GENEVA (ILO News) - On the occasion of the first UN International Migrants Day, Mr. Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Office (ILO) underscored the large and growing contribution to the global economy made by the world's more than 100 million migrants, immigrants and their families: "Migrant workers provide valuable services with their labour and furnish an often invisible subsidy to the national economies that receive them. They work in factories, produce food, provide domestic service, staff hospitals and contribute to a wide range of basic needs, often for low wages and with little recognition of the value of their contribution."
"Despite the hardships of migrant life and work, the
treatment of migrant workers is often woefully inconsistent with
what they deserve as workers and human beings," Mr. Somavia
said. He added that "migrants are all too often relegated to
the dirty, difficult and dangerous jobs that go begging in
wealthier economies
and where discrimination and ill treatment are
rife."
According to ILO estimates, there are roughly 20 million
migrant workers, immigrants and members of their families across
Africa, 18 million in North America,
12 million in Central and South America, 7 million in
South and East Asia, 9 million in the Middle East and 30 million
across all of Europe. Western Europe alone counts approximately 9
million economically active foreigners along with 13 million
dependents.
The ILO and many governments consider migrant workers to be the unsung heroes of their home countries and the families they must leave behind. Migrant workers send remittances to their home countries of US$ 73 billion every year, usually from relatively modest earnings. Migrant worker remittances represent the second biggest international monetary trade flow, exceeded only by petroleum exports. For many countries, remittances represent greater sources of foreign exchange than total foreign direct investment or foreign aid.
ILO estimates that a large proportion of migration today is irregular and unauthorized, exposing the migrants themselves to levels of abuse and exploitation that would be considered criminal if it were not so well concealed. ILO studies have also documented high levels of discrimination in employment against regular migrant workers in a number of Western countries.
Migrants suffer from xenophobia and racism and are often subject to abuse and violent attacks simply because they are foreigners. Such violations have become widespread and occur across the globe.
The ILO is launching a new project to create a global data bank on "best practices" of anti-discrimination and pro-integration policies and measures. It recently initiated new training programs for labour migration management and anti-discrimination efforts and is enhancing its services to assist governments to establish effective labour migration management policies and practices.
The ILO has supported efforts by the NGO community and trade unions urging wider attention to the protection and promotion of migrant's rights. ILO is a member of the inter-agency Steering Committee for the Global Campaign for Migrants Rights to promote wider ratification of the UN Convention on protection of migrants human rights. ILO and other Steering Committee members were actively involved in encouraging the UN designation of International Migrants Day.
The UN proclamation invites UN member states, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to observe this day by disseminating information on human rights and fundamental freedoms of migrants, sharing experiences, and undertaking action to ensure the protection of migrants.
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