Human Movements and Immigration World Congress

Statement By Thoraya Ahmed, Executive Director, UNFPA

Ladies and gentlemen,

Two weeks ago, a Cuban woman in her 20s arrived in America packed inside a wooden crate aboard a cargo flight that landed at Miami International Airport.

At the time of her discovery, United States immigration officials were trying to determine whether she was a migrant who should be allowed into the country or if she was technically a stowaway who could be sent back to her homeland. It seemed her fate was to be determined not by her motivations for fleeing, but by her mode of transport.

This story occurred on the other side of the Atlantic. But there are plenty of other migration stories that occur on this side. With each passing sunrise and sunset, thousands of people flee their countries in search of better lives. There are as many types of migrants as there are people, and their individual lives and stories vary tremendously.

The journey is most treacherous for illegal immigrants—who put their own lives at risk, some knowingly and others not, for a chance to improve them. It is not uncommon, for those who are poor, to spend their entire life savings on the journey.

In the worst cases, a migrant’s quest ends not with a better life, but with no life at all. As we all know, and as news organizations report, payment for safe passage offers no guarantee.

For the majority who survive, the work of undocumented migrants often takes place in less than optimal conditions, with little pay. The truth is that they often take the jobs that no one else will do. The human rights violations experienced by migrants are well documented by the United Nations and human rights organizations. And yet, despite the trauma and drama they experience, immigrants are often viewed not with compassion, but with fear and even hatred. They are made scapegoats for social problems such as crime and unemployment. They are also unfairly blamed for cultural decline.

I have been asked to speak about immigration and justice and I do so with a sense of urgency. I thank you for inviting me to take part in this important and timely Congress.

I have many friends who are immigrants, and thus the issue is very close to my heart. There was a time when I worked with immigrants while I was completing my doctoral studies in the United States. I worked with immigrants from the Arab world, mostly men, who had come to the Detroit area to work in the car-manufacturing plants. And I can tell you that one of the most difficult aspects of being an immigrant is being away from one’s family.

The desire to be in a loving and caring family is a common human trait that unites all of us, no matter our country, culture or religion. And immigrants do make families away from home if they are accepted into families and communities in the locations in which they live. Throughout my life, I have had many families away from home—families that took me in as one of their own—despite our different religions and cultures—and they form a central part of my life, my development as a young woman and a professional and, of course, part of my cherished memories.

I say this at the start because in these difficult and divisive times, I believe it is important to focus on the ties that bind us together as human beings. It is important to focus on the lives and realities of immigrants. It is only by gaining a deeper understanding, as individuals and societies, of immigrants that the important issue of justice can be approached. And it is only through vision and leadership that justice can be achieved.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The issue of immigration is emerging on the global agenda and it is of critical importance to the United Nations system and to multilateralism as a whole. It represents a test of the world’s response to globalization – to open borders for the flow of capital, goods and information, and hopefully for the movement of people. It tests our collective commitment to international human rights and international cooperation.

Today, I will focus my remarks on the interrelated issues of immigration, justice and gender. I believe it is important to focus on gender because half of all immigrants are women, and gender discrimination and violence are issues of pressing concern. To make my case for justice, I will build on the mutually reinforcing concepts of human rights and human security.

The emerging concept of human security is concerned with reducing and—when possible—removing the insecurities that plague human lives. It is concerned with increasing freedom from fear and freedom from want. Human security contrasts with the notion of State security, which concentrates primarily on safeguarding the integrity and robustness of the State and thus has only an indirect connection with the security of the human beings who live in these States. In effect, human security is an essential building block of State security. And human security is strengthened when human rights are respected.

From a human security perspective, the movement of people should be looked at comprehensively, taking into account the political, civil, security, economic and social dimensions affecting peoples’ decision to move.

It cannot be approached solely from the perspectives of the countries of origin, transit or destination. It must also be approached from the perspective of the different stages and motivations for migration. Unfortunately, today’s policies, norms and institutions are not doing this, leaving major gaps in the protection of migrants’ human rights—gaps that are being exploited by unscrupulous smugglers and traffickers.

It is appalling that, at the dawn of the 21st century, a woman can be bought and sold. But this is the reality. And it is made even more tragic and shocking by the fact that the traffickers are likely to get away with the crime.

Migration, including forced migration, is a cross-border issue, which challenges governments to cooperate with each other. Alongside the movement of capital, goods and information, migration is one of the key elements of the process of globalization. In fact, it is argued that the flow of people and capital is more important to globalization than the trade of goods. In other words, migration drives, and is driven by, globalization. And yet, capital, goods and information flow much more freely and are protected much more forcefully than human beings on the move. Today, trade, patent and property laws are enforced with more vigour than laws to protect human rights, and this is especially true for migrants who often lack legal status. A graduate student, who followed the tomato trade from Mexico to the United States, said that the tomatoes are treated with more tenderness and care than the Mexican migrant workers who pick and pack them.

Today, the movement of people across borders, while not new, is of a new magnitude because of its growth and diversity.

