.
There was much excitement at 2016’s special United Nations summit on migration and refugees. This was the first such summit of world leaders and the declaration at the end of it committed to finding a new and more comprehensive approach to human mobility, to be agreed in the form of a new Global Compact in September 2018.
At the mid-point in the new journey to that Global Compact and as we approach the 2017 General Assembly, it is hard to feel even vaguely hopeful about how much progress is likely to be made on this thorny global diplomatic challenge.
This new global process was partially a response to outrage over the senseless deaths of migrants making perilous journeys across the Mediterranean. While European Union data shows a decline in the numbers of people trying to cross into Europe and EU politicians feel buoyed by the fact Turkey has agreed to take back those caught leaving its shores, the fundamental drivers of migration remain as pressing as ever. And the political discourse around it is getting worse.
Understanding and addressing the drivers of forced migration is critical if any new global approach has a chance of succeeding. The world leaders meeting in New York this month should seek ways to protect the refugees already seeking asylum, but also work to address the root causes that are forcing people to flee.
For example, the natural disasters of the past weeks alone have shown that one of the most urgent ways to stem the flow of migration is for governments to urgently seek to implement the Paris Climate Change Agreement. Just this month as Hurricane Irma ripped through the Caribbean, it rendered the island of Barbuda virtually uninhabitable. On the other side of the world, millions of people have been left homeless in recent weeks, by rising floodwaters in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. It is clear that the climate-induced displacement is likely to rise in the coming years and that this group will have particular needs that fall outside of current norms.
U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to make his first appearance at the General Assembly (UNGA) this year. I would urge all world leaders present to use the opportunity to convince President Trump of the importance of the United States’ enthusiastic return to the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
Unfortunately, President Trump has instead decided to set the tone for UNGA by threatening the mass deportation of 800,000 young people receiving temporary protection under the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program.
But President Trump is hardly alone. An anti-immigration tone has spread across much of the Western world, even amongst progressive voices that had previously recognized and championed the importance of refugee protection.
European countries have been desperately trying tactics to block asylum seekers and migrants from entering Europe. They are now looking to Africa to help by offering leaders lots of money to set up asylum processing points on their soil. Instead of leading by example and addressing the root causes of the problems, European governments are choosing to pay African and Turkish politicians to try keep the “problem” out of Europe. This will ultimately result in the mass detention of vulnerable people in the thousands, often in atrocious conditions.
It is important to recognize that many of these people are fleeing not only conflict, but also repressive governments. Repressive laws governing freedom of expression and association—an increasingly common feature across the world—have themselves become a driver of migration. Now more than ever, we need all governments to lead by example and show the importance of good governance and civil liberties. Sadly, many of these governments now feel emboldened to continue their brutal crackdowns and undemocratic practices after seeing democracy decline in countries that once upheld these values.
Meanwhile, low and middle income countries continue to host the vast majority, 86 percent, of the world’s refugees. In the past two weeks alone, an estimated 125,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled across the border from Myanmar to Bangladesh, fearing signs of an impending genocide. And in Europe, even the most basic of burden-sharing attempts have been bitterly disputed, even threatening the rule of law. Just last week, Hungary’s foreign minister openly disputed a ruling by the EU’s highest court, saying that the court was ‘raping’ Hungary’s values.
Amid this climate of disaster and fear, it seems that world leaders will hardly be in the mood for an open and fair system to manage human mobility in the 21st century. And, yet, in reality, the events of the past few weeks alone have emphasized just how urgently our leaders need to work together on this issue.
Fortunately, should our governments choose to accept this challenge, they already have a solid framework to work with. The 1951 Refugee Convention is in fact one of the greatest achievements of the international human rights system. The biggest challenge to refugee protection and the management of large movement of migrants is not the framework, but ensuring that states comply with it. The convention’s only real weakness is that no state has managed to live up to the spirit of the agreement, let alone its letter.
About the author: Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah is the Secretary General of CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance.
Photo by Braden Barwich via Unsplash.
