UN denounces stigma against migrants despite their help in the pandemic
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, on Wednesday denounced the "growing stigma, racism and xenophobia" suffered by many migrants despite the "heroic" role that this group has played in caring for others during the pandemic.
Guterres, in a speech to the UN General Assembly, highlighted the particularly important role that migrants have played on the front lines of the fight against covid-19, "often putting their lives at risk to help others".
"And yet migrants, particularly those with irregular status, are often excluded from recovery measures and do not have access to basic services, whether health or social protection," said the Portuguese politician.
According to Guterres, today many "are suffering from increasing stigma, racism and xenophobia" and many women and girls are at greater risk of being trafficked and exploited.
Others, meanwhile, continue to be deported, often with insufficient attention to health risks and proper procedures.
Guterres took stock of the implementation of the Global Compact on Migration, the agreement sealed in 2018 by the majority of the world's countries to try to improve the management of this issue and the situation of migrants.
According to the head of the United Nations, some governments have taken steps forward to protect the human rights of this group, ending discrimination in basic services, opening more channels for regular migration or suspending forced repatriations.
"It is imperative that all these measures become the norm, not the exception," he insisted.
He also called for measures against smugglers who move migrants through irregular channels and argued that the only way to really end this problem is to establish more channels for legal migration.
Among the priorities, he also highlighted ending the loss of life on migration routes, after more than 50,000 people have died in the last seven years.
"Their deaths are a source of collective shame and preventing loss of life - including through rescue at sea - is a humanitarian imperative and a moral and legal obligation," he stressed.
Guterres was speaking at an informal plenary of the UN General Assembly to begin preparations for the first major review of the Global Compact on Migration, which will take place at a meeting between 17 and 20 May.
