COVID-19 Update
Joint Call by UN Agencies to End Stigma and Discrimination Against Migrant Workers and Their Children During Pandemic
Over 15,000 migrant workers from Myanmar returned
home through this
Thai border crossing in a single day in late
March. (IOM)
The following is a joint op-ed by the
International Labour Organization (ILO), the
International Organization
for Migration (IOM), the UN International
Children's Emergency Fund
(UNICEF), the UN Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC) and UN Women, signed
by representatives for their respective
organizations.
COVID-19 has caused mass global disruption and
placed the most vulnerable, including men and
women migrant workers and
their children, in great hardship. Containment
measures, notably border
closures and movement restrictions, have had a
significant impact on
migrants, exacerbating existing vulnerabilities
and potentially
increasing transmission risks. Loss of income has
led to insecurity,
increased risks of violence and rising debts for
this already
vulnerable group, including for families for whom
remittances are a
critical income source.
In South-East Asia and the Pacific, 11.6 million
people are migrant workers -- 5.2 million of whom
are women. Many
countries in the region rely on migrant workers
for the functioning of
their economies to fill local labour shortages. As
of 2019, it is
estimated that 2.8 million international migrant
children were living
in East Asia and the Pacific.
Isolation and reduced mobility have increased the
risk of abuse, exploitation and trafficking in
persons, particularly of
women migrant workers (including by employers and
partners) and
children. When households are placed under the
increased strains that
come from security, health and financial worries,
as well as cramped
living conditions, women and girls are more likely
to be at risk of
violence and abuse. COVID-19 response measures
that are not inclusive
of migrant workers in the informal economy further
put those workers
and families at risk of exploitation.
School closures have gravely aggravated migrant
children's vulnerabilities, for whom schools
provide not only an
education but a haven, a source of food, an
opportunity to identify
abuse and an important platform through which to
receive information.
This safety mechanism is now lost, further
compounding the disruption
of child protection services, to which migrant
children already have
limited access. They may also face significant
barriers in accessing
online learning opportunities.
Attitudes towards migrant workers were not
generally positive even before the pandemic and
have now only worsened.
In ASEAN, there have been reports of increased
verbal abuse against
certain nationalities and migrants presumed to
bring the virus to
communities. Such stigmatization and
discrimination are not only
unacceptable but dangerous, and it can put in
particular women migrant
workers, their children and families at risk of
both gender-based and
xenophobic violence, harassment and trafficking.
Women migrant workers fill diverse occupations,
including in domestic work, hospitality, seafood
processing,
manufacturing, agriculture and construction. Many
are on the front
lines of responding to the pandemic, especially as
care workers. These
migrant groups may be at greater risk of
transmission due to their
living and working conditions. Many may not be
able to access essential
services, especially when they need it most,
including if exposed to
violence and abuse.
Migrants with undocumented or irregular migration
status also live in fear of deportation, making
them less likely to be
tested, access health screening or receive
treatment, with negative
consequences for their own health and that of
others. In addition to
the fear of losing their livelihoods if they test
positive, migrant
workers are also more likely to be taken advantage
of, with increased
wage gaps exacerbating existing discrimination in
some occupations.
We call on States to fulfill their international
commitments under the Convention on the Rights of
the Child, the
relevant international labour standards on
promoting decent work,
gender equality and fair labour migration, and the
Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women.
States should acknowledge that migrants are a
critical part of the response to the pandemic, and
take targeted
measures to protect all women, men, girls and
boys, including those in
vulnerable situations. They should develop
measures to ensure access to
essential services for all, foster dialogue
between migrants and
destination as well as origin communities to
address and prevent
xenophobia, discrimination or stigmatization of
migrants.
Arrests of undocumented migrants should never
form
part of containment measures, and in the case of
children contravene
the best interests of the child. Children and
young people, including
migrant children, have contributed valuable ideas
and raised awareness
on the needs and challenges of the COVID-19
response.
While the virus does not discriminate, its social
and economic impact is definitely not equal. The
most vulnerable who do
not have social protection coverage, nor ready
access to health and
essential services, disproportionately bear more
severe consequences.
Hence the immediate response and long-term
recovery measures must be responsive to the
particular needs and
challenges of migrant workers, especially women
and children. This is
the time for solidarity and humanity regardless of
nationality,
migration status, gender, sex or age. Societies,
more than ever, have a
shared responsibility to successfully end the
pandemic. No one should
be left behind -- no matter who or where they are,
or what legal status
they hold.
As highlighted in an appeal made by the United
Nations Secretary-General, let us stand up against
hate, treat each
other with dignity and defeat COVID-19 together.
Jeremy Douglas, UNODC Regional
Representative, Southeast Asia and the Pacific,
Karin Hulshof, Regional Director, UNICEF
East Asia and Pacific,
Nenette Motus, IOM Regional Director,
Asia and the Pacific,
Mohammad Naciri, Regional Director, UN
Women for Asia and the Pacific
Tomoko Nishimoto, ILO Assistant
Director-General and Regional Director, Asia and
the Pacific.
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 21 - June 13, 2020
Article Link:
COVID-19 Update: Joint Call by UN Agencies to End Stigma and Discrimination Against Migrant Workers and Their Children During Pandemic
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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