For Your Information
Origin of International Migrants Day
On December 4, 2000, the United Nations General Assembly, taking into account the large and increasing number of migrants in the world and recognizing the enormous contribution they make to the global economy, the societies they migrate to and the countries they hail from through remittances and in various other ways, proclaimed December 18 International Migrants Day. Remittances, for example, have gone from $128 billion in 2000 to $831 billion in 2022.
A decade earlier, on December 18, 1990, the General Assembly had adopted the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. To view the Convention click here.
Sixty of the United Nations 193 member states are parties (legally bound) to the Convention and 43 are signatories (preliminary endorsement). Interestingly, Canada is neither a party nor a signatory, nor is the U.S. or any of the other so-called Western democracies, including the countries that make up the European Union. So much for all the so-called defenders of human rights!
Message from United Nations Secretary-General
On December 13, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres delivered a message for International Migrants Day, where he pointed out that this is "a day to remind ourselves of the challenges migrants can face -- from prejudice and discrimination, to outright violence and abuse, to the unimaginable cruelty of human trafficking.
"These challenges are made worse by the rising tide of mis and disinformation and hate speech which sows division and distorts the valuable contributions migrants are making each and every day.
"As a global community, we must summon our common humanity, and work to reverse these harmful trends."
(Source: United Nations)
This article was published in
Wednesday,
December 18, 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/ITN2024/Articles/TI54713.HTM
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