International Migrants Day 2022: It takes a community

 

International Migrants Day is observed on 18 December throughout the world, and aims to raise awareness about t the roughly 272 million migrants, including more than 41 million internally displaced persons, and the challenges and difficulties they face as well as highlighting their valuable contributions to their communities and to their host countries.

The United Nations General Assembly in the year 1999 created the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.

But on December 04, 2000, keeping an account of the large and increasing migrants across the globe, December 18 was decided as International Migrants’ Day.

Later, based on the previous concerns on December 14 and 15, 2006, 132 member states shared a high-level dialogue on the migration issues proposed by the General Assembly.

International Migrants Day was created to commemorate the importance of strengthening international cooperation and migration bilaterally, regionally, and globally. 

This year, International Migrants Day coincides with the end of the World Cup in Qatar. This coincidence is a particularly powerful reminder of both how reliant the global economy is on the benefits that migration and migrant work bring, but also of the injustices that many migrant workers face when they move for work. It is one more insult that the final of this tournament would be organised to take place on a day earmarked to celebrate the contributions of migrant workers and raise awareness about the challenges of international migration. 

In Qatar, migrants have been forced to work under extreme heat with no rest days, have not been paid for their work nor overtime, have been facing extortionate recruitment fees to obtain a job, and have been threatened to have their visa withdrawn if they tried to change employer. 

In some instances, when workers denounced these abuses and rights violations, they then risked detention and deportation, as a minimum. 

These examples, however, are not a unique to the Qatar World Cup. Migrant workers in the agriculture sector, fishing, electronics and construction industries, to name just a few, are also systematically exploited in severe ways. This is true for countries far away as well as at home.

All around the world, we have allowed our economies to become reliant on cheap labour – with slavery being driven by a relentless drive for cheap products and services. Businesses have allowed poor working conditions and systematic human rights abuses, that have at times cost lives. 

The benefits of welcoming migrant workers into our societies – such cultural and religious diversity and inclusion as well as larger and strengthened (and sometimes highly specialised) workforces – are often overlooked and taken for granted, meaning that the vulnerabilities of migrant workers are not always understood and mitigated. 

This global event examines a wide range of migration themes, Social Cohesion, Dignity, Exploitation, Solidarity to advocate for migration guided by the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society.

The theme for the year 2022 is “It takes a community”.

It’s a good chance for us all to think about the people who surround us, how they have supported us and how we may have supported them.

The number of migrants across the world reached 281 million in 2020, or 3.6% of the world’s population, including many people forced from their homes by the impacts of climate change. 

In too many cases, the benefits brought by a migrant workforce come at a a high price for the workers themselves. Many migrant workers are severely exploited when they take up job opportunities abroad in search of income to support their families – some end up trapped in modern slavery.   

This severe exploitation is not small-scale, it’s taking place all around the world and across sectors that provide services, goods and experiences that enrich our life. From the food we eat, to the phones we use, the clothes we wear, and the entertainment we choose, we know there’s a high chance that migrant workers have been exploited along the way. 

Migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to modern slavery, as a 2019 report by the International Organization for Migration has demonstrated. The 2022 Global Estimates on Modern Slavery also highlight that migrant workers are over three times more likely to be in situations of forced labour in the private economy compared to non-migrant workers. 

There  are various reasons why migrants are particularly vulnerable to forms of modern slavery. These include marginalisation, restrictive and inadequate immigration policies – that might tie a migrant’s visa to their employer – and barriers to access to remedy. Migrant workers are more likely to be concentrated in low-paid, precarious, informal work and, therefore, excluded from any form of social protection. This is especially the case for migrant women, who are overrepresented in the informal economy, particularly in the care and domestic sectors.

In UK and elsewhere, migrants contribute to society with their knowledge, networks, and skills to build stronger, more resilient communities. The global social and economic landscape can be shaped through impactful decisions to address the challenges and opportunities presented by global mobility and people on the move.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said:

 “On this International Migrants Day, we reflect on the lives of the over 280 million people who left their country in the universal pursuit of opportunity, dignity, freedom, and a better life.

“Today, over 80 per cent of the world’s migrants cross borders in a safe and orderly fashion. This migration is a powerful driver of economic growth, dynamism, and understanding.

“But unregulated migration along increasingly perilous routes – the cruel realm of traffickers – continues to extract a terrible cost. Over the past eight years, at least 51,000 migrants have died – and thousands more have disappeared. Behind each number is a human being – a sister, brother, daughter, son, mother, or father.

“Migrant rights are human rights. They must be respected without discrimination – and irrespective of whether their movement is forced, voluntary, or formally authorised. There is no migration crisis; there is a crisis of solidarity. Today and every day, let us safeguard our common humanity and secure the rights and dignity of all.”

 

According to the experts, there has been a significant increase in the use of immigration detention since the 1990s, although it is forbidden by international law.

Detention has a significant impact on the health and personal integrity of migrants, including on their mental health, including anxiety, depression, exclusion and post-traumatic stress disorder, and even risk of suicide.

Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not paid for their work.

On the occasion of International Migrants Day, we should  call on policymakers to facilitate human mobility instead of treating migrants as a threat or weapons. People on the move are human beings, crossing borders for different reasons – to seek protection, work, study, reunite with family members, among others.

Migrants and those defending their rights are facing a particularly challenging moment in Europe,a hostile environment where policies of panic and rejection dominate and too often kill. Fatal shipwrecks in the English Channel and the Mediterranean Sea, people used as pawns at the border with Belarus and left dying in frozen woods at the EU’s doorstep, countless pushbacks and refoulement in Greece and along the Balkan route are just a few examples.

We must continue to provide a vibrant welcome to refugees among us, and to encourage our country to respond to the world's crisis by offering hospitality to vulnerable refugees now more than ever.
Women, men and children around the world are fleeing war, persecution and torture.They have been forced into the hands of smugglers and onto dangerous journeys across the sea in rickety old boats and dinghies. Many have lost their lives. Those who have made it often find themselves stranded in makeshift camps in train stations, ports or by the roadside. And still, politicians across Europe fail to provide safe and legal routes for people to seek asylum.

The  UK government should be leading  the way towards a more human global response to the millions fleeing conflict. and do more to help refugees in the UK rebuild their lives  People have always crossed borders, be it to find peace, love or better opportunities,throughout human history, migration has been a courageous expression of individual determination to overcome adversity and seek a better life.and this will not stop, regardless of how high the fences are.hroughout human history, migration has been a courageous expression of individual determination to overcome adversity and seek a better life. We meed a drastic shift of migration policies. safe regular pathways to Europe rather than higher walls and militarised borders. 

The respect of human rights, including migrant’s rights, must be placed at the core of the functioning of our societies and economies. As individuals, we have the power to demand this change.   

By demanding accountability of governments and businesses for their lack of legislation and harmful practices, by keeping ourselves informed and by supporting migrants’ right to decent working conditions and freedom from modern slavery, we can help making this change happen.  

Solidarity with migrants has never been more urgent. The appalling treatment of refugees across Europe and the staggering rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes must be challenged too. Let’s send a message that drives back the tide of racism, fascism, Islamophobia, and the scapegoating of migrants and refugees.

 and continue to loudly say that migrants, refugees and asylum seekers are welcome.Demand safe haven, and establish safe refugee routes to the OK to break  the cycle of tragic unnecessary deaths and enable the right to work and equal treatment for everyone and, furthermore, that no person should be forced to migrate.