THE HAGUE, 20/08/05 - The improvement of local economies through Dutch development aid has no demonstrable effect on the arrival of immigrants from these countries to the Netherlands, according to a report presented Friday by the Advisory Council on International Affairs (AIV).

"Worldwide lack of security should be tackled, not so much in order to restrict immigration but in order to improve people's living conditions. This could remove the motive for migration. In dealing with the economic sources of migration however, a restrictive effect on migration is not evident in the foreseeable future".

The AIV points out that a relatively limited part of immigration in the Netherlands is made up of the unregulated arrival of persons from developing countries. The organisation sees no reason to change the course of development policy in this area and "is thus not in favour of choosing new partner countries for the Netherlands".

The AIV is also against the idea of sanctioning countries that offer insufficient co-operation in the return of nationals (illegally residing in the Netherlands). These countries should not have their development aid curtailed.

The government should encourage foreigners to send money earned in the Netherlands to their country of origin, the AIV believes. The Dutch and other western governments should "remove obstacles that migrants encounter when transferring money". The fact that developing countries wish to deploy their labour potential towards development "should play a role in the policy of wealthy countries".?