High fees and restrictions are holding back the potential of remittances to lift people out of poverty, a new United Nations report has found. Poor families in Africa receive up to 40 billion US dollars from migrant workers abroad every year, but fees account for 25 per cent of transfers’ value. The report is calling for these charges and restrictions to be lifted. Global remittances are worth 300 billion US dollars per year, more than foreign direct investments and development assistance combined. The report by the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will be presented at the Global Forum on Remittances 2009, which starts tomorrow in Tunis, Tunisia. – Panos, London.