Cooperation and dialogue among countries are required to ensure that migrants are protected on the way to their destinations and also in their destinations, Peter Sutherland, special representative of the UN secretary general for international migration, said yesterday.
“I think there is a need for healthy and constructive dialogues among countries. I am not saying that I want migration. I am just saying that the facts are clear that migration can have both positive and negative effects.
“However, overall, it is an important part of the economy of some developing countries such as the Philippines,” he said in an interview at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the capital.
Sutherland said some countries categorically deny the existence of migration, thinking that it indicates poor governance and persecution.
“But this is not an accurate description. People always wish to move from poorer to richer areas or areas where there are greater opportunities,” he said.
He said the term migration need more deliberation in order for it to have a more concrete definition in the light of the prevailing global context complicated by the dual effects of political volatility and fallout of climate change.
The UN official acknowledged Bangladesh’s efforts in trying to accommodate the Rohingya from Myanmar. He said many countries unwilling to accommodate people could avoid doing so by simply saying it would lead to domestic problems for them.
“So, I think there has to be a global dialogue on this issue and one part of that dialogue could be through the global forum which we created about 10 years ago and which Bangladesh will host in December.
“Before the forum was created, there was a provision in many developed countries who said the protection of migrants was their own affair and should not involve any multilateral approach. But that has changed. The countries taking in migrants know that there has to be a dialogue and there has to be cooperation between countries,” Sutherland said.
Noting that 40% of the total population in the US are migrants, he said migration had become a part of human life and would be a crucial factor in the upcoming American elections.
Sutherland called on countries to respond to the migrant issue not by closing doors but by extending help to refugees.
He also urged countries to expand their policies on legal migration by controlling recruiters who are charging excessive amounts from migrants both in the source and destination countries.
“Cooperation is required among countries to stop such activities.”
The UN representative also praised Bangladesh’s chairmanship in the upcoming 9th Global Forum on Migration and Development slated to be held in Dhaka in December.
