THE United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday officially endorsed an international agreement that seeks to provide better treatment and protection of migrants around the world, including the 10 million Filipinos overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
The resolution endorsing the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration was approved with 152 affirmative votes and negative votes by the United States, Hungary, Israel, the Czech Republic, and Poland, while 12 countries abstained.
The Global Compact on Migration is a non-binding agreement to address issues related to migration. It was adopted by world leaders during the Intergovernmental Conference in Morocco on Dec. 11 before being presented to the General Assembly.
Opponents of the agreement, including the United States and Hungary, cited their own problems with border protection and national security concerns. They also rejected the argument that migration will address labor and demographic gaps in some countries.
“This document describes migration as if it would be the best thing that has ever happened to humanity. But this is not true. Migration is a dangerous phenomenon. Migration proved to be able to destabilize countries of source, countries of transit and proved to put enormous security risks on countries of destination, among others by creating parallel societies,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said at the UN.
Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. said protection for migrants was a shared responsibility for all countries.
“We defeated the notion that migration is bad. And we did this with facts and not frightful fantasies of job losses. When jobs are lost they are not taken by migrants; but by people who stay home, work harder for less pay, and beat the better-paid competition abroad,” he said.
“We did it with reason by showing that migrants have been useful additions to the work forces of host countries; they are a good response to unfair foreign competition,” he added.
The compact requires countries to ensure that migrants are given proof of legal identity via adequate documentation, and make available decent work. Countries also committed to respond to the needs of migrants in vulnerable situations.
Joint efforts should also be undertaken to eradicate trafficking in persons. It also advises the use of immigration detention as a “measure of last resort.”
In a statement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the global compact provides a platform that provides more “legal pathways for migration” and help crack down on trafficking and exploitation.
“At a time when international cooperation is more important than ever, this new Global Compact provides a platform for precisely that. It calls for greater solidarity with migrants in situations of appalling vulnerability and abuse,” he said. — Camille A. Aguinaldo
