The 9th South American Conference on Migration ended Tuesday with the approval of the "Quito Declaration" aimed at harmonizing the regional migratory policy of the 12 participant countries, Xinhua reported.
The declaration, which sets forth free transit inside the countries of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), will be presented at the Global Forum on Migration in Athens.
Deputy Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Laura Thompson urged to help avoid immigrants from being the main victims of the global economic crisis.
"To fight against the discrimination against immigrants is essential at this moment," Thompson said.
She believed it was important to make the public aware of the immigrants' contributions to the economy and society.
Ecuadorian Vice Foreign Minister Lautaro Pozo said millions of immigrants in the world were "a proof of the asymmetric world order, where inequalities survive."
According to figures given by the conference, 2.2 Bolivians lived outside their country, and 300,000 Colombian refugees were in Ecuador.