday. «It has become endemic and structural. According to economic circles, migrations today are no longer an escape valve.»
Zamagni added that the European Union «is implementing its migratory policy, and the same is happening in North America but, without the higher coordination of a world migrations organization, untenable situations will be created, both in the medium as well as the long term.»
