The UN speaks out against the dehumanization of migrant workers

No one should have to give up their right to migrate to find a living wagepointed out this Friday the Human Rights Officewhich highlighted the importance of temporary migrant work programs.

In a report published on the eve of International Migrants Dayheld every December 18, the Office evaluated the schemes in operation in the Asia-Pacific region, as it is the region that produces the most migrants in the world.

“Migrant workers they are often dehumanized”, observed the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, recalling that “they are human beings with the right to fundamental guarantees and the full protection of their human dignity”.

misleading promises

Every year, millions of people leave their countries with temporary labor migration programs that promise economic benefits for countries of destination and development dividends for countries of origin.

However, in many cases, temporary work plans impose a series of unacceptable restrictions to human rights.

The report highlights how migrant workers are often seen forced to live in overcrowded and unsanitary housingunable to afford nutritious food, without proper medical care and enduring prolonged and sometimes mandatory separation from their families.

Furthermore, the policies that exclude them from government support in some countries, they expose them to a disproportionate risk of infection from COVID-19, he says.

“They should not be expected to give up their rights in exchange for being able to migrate for work, however crucial it is for them and their families, and for the economies of their countries of origin and destination,” Türk stressed.

permission to marry

The report cites the example of a State that does not disclose the name, where it is required government permission to marry citizens or residents permanent.

In another, certain “family zones” They do not allow renting homes to migrants temporary since workers cannot migrate with their families.

In addition, there are seasonal schemes that count on migrants work on saturdays and sundaysleaving them with no time to attend religious services.

For their part, migrant domestic workers in certain States are threatened with dismissal if they pray or fast while working.

Some migrant construction employees report receiving poor medical care at clinics provided by their employers.

States are guarantors of human rights

“Measures that restrict human rights cannot be justified by arguing that immigration status is temporary, nor can States delegate to employers and other private actors their obligation as guarantors of the human rights of all migrant workers and their families,” highlighted the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Türk added that States should implement comprehensive and human rights-based labor migration policies along migration corridors in and from Asia and the Pacific “as an alternative to restrictive and, in some cases, exploitative temporary programs”.

missing migrants

A group of UN experts on human rights called on States to redouble their efforts to address the high risk of enforced disappearance that migrants run on their way to the country of destination, as well as the disappearances that have already occurred.

“There is an urgent need for a effective and systematic coordination between countries along migration routes,” they said in a statement.

The experts cited calculations from the International Organization for Migration that encrypt in more than 35,000 migrants dead or missing since 2014.

State Agents

They also highlighted that there are no exact numbers on the proportion of forced disappearances in cases involving State agents or persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the countriesalthough the information indicates that the majority of disappearances occur during detention or deportation processes or due to migrant smuggling or trafficking.

“Assistance and cooperation are key to finding missing migrants, investigate their disappearances, accompany their relatives during these processes, as well as to protect and prevent this heinous crime,” the experts pointed out, stressing the need to “interconnect data with information systems.”

They argued that rigid border management and migration policies of States are responsible for many disappearances, mentioning those that include general entry coverage; criminalization of migration; and the mandatory, automatic, or extensive use of immigration detention; like arbitrary expulsions.

“These factors encourage migrants to take more dangerous routes, to put your life in the hands of traffickers and exposing themselves to a greater risk of human rights violations and forced disappearance,” they pointed out.