Neglected by their own country, mistreated by the host country
This pretty well sums up the pathetic situation in which many migrants find themselves today. And while immigration
refers to people who legally relocate to another country, the word migration can also be used in the context of birds
and animals. In the case of human beings, migration is not a choice for most migrants. It is a condition forced upon
them by their country of origin, as a result of weak economic conditions, poor social structures, conflict situations,
and even environmental disasters.
“One major issue is that the migrants’ home country treats them as export commodities. But we are talking about people
and not about products. Yet the only difference seems to be that unlike commodities, migrants can be exported over and
over again”, said Aaron Ceradoy, of the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants, in an exclusive interview given to CNS
(Citizen News Service) on the side lines of the Asia Pacific People's Forum on Sustainable Development held in Bangkok,
Thailand, on the theme of ‘Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies in Asia and the Pacific’. People's
Forum is being jointly organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(UNESCAP), Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD), Asia Pacific Regional Civil Society Engagement
Mechanism (AP-RCEM), UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA).
The second challenge that Aaron highlighted is the problems faced by the migrants in the host country, especially by
those who are semi or unskilled workers. Most of them are employed in the service sector as domestic help, caregivers,
plumbers, construction workers etc. These sectors are plagued with low wages, job insecurity and, at times,
vulnerability to violence. Yet these and other abuses largely go unnoticed and unreported, as the migrants keep them to
themselves for fear of losing their jobs. Countries have policies to safeguard their businesses but do not address the
problem of workers who form the backbone of those businesses. Also as migrants go to another country to work
temporarily, they have very bleak chances of permanent residence, or to become part of that society. All this makes them
even more vulnerable to endure violations of labour rights, social exclusion, discrimination and violence just to keep
their jobs going. The systems in place do not encourage treatment of migrants with dignity.
The status of migration is very immigration based and not labour based or human rights based. Their rights are dictated
by their immigration status, and not by the fact that they are part of the labour force and covered by international
human rights conventions. Countries always cite the issue of security, in order to further constrict immigration rules
and thus further restrict the rights of the migrant workers. And this when the economies of many countries thrive on
migrant labour, says Aaron.
Instead of solving the systemic issues that force people to not have a choice, but to go to other countries to work, the
current development model is promoting the concept of migration for development. While there is a a formal recognition
of the drivers of migration, countries are propagating the false belief that migration is actually positive and resolves
the drivers of migration. But how can that be? When migration results because of underdevelopment then how can it be a
driver of development, wonders Aaron. Citing the example of his own country, Aaron says that Philippines has been
exporting people since the 70’s, but that has not improved the living conditions for the common people. No country can
say that their development came through exporting their people.
Then again, countries and international bodies are also celebrating the migrants as being resilient. In this way they
are trying to justify the large scale privatisation of public services that is underway in the region, which is
resulting in still more migration. But what is being lauded as resilience is actually forced endurance which comes at
huge costs.
Aaron concedes that at the international level there are human rights agreements and conventions to safeguard the
interests of migrant workers. The UN Convention for protection of the rights of migrant workers and the ILO Convention
on Domestic Work, which includes foreign workers, are positive developments. These agreements have come about through
the intensive and extensive work done on the ground by some sections of migrant workers who, with help from their
support groups, have managed to successfully push for policy changes that are beneficial to them. But the actual
implementation of these global agreements is poor at the ground level. And in countries where there is no organised
section of migrants, the conditions are much worse.
In the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, adopted in September 2016, the UN General Assembly decided to
develop a Global Compact for safe, orderly and regular migration. This global compact for migration is the first,
intergovernmentally negotiated agreement, prepared under the auspices of the United Nations, and is expected to be
adopted later this year (in 2018) with a view to protect the safety, dignity and human rights and fundamental freedoms
of all migrants, regardless of their migratory status, and strengthen global governance of migration for safe, orderly
and regular migration. However, Aaron has his reservations about it. “While the global compact is long on migrants’
issues, it is short on the facilities/solutions that would really resolve those issues. Moreover, it does not give
concrete steps on how to make countries accountable to policies and practices that are in contravention to the Global
Compact. So it might end up like just another document that is nicely worded but does not create any worthwhile impact
on the ground”, Aaron said.
Shobha Shukla, CNS (Citizen News Service)
(Shobha Shukla is the Managing Editor of CNS (Citizen News Service). Follow her on Twitter @Shobha1Shukla and be welcome
to visit www.citizen-news.org)
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