Migrant Forum in Asia, Statement on International Human Rights Day<\/p>\n
December 10, 2011<\/p>\n
Today marks International Human Rights Day \u2013 a day observed each year to commemorate the\u00a0adoption by the UN General Assembly of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.\u00a0This landmark document was the first global enunciation of the rights of all human\u00a0beings, enshrining the principles of equality and non-discrimination in the realization\u00a0of these rights, which are to be extended to all regardless of nationality, religion,\u00a0ethnicity, gender, or legal status. We dedicate this day to those who have lost their\u00a0lives crossing borders in their attempts to realize the rights to which we are all\u00a0entitled as human beings.<\/p>\n
On this important day, we are called to reflect on how far the international community\u00a0has come since 1948, and to speak out in solidarity with those who remain unable to see\u00a0their fundamental rights realized due to political, social, and economic instability and\u00a0oppression, and due to policies based on xenophobia, intolerance, and discrimination. We\u00a0dedicate this day to those who have lost their lives crossing borders in their attempts\u00a0to realize the rights to which we are all entitled as human beings.<\/p>\n
\nStranded Migrants<\/p>\n
This past year, we witnessed too many lapses on the part of states to uphold and protect\u00a0the human rights of migrant workers, with migrant workers becoming stranded outside of\u00a0their home countries as a result of political upheaval and natural disasters.<\/p>\n
In the Arab World, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers were unable to be evacuated\u00a0and repatriated, many forced to wait for days and weeks at a time at ports of exit,\u00a0waiting for passage to safe countries and for evacuation plans to be drawn up by their\u00a0home countries. The deaths of those migrants attempting to flee from areas affected by\u00a0the uprisings speak to the need for migrant sending states to have emergency plans in\u00a0place for the repatriation of their nationals deployed abroad for work.<\/p>\n
The tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan and the unprecedented flooding in Bangkok\u00a0resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, including migrant\u00a0workers, yet migrant workers were the last considered in state disaster responses. \u00a0Many\u00a0remain stranded, with their home countries having no plans in place for their\u00a0reintegration, with their livelihoods devastated, and with no hope of assistance on the\u00a0part of their host states due to their non-citizenship.<\/p>\n
Undocumented Migrants<\/p>\n
Crackdowns on irregular migrants continue to violate the rights of migrant workers all\u00a0over the world. \u00a0Constantly denied their inalienable human rights on the basis of legal\u00a0status, these workers are at constant risk of arrest, detention, and deportation, and are\u00a0criminalized, harassed, and exploited through all stages of the migration process.Resolution 3499 of the UN General Assembly (1975) affirms that no human being is illegal.\u00a0Regardless of their immigration status or nationality, all migrants have inalienable\u00a0human rights that states are required to respect and uphold in the exercise of their\u00a0sovereignty over all who reside within their geographical jurisdiction.<\/p>\n
Migrant Rights are Human Rights<\/p>\n
In the absence of a true commitment among states to uphold the principles of equity and\u00a0non-discrimination that are enshrined in all international human rights instruments, we\u00a0must work to build the migrant rights movement in solidarity with other social movements\u00a0around the world to challenge the systems that prevent the realization of human rights\u00a0for all.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Migrant Forum in Asia, Statement on International Human Rights Day<\/p>\n
December 10, 2011<\/p>\n
Today marks International Human Rights Day \u2013 a day observed each year to commemorate the\u00a0adoption by the UN General Assembly of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.\u00a0This landmark document was the first global enunciation of the rights of all human\u00a0beings, enshrining the principles of equality and non-discrimination in the realization\u00a0of these rights, which are to be extended to all regardless of nationality, religion,\u00a0ethnicity, gender, or legal status. We dedicate this day to those who have lost their\u00a0lives crossing borders in their attempts to realize the rights to which we are all\u00a0entitled as human beings.<\/p>\n
On this important day, we are called to reflect on how far the international community\u00a0has come since 1948, and to speak out in solidarity with those who remain unable to see\u00a0their fundamental rights realized due to political, social, and economic instability and\u00a0oppression, and due to policies based on xenophobia, intolerance, and discrimination. We\u00a0dedicate this day to those who have lost their lives crossing borders in their attempts\u00a0to realize the rights to which we are all entitled as human beings.<\/p>\n
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