By Rene
Wadlow
On 19 September
2016, the UN General Assembly held a one-day Summit on
« Addressing Large Movements o Refugees and Migrants » – a
complex of issues which have become important and emotional
issues in many countries. Restrictive migration policies
deny many migrants the possibility of acquiring a regular
migrant status, and as a result, the migrants end up being
in an irregular or undocumented situation in the receiving
country and can be exposed to exploitation and serious
violations of human rights.
Citizens o the
world have been actively concerned with the issues of
migrants, refugees, the « stateless » and those displaced by
armed conflcts within their own country. Thus we welcome
the spirit of the Summit Declaration with its emphasis on
cooperative action, a humane sense of sharing the
responsibilities for refugees and migrants and on seeking
root causes of migration and refugee flows. There are three
issues mentioned in the Summit Declaration which merit
follow up action among the UN Secretariat, world citizens
and other non-governmental organizations :
1) The migration
of youth ;
2) The strong
link between migration, refugee flows, and improving the
structures for the resolution of armed conflicts ;
3) Developing
furher cooperation among non-governmental organizations for
the protection and integration of refugees and migrants.
The Migration
of Youth
Youth leave their
country of birth to seek a better life and also to escape
war, poverty, and misfortune. We should add to an analysis
of trans-frontier youth migration a very large numbe of
youth who leave their home villages to migrate toward cities
within their own country. Without accurate informaion and
analysis of both internal and trans-frontier migration of
youth, it is difficult to deelop appropiate policies for
employment, housing, education and health care of young
migrants and refugees. It is estimated that there are some
10 million refugee children, and most are not in school.
Studies have
noted an increasing feminization of trans-frontier migration
in which the female migrant moves abroad as a wage earner,
especially as a domestic worker rather than as an
accompannying family member. Migrant domestic workers are
often exposed to abuse, exploitation and discrimination
based on gender, ethnicity and occupation. Domestic workers
are often underpaid, their working conditions poor and
sometimes dangerous. Their bargaining power is severly
limited. Thus, there is a need to develop legally enforeable
contracts of employment, setting out minimum wages, maximum
hours of work and responsibilities ;
The Association
of World Citizens recommends that there be in the follow ups
to the Summit, a special focus on youth, their needs as well
as possibilities for positive actions by youth.
The strong
link between migration, refugee flows, and improving the
structures for the resolution of armed conflicts.
The United
Nations General Assembly which follows immediately the
Migration-Refugee Summit is facing the need for action on a
large number of armed conflicts in which Member States are
involved. In some of these conflicts the United Natins has
provided mediators ; in others, UN peace-keepes are
present. In nearly all these armed conflicts, there have
been internally-displaced persons as well as trans-frontier
refugees. Therefore there is an urgent need to review the
linkages between armed conflict and refugee flows. There
needs to be a realistic examination as to why some of these
armed conflicts have lasted as long as they have and why
negotiations in good faith have not been undertaken or have
not led to the resolution of these armed conflicts. Such
reflections must aim at improvements of structures and
procedures.
Developing
further cooperation among non-governmental organizations
for the protection and integration of refugees and
migrants.
We welcome the
emphasis in the Summit Declaratin on the important rôle that
non-governmental organizations play in providing direct
services to refugees and migrants. NGOs also lobby
government authorities on migration legislation and develop
public awareness campaigns. The Summit has stressed the
need to focus on future policies taking into account climate
change and the growing globalization of trade, finance, and
economic activities. Thus, there needs to be strong
cooperation among the UN and its Agencies, national
governments, and NGOs to deal more adequately with current
challenges and to plan for the future. Inclusive structures
for such cooperation are needed.
Rene Wadlow is the President of
the Association of World Citizens, an international peace
organization with consultative status with ECOSOC, the
United Nations organ facilitating international
cooperation on and problem-solving in economic and social
issues.