States urged to address gender dimensions in refugees, migrant movement

In a joint statement, they also called upon states to recognise their socioeconomic contributions to their countries of origin, transit and destination. The Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (CMW), the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued the joint statement. In the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the new international framework on migration, states will benefit from hearing the voices of women and girls, and responding to their rights and specific needs to ensure that no one is left behind, the joint statement read. The UN General Assembly has convened a UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants, scheduled to begin on Monday in New York, to discuss the development of two global compacts-one on refugees and one for safe, orderly and regular migration, according to a message received here from the OHCHR. To protect the rights of the women and girls who make up around half of the 244 million migrants and 21.3 million refugees, the rights bodies called upon States to ensure that these global compacts align with and reflect the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW Convention), the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (ICRMW), and the other core international human rights instruments and other relevant international human rights standards. The rights platforms urged states to take all necessary measures to prevent conflicts that are a root cause of many migration and refugee movements and to undertake all efforts to end political and social tensions and ensure peace and decent living conditions for their populations.