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
a global affairs media network
Leaders Must Put Migration Back on Global Agenda
September 22, 2017
There was much excitement at 2016’s special United Nations summit on migration and refugees. This was the first such summit of world leaders and the declaration at the end of it committed to finding a new and more comprehensive approach to human mobility, to be agreed in the form of a new Global Compact in September 2018.
At the mid-point in the new journey to that Global Compact and as we approach the 2017 General Assembly, it is hard to feel even vaguely hopeful about how much progress is likely to be made on this thorny global diplomatic challenge.
This new global process was partially a response to outrage over the senseless deaths of migrants making perilous journeys across the Mediterranean. While European Union data shows a decline in the numbers of people trying to cross into Europe and EU politicians feel buoyed by the fact Turkey has agreed to take back those caught leaving its shores, the fundamental drivers of migration remain as pressing as ever. And the political discourse around it is getting worse.
Understanding and addressing the drivers of forced migration is critical if any new global approach has a chance of succeeding. The world leaders meeting in New York this month should seek ways to protect the refugees already seeking asylum, but also work to address the root causes that are forcing people to flee.
For example, the natural disasters of the past weeks alone have shown that one of the most urgent ways to stem the flow of migration is for governments to urgently seek to implement the Paris Climate Change Agreement. Just this month as Hurricane Irma ripped through the Caribbean, it rendered the island of Barbuda virtually uninhabitable. On the other side of the world, millions of people have been left homeless in recent weeks, by rising floodwaters in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. It is clear that the climate-induced displacement is likely to rise in the coming years and that this group will have particular needs that fall outside of current norms.
U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to make his first appearance at the General Assembly (UNGA) this year. I would urge all world leaders present to use the opportunity to convince President Trump of the importance of the United States’ enthusiastic return to the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
Unfortunately, President Trump has instead decided to set the tone for UNGA by threatening the mass deportation of 800,000 young people receiving temporary protection under the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program.
But President Trump is hardly alone. An anti-immigration tone has spread across much of the Western world, even amongst progressive voices that had previously recognized and championed the importance of refugee protection.
European countries have been desperately trying tactics to block asylum seekers and migrants from entering Europe. They are now looking to Africa to help by offering leaders lots of money to set up asylum processing points on their soil. Instead of leading by example and addressing the root causes of the problems, European governments are choosing to pay African and Turkish politicians to try keep the “problem” out of Europe. This will ultimately result in the mass detention of vulnerable people in the thousands, often in atrocious conditions.
It is important to recognize that many of these people are fleeing not only conflict, but also repressive governments. Repressive laws governing freedom of expression and association—an increasingly common feature across the world—have themselves become a driver of migration. Now more than ever, we need all governments to lead by example and show the importance of good governance and civil liberties. Sadly, many of these governments now feel emboldened to continue their brutal crackdowns and undemocratic practices after seeing democracy decline in countries that once upheld these values.
Meanwhile, low and middle income countries continue to host the vast majority, 86 percent, of the world’s refugees. In the past two weeks alone, an estimated 125,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled across the border from Myanmar to Bangladesh, fearing signs of an impending genocide. And in Europe, even the most basic of burden-sharing attempts have been bitterly disputed, even threatening the rule of law. Just last week, Hungary’s foreign minister openly disputed a ruling by the EU’s highest court, saying that the court was ‘raping’ Hungary’s values.
Amid this climate of disaster and fear, it seems that world leaders will hardly be in the mood for an open and fair system to manage human mobility in the 21st century. And, yet, in reality, the events of the past few weeks alone have emphasized just how urgently our leaders need to work together on this issue.
Fortunately, should our governments choose to accept this challenge, they already have a solid framework to work with. The 1951 Refugee Convention is in fact one of the greatest achievements of the international human rights system. The biggest challenge to refugee protection and the management of large movement of migrants is not the framework, but ensuring that states comply with it. The convention’s only real weakness is that no state has managed to live up to the spirit of the agreement, let alone its letter.
About the author: Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah is the Secretary General of CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance.
Photo by Braden Barwich via Unsplash.
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
