Reception on the occasion of the release of the International Council on Human Rights Policy report entitled ‘Irregular Migration, Migrant Smuggling and Human Rights: Towards Coherence’ -13 July 2010

Remarks of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very pleased to be with you on the occasion of the launch of the report of the International Council on Human Rights Policy (ICHRP)  “Irregular Migration, Migrant Smuggling and Human Rights: Towards Coherence”.

There is already coherence between the themes of the ICHRP report and the work of my Office on human rights and migration.  OHCHR has recently given fresh emphasis to its efforts to promote a human rights approach to migration in order to close critical protection gaps and address recurrent violations. Thus, the issue of migration is one of the priority areas for OHCHR in the next years, and particularly in the context of the 2010-2011 biennium.  Our work on this topic will focus on the following: the impact of xenophobia, racism, exclusion and intolerance on migrants; their economic, social and cultural rights; criminalisation of irregular migration; and detention of migrants.

As the new Chair of the inter-agency Global Migration Group, my Office will lead efforts to promote and mainstream a human rights approach to migration within the United Nations system. We also look forward to the fourth Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), which will be held in Mexico in November 2010.  I have noted with appreciation the efforts of the Government of Mexico to promote human rights issues within the agenda of the GFMD.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The ICHRP report aptly describes the plight of irregular migrants and human smuggling victims.  This is one of today’s most critical, and indeed most complex, human rights challenges.I have consistently called for the protection of the rights of vulnerable migrants.  They are the ones who are most exposed to violations of their human rights, to discrimination, marginalisation and exclusion.

And yet irregular migration is likely to remain a feature of many societies as long as Governments do not put in place sufficient avenues for legal and regular migration in order to respond to the demand for migrant workers in their economies.

The issue of human smuggling, often closely linked to irregular migration, has dire human rights implications. The counter-smuggling policies of Governments must recognize the needs and vulnerabilities of smuggled migrants, and should be based explicitly on human rights norms.

I have also expressed my concern that the global economic crisis has further aggravated the vulnerability of migrant workers and their families. In times of economic hardship calls to reduce migration tend to be based on the false perception that “migrants take jobs” or “compete for welfare benefits,” when in fact the majority of migrants create economic activity and jobs. These calls mostly ignore hard facts and stir anxiety and mistrust in host countries.

Indeed, human mobility, as underscored in UNDP’s 2009 Human Development Report, makes economies more dynamic and more efficient. As the International Labour Organization has noted, migrants and their work are actually part of the solution to the present economic challenges, not the problem.  Migrants help to create employment, working in jobs that others shun or lack the skills for.  They expand demand and wealth that benefit the whole society, as well as their own families, and in many cases their countries of origin.

There is no doubt that a human rights-based approach to migration will contribute to set the record straight and to point the way to more effective policy decisions. International human rights standards provide a benchmark, a normative framework, and a set of guidelines for policy-makers. A human rights-based approach accordingly will help to ensure that migration policies are anchored in a system of rights and corresponding obligations established in international legal standards.

Migrants should therefore be included in national housing strategies, for example, or national plans to ensure access to water and sanitation for all. Such an approach recognizes the indivisibility and interdependence of all rights.  For instance, recognizing that migrants who are rendered homeless and unable to enjoy their right to adequate housing will also be vulnerable to such violations as arbitrary arrest and ill treatment in detention.

A human rights approach enables migrants to participate in policy formulation and to hold accountable those who have an obligation to protect them. 

I have been particularly concerned by the rising tide of intolerance, xenophobia and racism directed at migrants and their communities in host countries. The danger of framing migration within the context of security and border management is that the language of and policy on migration then tend to focus on control, restriction and, all too often, fear.

The public language in which migration is discussed is an important indicator of integration. When migration is discussed in terms that promote the rights of migrants, acknowledge their contributions, allow a rational debate on the demand for migrant labour in the economy and society, and shun inflammatory, racist and xenophobic rhetoric, there is a much greater chance that the integration of migrants will be successful and beneficial to them as well as to society at large.

In closing, I would like to thank ICHRP for this valuable contribution, and for producing a report that will be relevant to a broad audience – from migrants’ rights advocates to Government policy makers. I look forward to our continuing partnership with the ICHRP.

Thank you.