[ad_1]
NEW YORK: This year, International Migrants Day has a special commotion. The millions who were forced by conflict and economic hardship to leave their homes, family and friends in 2020 have done so amid a pandemic that has made the world’s profound inequalities visible.
From tackling harsh winters in makeshift camps to venturing out to sea in search of safe haven in foreign lands, the most vulnerable are often left to fend for themselves.
“Millions and millions of people have experienced the pain of separation from friends and family, the uncertainty of employment and the need to adapt to a new and unknown reality,” said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. “These are emotions that migrants around the world feel every day.”
But it was by underscoring “the outsized role” they have played on the front lines of the response to the pandemic that Guterres chose to honor the world’s migrants this year.
While they remain invisible, “societies have come to appreciate their dependence on migrants,” he said.
Migrants have been the first to respond to the pandemic, he added, “from caring for the sick and elderly to ensuring food supplies during the confinements. Just as migrants are an integral part of our societies, they must remain fundamental to our recovery. “
The UN chief called for migrants to be included in vaccination and pandemic response campaigns in all countries, “regardless of their legal status.”
He urged the world to implement the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, the first intergovernmental agreement that covers all dimensions of international migration in a holistic and comprehensive way.
The agreement was adopted after the New York Declaration of September 2016 by 193 heads of state and government who pledged to protect the security, dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants, regardless of their status. migratory.
The leaders also called for supporting host countries, fighting xenophobia, integrating migrants, and strengthening global migration governance.
Guterres urged the international community to “reinvent human mobility, enable migrants to reactivate economies at home and abroad, and build more inclusive and resilient societies.”
Antonio Vitorino, director general of the UN International Organization for Migration, praised migrants globally as “champions of resilience when times are tough.”
He said: “The dedication and entrepreneurial spirit (among migrants) that we have seen this year reminds us that, as we move from pandemic response to recovery in the coming months, migrants will be an integral part of that return to the normal life”.
He added: “Economically disadvantaged, many have been stranded, unable to return home, while even more have been forced to return without due regard for their safety. At the extremes, migrants can fall prey to criminals who would exploit their vulnerability for profit ”.
Vitorino urged countries to intensify efforts to grant migrants access to social services and ensure they are not left behind.
The nearly 300 million migrants are the main contributors to the local economies of host countries, while their remittances also keep millions at home.
“States must consider the positive assets of migrant workers who bring work, skills and diversity to host communities,” said Felipe Gonzales Morales, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants. “Migrants and their families must be fully integrated into national plans to rebuild better.”
Established by the UN General Assembly in 2000 and observed every year since then, International Migrants Day is, in Vitorino’s words, a reminder that “human rights are not ‘earned’ by being a hero or a victim, but a right of all. regardless of their origin, age, sex and status. “
He added that this year, “support and protection is needed for migrants to fully contribute to their recovery and ours.”
