Okeyo Samwel Otieno

Migration, human rights, political and security risks for small states. Statement of the problem According to Commonwealth, small states are considered sovereign countries that have a total population of 1.5 million people or below. Besides, there are several characteristics common to small states. They include; little influence on events beyond their frontiers. Secondly there is insufficient control of defense and internal security. The third characteristic is unbalanced raw material resources and less diversity. The forth characteristic is small administration and finally, these states are highly vulnerable to external pressure and shocks from the super powers, just but to mention a few. There is no universal definition for small states (Paul, 2011), but, can be understood using two approaches, relational characteristics and quantitative parameters. Definition based on the quantitative parameters measure landmass, military resources, population and Gross Domestic Product. Relational characteristics on the other hand is based on the relationship between states in terms of will power (Commonwealth Secretariat, 2015). Some of the sovereignties categorized by Commonwealth as small states include; New Guinea, Botswana, Namibia, Jamaica, Papua and Lesotho. Robert (2016) identifies multiple challenges facing small states, ranging from the problems of resources and coverage to access and control, economic development, security issues and climate change. Despite the challenges, the small states increasingly play an important role within global institutions including International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and United Nation Agencies. Because of the impressive and remarkable special role and contributions emerging to be played by the small states, the opportunities, limitations, advantages, hindrances, uniqueness and common features are worth examining and exploring in order to suggest a significant transformation of the global power equation. The purpose of conducting the study is to find out the risks faced by the small states with regards to human rights, migration, political and security issues. The investigation of the challenges faced by the small states is important because the today’s world is characterized by community of nations embracing a wider scope of states than it was before. Secondly, the small states are emerging in the global arena due to the growth of democracy, propelled by technological globalization, social transformation, communications and trade. And third, the small states whether in the Middle East, Europe, the Caribbean, Africa, the South Pacific or Asia, constitutes a significant pillar of the global economic and political mosaic. The findings of the study will be helpful in addressing the migration, human rights, political and security risks faced by the small states, and enable them achieve close to an equal influence like the great states in both internal and external affairs. The World Bank (2017) recognizes that more than a quarter of her members are states with a population of below 1.5 million. The countries share challenges linked to the size of their economy, isolation and remoteness. The World Bank has identified some of the challenges to include private-sector- led growth difficulties, few employment opportunities, availability of few resources of revenue, challenges in human development, and high costs in providing public services to small scattered population. Therefore, this forms the baseline of the study, to understand the risks faced by small states. Literature review. Much has been written about the small states. The formalization of the division that existed between small and great states is attributed to the 1814 signing of the Treaty of Chaumont (John, 2009). This changed previous assumption that all independent countries were equal despite their actual strength and responsibilities. The international system emerged, in which the small states may not surpass the effect of great states, however can influence the operations of the international system in collaboration with others. Thorhallsson and Steinsson (2017) notes that small states fancy multilateralism as a means and path to influence and restrain great states. To make up for the limited influence in aggregate structural power, small states develop issue-specific power disproportionate to their size focusing on few issues of great importance to them. Image and coalition building as well, are strategies used by the small states to aid negotiations in the global frontiers. Migration. Willekens, Massey, Raymer & Beauchemin (2016) study points out the fact that migration is an international concern, and affects all countries of the world. Notably, small states have a considerably larger percentage of foreign- born compared to larger states (Arslan et al., 2014). This is caused by the rampant migration as well as the decline in fertility. Willekens et al. (2016) identifies reasons that lead to migration. Some people migrate to escape from poverty and threats, characterized of the small states. Other triggers of migration include seeking health care and amenities, quality education, secure employment and to reunite with the family or partner. UNHCR (2015) highlights life- threatening situations, natural disasters and conflict to trigger peak levels of migration. The council estimates that sixty million people had forcefully fled from their homes in 2014 as result of persecution and war. This was way too high compared to the thirty seven million migrants ten years down. Beine, Docquire & Schiff (2007) examines the connection between brain drain and the size of a state. The research findings made by Beine, Docquire & Schiff (2007) and (Lucas, 1988) indicates that skilled labor emigration is acute in small states. Since the migration lowers the human capital required in the growth process, brain drain substantially hampers the development of the small states affected. Beine, Docquire & Schiff (2007) contends to the notion that small states are the major losers in the event of migration because of two main reasons. First, the small states lose a considerable proportion of their skilled human capital. Second, migration exhibits a stronger reaction to push for high standards. This implies that small states have the capacity to successfully produce skilled citizens, but lack the framework and