In less than 20 years, as borders have opened and the process of globalization has advanced, the number of international migrants has more than doubled. Currently, 175 million people reside in a country where they were not born. Most immigrants—some 56 million—are here in Europe; 50 million reside in Asia, and 41 million in North America. Immigrants represent less than 4 per cent of the western European labour force, compared with a 15 per cent share for foreign-born workers in the United States.

Contemporary patterns of movement are significantly more complex than those in the past, not only because of the numbers of migrants, but also because the flows are now truly global. There is a significant increase in the diversity of the areas of origin. Today’s migrants come from a broad spectrum of cultural, economic and social backgrounds.

Ladies and gentlemen,

When we think of immigrants, we usually picture men. But for more than 40 years, the number of female migrants has been nearly equal to the number of men who migrate. And it is well documented that many migrant women face double discrimination—for being a migrant and for being a woman. Yet, the gender issues of migration have not been given the attention they deserve.

Female Migration

The growing participation of women in migration has raised both prospects and pains. The fact that women are migrating on their own rather than as part of family migration seems to suggest greater freedom and choice. However, their concentration in vulnerable and exploitative service sectors has generated much debate and valid concern. Both domestic work and entertainment are not covered by labour laws in many countries, hence women's working and living conditions are very much dependent on the "charity or goodwill" of their employers.

We have all heard the horror stories of migrant domestic workers virtually imprisoned by their employers, unable to leave the home, and forced to work long hours, some without any pay.

Despite their contributions to their host countries, women migrants are not generally assured justice and basic protection. As part of the efforts of some countries to ensure that migration is temporary, women migrants cannot easily change employers, even if their conditions are far from satisfactory. Nor can they move to different jobs, away from domestic work. While migrant women contribute to making family life more comfortable and easier for their employers, they are separated from their own families, who often have to fend for themselves.

This year, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants told the Commission on Human Rights that many migrant domestic workers had to deal with abuse, mistreatment and sexual violence by their employers, and that many were without identity papers. This is a serious issue, which governments must address. She encouraged States to provide special documents and papers to ensure legal status for all workers and called upon governments to take all necessary measures to ensure that the rights of migrants are protected.

Trafficking on the Rise

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today, far too many women who migrate in search of better lives find themselves living in what can only be described as conditions of slavery.

Human trafficking is on the rise. And the victims who find themselves ensnared in the traffickers’ webs urgently need assistance and support. They are exposed to sexual violence and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, and, yet, they have very little access to medical and legal services.

Trafficking in women for the purpose of sexual exploitation is a multibillion-dollar business. The value of the global trade in women as commodities for sex industries is estimated to be between 7 and 12 billion dollars annually. This growing trade in women is a highly profitable enterprise, with relatively low risk compared to trade in drugs or arms. Women are trafficked to, from and through every region in the world.

The moneymakers are transnational networks of traffickers that prey on the dreams of women seeking employment and opportunities. The activities of these networks threaten not only the well-being and status of women. They also threaten the social, political and economic well-being and stability of nations where they operate.

Like all businesses, the transnational trade in women is based on supply and demand. For decades, the primary sending countries were Asian countries, such as Thailand and the Philippines. But, since the collapse of the Soviet Union, its former republics, such as Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia and Russia, have become major sending countries of women trafficked into sex industries all over the world.

A 2004 United States Government report estimates that around 800,000 people are trafficked across borders each year. Promising well-paid work or education and training unobtainable at home, traffickers lure, trick and coerce people who are desperate to improve their lives into conditions to which they never agreed. Traffickers force women and girls into prostitution. According to a recent study, 90 per cent of foreign migrant sex workers in the Balkan countries are victims of trafficking. But only 30 per cent are so recognized, and only 7 per cent receive assistance and support.

The drafting of the Council of Europe's European Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings provides a valuable opportunity to protect victims of this crime throughout the European Union. For the convention to be truly effective, however, it must have at its heart measures that safeguard human rights. It must also address issues of demand and not only supply.

Combating the trafficking and smuggling of people has traditionally been approached primarily from a State security perspective, as part of the effort to fight the spread of crime. But it is well known that criminal networks exploit the absence of multilateral migration policies and cooperation among countries.

Facilitating and managing regular migration and protecting the human and labour rights of migrants are important steps in reducing trafficking in people.

UN Convention to Protect Migrant Workers

One step governments should take is ratifying the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, which entered into force over a year ago. Today, only a small number of migrant workers are protected by the Convention since only 26 countries have ratified it so far, with almost all them sending countries. To my knowledge, no European Union member State has yet ratified this important treaty.

The Convention seeks to prevent and eliminate "the clandestine movements and trafficking in migrant workers" and extend the protection of human rights law to all migrant workers and their families throughout the migration process. Article 24 of the Convention states: "Every migrant worker and every member of his or her family shall have the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law".

It is vital for governments to take steps to protect those who are most vulnerable to trafficking and to help those who are victims of this crime. It is also time to harmonize and laws and procedures and increase cooperation among States to bring traffickers to justice.

And it is time for all countries to foster more cooperation to make migration more humane, just and equitable.

