United Nations: Migrant workers must receive full human rights protections regardless of their legal status, countries have told the UN General Assembly, calling for action against trafficking and exploitation while warning against treating human mobility solely as a security problem.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro said millions of migrant workers helped sustain economies and communities across national borders.
They were entitled to fundamental freedoms and protection from trafficking and abuse along dangerous migration routes, she said.
The Philippines also highlighted the role of migrant seafarers in keeping global trade moving.
Nearly 90 per cent of world trade was transported by sea and supported by close to two million seafarers, Lazaro said. More than a quarter of those workers were Filipinos.
Her remarks placed migrant labour within the broader functioning of the global economy rather than treating migration only as a border-control issue.
India also raised the safety of maritime workers during its General Assembly address.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar called for uninterrupted energy and commercial flows amid conflicts affecting the Gulf and international waterways.
He said attacks targeting commercial vessels and their crews were unacceptable and called for the protection of shipping and seafarers.
Tunisia urged countries to move beyond a narrow security-based approach to migration.
Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Nafti said Tunisia was continuing to rescue irregular migrants on land and at sea, provide care and assist those seeking voluntary return.
However, Tunisia “firmly rejects becoming either a transit country or a destination for irregular migrants who are victims of human trafficking networks”, he said.
Nafti called for a comprehensive approach addressing conflict, poverty, unemployment, trafficking and economic inequality.
“Such an approach would embody shared responsibility, solidarity and cooperation among countries of origin, transit and destination,” he said.
Djibouti described the pressure created when conflicts force people across borders.
Foreign Minister Abdoulkader Houssein Omar said several thousand people fleeing violence in Yemen had reached Djibouti, placing growing demands on the country’s limited capacity.
He appealed for international assistance for refugees and for a peaceful resolution of the conflict responsible for their displacement.
The Holy See raised the continuing plight of the Rohingya, hundreds of thousands of whom have endured statelessness and dangerous conditions for more than nine years.
“Their suffering must end!” Cardinal Pietro Parolin said.
He called for conditions permitting their safe, legal, voluntary and unhindered return.
Zambia connected migration with the need to create opportunities for young people before economic hardship forced them to leave their communities.
Foreign Minister Mulambo Hamakuni Haimbe said young people required education, relevant skills, access to technology, entrepreneurship opportunities and decent employment.
The statements reflected tensions running through the global migration debate. Destination and transit countries sought stronger border management, while migrant-sending countries demanded protection for their citizens and recognition of their contribution to host economies.
For India, the debate has direct significance. A large Indian diaspora works across the Gulf, North America, Europe and Asia, while Indian sailors serve aboard commercial vessels operating through some of the world’s most sensitive maritime routes.
(IANS)