the muscles to retain them. 43.2% of the small states experience brain drain, caused by migration. Beine, Docquire & Schiff (2007) estimates three out of every seven individuals having received a university education to be living outside their country of origin. Laying emphasis on the Caribbean, three out of four skilled individuals live outside the country of origin, while Pacific, East Asia and Sub- Saharan Africa constitutes two out of four and two out of five individual migrants respectively. Mainwaring (2011) consider migration an influencer of cooperation between states since it transcends national boundaries, and the redress requires social as well as state actors. Global institutions has therefore been established to deal with migration issues. Multilateral institutions including International Monetary Fund and World Bank focus on, and coordinate global economy and financial commitments, while United Nations and various agencies facilitate cooperation in global security, social development, peace, human rights, international law and economic development (Mainwaring, 2011). Taking on the case of Malta, whose population at Maltese Island was 4.9% immigrants by 2011, the asymmetrical power relation at the European Union has gained more recognition regardless of the country being considered a small state (Roderick, 2006). This is purely because of large number of immigrants. Lehne (2018) argues that migration polarizes society because it is an issue which is deeply emotional. The trauma of immigrants influence the tone of political discourse, and causes aggression. For this reason, European nations became divided on grounds of opposing opinions. Some states prioritized humanitarian concerns, while others became more cautious and responded by adopting a more restrictive policies. In the context of European Union, countries such as Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Austria and Germany accepted hundreds of refugees and migrants across their borders, while United Kingdom and France for example allowed fewer migrants and refugees into their territories (Lehne, 2018). Human rights. Waltz (2001) takes us back to the onset of human rights conceptualization. The declaration of universal human rights as a concept can be traced back in the 1920s after the FIDH; held in Paris. The nongovernmental Federation International des Droits de I’Homme occurred before the formation of United Nations, which led to the achievement of the declaration of the worldwide human rights. The signing and endorsement of human rights and fundamental freedoms galvanized the support of majority and assured the world of social justice in relation to colonial rule, women’s rights and racism. China apparently was the main supporter of the declaration of human rights, arguing that the United Nations sole purpose was to administer justice for the world. China was by then not recognized a great state, therefore, her views did not appear to communicate a substantial logic. On the other hand, United States and United Soviet Socialist Republic opposed the idea of human rights. The final product of the declaration of human rights incorporated several ideas advanced by small states. The small states played significant roles in the creation of universal human rights. To begin with, they acted as accessories and witnesses to the creation of the human rights. Second, small states actively participated in the entire process. Third, the small states provided leadership roles in the drafting of the bills of rights. Fourth, the delegates from the small states advanced their own agendas during the drafting of the universal human rights, thus influencing the provisions of the bill of human rights. Representatives from the small states played a role during the different stages of drafting the international human rights. The first tier of the drafting committee composed of states such as Chile, Egypt, Panama, Uruguay, Lebanon, India, China and Philippines. During the second tier of drafting, delegates from the other small states were present. Politics (300) Payne (2006) makes an observation that small states has largely failed in affirming their own interests in global politics, and their vulnerability tied to their smallness in global politics. Security (300) Reference Arslan C, Dumont J-C, Kone Z, Moullan Y, Ozden C, Parsons C, Xenogiani T. (2014). OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers. No. 160, OECD Publishing; 2014. A new profile of migrants in the aftermath of the recent economic crisis. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5jxt2t3nnjr5-en. Beine, Docquire & Schiff (2007). Brain Drain and its Determinants: A Major Issue for Small states. University of Luxembourg. Commonwealth Secretariat. (2015). What Are Small States? Economic Review and Basic Statistics. Volume 18. Commonwealth Secretariat, London. https://doi.org/-/smalst-2015-2-en. John A. C. (2009). Chaumont, Treaty of. Oxford University Press. Lehne, S. (2018). The EU Remains Unprepared for the Next Migration Crisis. Retrieved December 7, 2018. https://carnegieeurope.eu/2018/04/03/eu-remains-unprepared-for-next-migration-crisis-pub-75965 Lucas, R.E., Jr. (1988). The Mechanics of Economic Development. Journal of Monetary Economics. (22), 3- 42. https://doi.org/10.1016/-. Mainwaring, C. (2011). Small States in EU Migration Governance: the power to exclude? University of Oxford. Paul, S. (2011). The Concept of Small States in the International Political Economy. The Round Table. (100), 141- 153. https://doi.org/10.1080/- Payne, A. (2006). Small States in the Global Politics of Development. The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs. (93), 625- 635. https://doi.org/10.1080/- Robert, S. (2016). Small States in Europe: Challenges and Opportunities. Routledge. Roderick, P. 2006. Malta and EU Membership: Overcoming Vulnerabilities; Strengthening Resilience. Journal of European Integration 28 (1): 33–49 The World Bank. (2017). The World Bank in Small States. Retrieved December 1, 2018. https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/smallstates/overview Thorhallsson, B., and Steinsson, S. (2017). Small State Foreign Policy. Oxford Research Encyclopedias. DOI:10.1093/acrefore/-. Willekens, F., Massey, D., Raymer, J., & Beauchemin, C. (2016). International Migration. International migration under the microscope. Science (New York, N.Y.), -), 897-9.