Migration in the Middle East and Mediterranean
Author(s): M. Baldwin-Edwards
This report presents a regional overview of migration trends within the Middle East and the Mediterranean region. The paper begins by identifying migration patterns and historical trends in the Middle East and around the Mediterranean, such as emigration from the Maghreb countries, labour migration to the oil-rich countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and labour mobility and forced migration in the Mashrek countries, e.g. Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. Using data from a wide range of sources - including the ILO, the UN Population Division and ICMPD - there is further discussion around the feminisation of labour, illegal migration, trafficking, the economic effects of migration and the implications of national and regional policies for migration patterns in the Middle East and Mediterranean. In the case of children, the paper provides an example of trafficking by demonstrating differences between the concept of trafficking and smuggling, and by offering a constructive summary of national legislations in the region in relation to international anti-trafficking norms.