Recent efforts to combat terrorism have put State security concerns at the forefront of discussions of international migration, often to the detriment of migrants and refugees. In the name of preserving State security, the detention of illegal migrants without due process is on the rise globally, and so is intolerance and xenophobia, whereas human security is becoming more and more at high risk.

Less than three months ago, this trend prompted all of the human rights experts working within the United Nations system to issue a public statement, expressing their strong concern regarding the continued deterioration in the situation and the denial of the human rights of migrants. While they recognized the sovereign right of States to adopt laws and regulations concerning the entry of aliens and the terms and conditions of their stay, the experts called on States to abide by international humanitarian and human rights law. They expressed concern about current attempts to institutionalize discrimination against and exclusion of migrants and the increasing tendency to restrict the human rights of migrants. And they expressed special concern about the situation of women and children migrants, especially those who are deemed irregular or illegal.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We all know that illegal immigration is a real problem, and States need to cooperate in their efforts to stop it – especially in cracking down on smugglers and traffickers whose organized crime networks exploit the vulnerable and subvert the rule of law. But combating illegal immigration should be part of a much broader strategy. Countries should provide real channels for legal immigration, and seek to harness its benefits, while safeguarding the basic human rights of migrants. They should also take concrete steps to address the root causes of migration, which is often lack of economic opportunities, and poverty.

Ten years ago, at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, 179 governments agreed on a 20-year plan to address all facets of population, including migration. To reduce migration pressures, and increase the viable option of remaining in one’s country, they called for strengthened efforts to narrow the economic gap between rich and poor nations, to defuse conflicts before they escalate, to ensure that the rights of minorities and indigenous people are respected, and to respect the rule of law, promote good governance, strengthen democracy and promote human rights.

The world’s governments also agreed that greater support should be provided to meet people’s basic needs for food, nutrition, education and health, including reproductive health to enable women to plan their families and prevent HIV infection. In order to make greater progress, donor nations were urged to increase international development assistance to these priority areas, and to promote fair trade and debt relief.

By addressing migration as an integral part of international development, there is a greater chance of justice being served. Today, it is clear that the growing inequity between and within countries affects migration patterns. To address migration, the growing poverty and demographic divide between rich and poor countries must be addressed.

During the next half century, the population of Europe will stagnate or grow slowly while the population of the world’s poorest countries will increase threefold.

With Europeans living longer and having fewer children, there is a need for immigrants to fill jobs and deliver services. The same is true in Japan, the Russian Federation, Republic of Korea and Singapore, among other countries in which birth rates are falling and populations are ageing. For these countries, immigration represents part of the solution. And there are many positive lessons we can all learn from the United States, Canada and Australia, for example, as countries whose populations grow through immigration.

For people in poor countries, it is also part of the solution. It is not surprising that many of them see Europe as a land of opportunity to begin a new life. As long as inequity and imbalances between labour demand and supply are growing among countries, people will seek opportunity where they can find it.

Poverty is often cited as one of the main causes of irregular migration. So, from a policy perspective, less poverty should mean less migration pressures.

At the same time, it is clear that migration itself reduces poverty in poor countries. Last year, migrants sent home at least $90 billion to their developing countries in remittances—a significant amount more than the $60 billion those nations received in development assistance. This is more money than poor countries received from assistance or capital markets, and the real number may be twice as high—making remittances higher than foreign direct investment and, in some countries, more valuable than exports.

So, there is a clear case to be made for the economic benefits and poverty-reducing aspects of migration. It is important to note that this money goes directly to the people to whom it is sent and, thus, cannot be siphoned by governments. Migration plays a direct role in economic and social development—a role that was mentioned at this year’s G-8 Summit, where leaders noted the importance of remittances in financing small businesses, education and housing in recipient countries. But migrants play also an increasing cultural role, enriching diversity in countries of destination as well as transmitting and opening new global perspectives and human interaction in their communities of origin.

Migration is, therefore, an issue in which all countries have a stake. It is time to stop using migrants as scapegoats for social problems and begin looking at the benefits a better-managed international migration system can bring.

Last December, an independent Global Commission on International Migration was launched to establish international norms and better policies to manage migration in the interest of all. The Commission will present an action-oriented report with concrete recommendations to the United Nations Secretary-General by July next year. We all look forward to the results of the work of this Commission.

Dear friends,

In closing, I should like to stress that managing migration is not only a matter of opening doors and joining hands internationally. It also requires each country to do more to integrate new arrivals, without necessitating that they lose their cultural identities. Immigrants must adjust to their new societies – and societies need to adjust, too. Immigrants do not want to live apart in their own ghettos. They want to integrate, while retaining their own identities.

Immigrants make significant contributions to societies, which should not be overlooked or underestimated. For example, without them, many health systems would be short-staffed, many parents would not have the home help they need to pursue careers, and many jobs that provide services and generate revenue would go unfilled.

All who are committed to human dignity should, therefore, take a stand against the tendency to make immigrants the scapegoats for social problems. The vast majority of immigrants are hard-working individuals who want a fair opportunity for themselves and their families. They are not criminals or terrorists.

Managing migration properly and protecting the human rights of immigrants can create a win-win situation for all countries, thus surely achieving human security as well as national and global security.

Thank you.