PHILIPPINES: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon urges world leaders to protect migrant workers' rights in midst of financial crisis

Record ID: 560843

  • Title: PHILIPPINES: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon urges world leaders to protect migrant workers' rights in midst of financial crisis
  • Date: 29th October 2008
  • Summary: (W2) MANILA, PHILIPPINES (OCTOBER 28, 2008) (REUTERS) MIGRANT WORKERS CARRYING LUGGAGE IN MANILA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WORKERS WAITING IN DEPARTURE LOBBY WORKERS WALKING WITH LUGGAGE WORKERS QUEUING IN IMMIGRATION AREA
  • Embargoed: 13th November 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Philippines
  • Country: Philippines
  • Topics: International Relations,Employment
  • Reuters ID: LVABVDTZ94BWPDUX65SE1UPJGTA5
  • Story Text: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on world leaders on Wednesday (October 29) to protect migrant workers' rights in the face of the global economic slowdown.
    He said the political discourse on immigration in several countries has become discouragingly negative, heightening the risk of discrimination.

    "It would be naive to think the current crisis will have no effect on the movement of people across the borders and of how our publics perceive migration and the migrants in their midst. Already migration flows are reversing. In several instances, we are seeing a net outflow from countries facing economic crisis, especially from badly affected sectors such as construction and tourism, where many migrants are employed," he said in a speech to delegates from 163 countries attending the second Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD).
    Ban warned developed countries against closing borders and applying immigration restrictions, because it could force millions of migrant workers to go through unsafe and irregular channels.
    For her part, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo appealed to U.N. member-states for more definite action to protect migrant workers.

    "We urge all countries who have not yet done so to ratify the international convention on the protection of the rights of all migrant workers and members of their families," Arroyo said.
    The Philippines is a big exporter of migrant labour, counting 9-10 million Filipinos working overseas, mostly as construction workers, seafarers, nurses and domestic helpers.
    Based on estimates by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), there are more than 200 million migrant workers worldwide, sending back about $240 billion last year to their families and filling the widening labour gaps in aging developed countries.
    Ban said the financial crisis has led to a significant slowdown in remittance flows, and that anxiety was spreading due to rising unemployment and a cooling down of global growth.
    "I would also urge those countries who accommodate many migrants, immigrations, they should ensure, through their domestic legislation and political and social framework to protect and promote the human rights of migrant workers. And as secretary-general, you have my full commitment to this," Ban said in a news conference.
    The U.N. special representative on migration, Peter Sutherland, said the credit crunch would primarily affect property development, which in turn would have a significant impact on job creation and migration.
    Reports from Hong Kong indicate that employers would freeze wages of thousands of domestic workers, the Philippine undersecretary for migrant workers said.
    Coinciding with the migration forum, around 400 protesters from human rights groups across Asia demonstrated in downtown Manila, saying the conference encouraged rich countries' exploitation of migrant labour.
    "Unfortunately, many of the sending countries, even like the Philippine, they are after the sending of the labour export program. And then, we are very afraid because now Philippine is seen as the model in the world, that migrant sending should be like this. It's very systematic, it should be generation to generation, it should be the whole family being a migrant workers," said Eli Lestari, chairperson of the International Migrants Alliance.
    Migrants rights advocates also clamoured for better job creation in origin countries.
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