International Migrants Day 2021: Harnessing the potential of human mobility

 International Migrants Day is observed on 18 December throughout the world, and aims to raise awareness about the challenges and difficulties faced by people on the move, as well as their 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.

The theme for the year 2021 is ‘Harnessing the potential of human mobility’.Migrants contribute 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.

Migration is a global phenomenon where a wide range of factors determine the movement of people which can either be voluntary or forced movements because of disasters, economic challenges and extreme poverty or conflict. Hope and aspiration for dignity, safety and peace often prompt people to leave their homes in search of a better life. Approximately 281 million people were international migrants in 2020, representing 3.6 per cent of the global population.

All these will significantly affect the characteristics and scale of migration in the future, and determine the strategies and policies countries must develop in order to harness the potential of migration while ensuring the fundamental human rights of migrants are protected. 

 In a message just ahead of International Migrants Day,  the United Nations Secretary-General  Antonio Guterres has said that expressing solidarity with migrants on the move, “has never been more urgent.”

 Today, more people than ever live in a country other than the one where they were born. While many individuals migrate out of choice, many others leave home out of necessity.

 So far, since the beginning of this year, at least 1,340 people have lost their life in the Mediterranean Sea. This is the worst figure since 2017. It is an endless tragedy.

In his message, António Guterres said those on the move “continue to face widespread stigmatization, inequalities, xenophobia, and racism.”

“Migrant women and girls face heightened risk of gender-based violence and have fewer options to seek support”, he added.

With borders closed because of the pandemic, Mr. Guterres remembered that many migrants are stranded without income or shelter, unable to return home, separated from their families, and facing an uncertain future.

“Yet throughout the pandemic, migrants have enriched societies everywhere and are often on the frontlines of the pandemic response, as scientists, healthcare professionals and essential workers”, he said.

For the UN chief, the world needs more effective international cooperation and a more compassionate approach to accomplish that goal.

“This means managing borders humanely, fully respecting the human rights and humanitarian needs of everyone and ensuring that migrants are included in national COVID-19 vaccination plans”, he explained.

It also means recognizing pathways for regular entry and addressing the drivers of migration, such as deep inequalities and human trafficking.

Next year, the International Migration Review Forum will take stock of progress in implementing the milestone Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.

For the UN chief, this “is an opportunity to advance efforts to ensure the full inclusion of migrants as we seek to build more resilient, just and sustainable societies.”

Mr. Guterres also welcomed the pledging campaign launched by the United Nations Migration Network to strengthen the Global Compact and encourage Member States and others to get involved.

This year, International Migrants Day falls almost exactly 70 years since the historic Brussels conference that led to the establishment of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

 The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has assisted millions of migrants since it emerged 70 years ago to assist the vast number of Europeans displaced by the Second World War and continues to lead the way in promoting a humane and orderly management of migration for the benefit of all, including the communities of origin, transit and destination.

In his message, IOM Director General, António Vitorino, recalled the stark images of closed borders and separated families, amidst COVID-driven economic disarray, that have become more common in recent years.

According to him, the global pandemic has also spawned a new wave of anti-migrant sentiment and the increasing instrumentalization of migrants as political pawns.

“Both are unacceptable”, Mr. Vitorino said.

For him, the response to the pandemic has also underlined the importance of migrant workers in keeping everyone safe.

“The positive social and economic impact in the countries where they reside, and the $540 billion remitted last year to communities in lower and middle-income countries, are measures of the industry, entrepreneurship and community from which we all benefit”, he explained.

 

 

 

The IOM chief argued that, in order to realize the full potential of human mobility, two things must happen.

First, governments must move from words to action and include migrants regardless of their legal status, in their social and economic recovery plans.

Second, they must reinforce legal channels for migration that respect national sovereignty and the human rights of people on the move.

“A comprehensive approach requires that we leave aside the defensive posturing that too often victimizes people along their migratory journeys”, Mr. Vitorino said.

For Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, the need to stop the circulation of the virus should not jeopardize access to a better life.

She remembered that the factors leading to forced migration are becoming more pronounced, with increased conflict, growing food insecurity and the climate emergency.

Ms. Azoulay pointed to a report  published in November by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) showing that the number of forced displacements had doubled in ten years. For her, this shows “how urgent it is to take action to protect these vulnerable populations.”

Stressing that these people are “often” victims of discrimination and racism, she said UNESCO was developing a new approach, following the Global Call against Racism  launched by Member States last year.

Ms. Azoulay also highlighted the findings of a UNESCO report, Migration, Displacement and Education: Building Bridges, Not Walls, saying that education is “often the first step towards other, more stable horizons.”

All over the world, millions of migrants, including women and children, continue to be detained because of their status.

In a statement released on Friday, independent human rights experts urged Member States to ultimately end this practice, and to immediately stop detaining migrant children.

“People should not be treated as criminals merely for irregular crossing a State border or lacking proper documentation. Mass detention of these people cannot be considered as just a casual measure of immigration control”, they said.  

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, where policies of panic and reject 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.
Meanwhile though ordinary people have responded with extraordinary displays of humanity and generosity. They've been moved to act after seeing thousands of people drowning in the Mediterranean, the continuing misery of camps in places like Calais, and images of the brutal conflicts across the world. 

People however are still dying in  numbers in the Mediterranean, on the way to Europe and its borders. In Calais the population of the slum is over 10,000 people in more and more appalling living conditions, thousands trapped in Greece without running water or baby formula. Here as elsewhere in Europe, the situation gets worse day by day for migrants, showing the ineffectiveness and the murderous character of current policies combined  with.the continuing the injustices and inefficiencies of Britain's own asylum system.

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, and this will not stop, regardless of how high the fences are. We meed a drastic shift of migration policies:, safe regular pathways to Europe rather than higher walls and militarised borders.

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 refugees are welcome here.

In the meantime  you could find your local migrant and refugee community organisation and if you can, donate to their work.You can support the Migrants Organise Winter Solidarity Appeal here: It's members—migrants and refugees trapped in a hostile immigration system—are facing destitution, isolation & increasing hostility. There casework team is working with 500+ people & their families and are building a Solidarity Fund to provide essential items for its members including essential clothes, food and educational items for children. Find out more and support.