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Sent: Friday, May 27, 2011 5:26 PM
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Subject: Young Migrants - Protection of Rights - Migrant Girls
WUNRN
Protecting the Rights of Young
Migrants - Migrant Girls
Noraida from the
She was not so lucky with her third employer. She worked day
and night, but nothing seemed to please the lady of the house. Exploited and
physically abused, Noraida eventually managed to escape to her home country –
bruised and empty-handed.
The story of Noraida was retold by the Deputy Executive
Director of the United Nations Population Fund, Purnima Mane, at a symposium on
“Migration and Youth: Harnessing Opportunities for Development”, held recently
at the United Nations in New York. Migrant children who work are
extremely vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, particularly as they are likely
to be in an irregular situation in the country of employment, she explained.
Participants in the symposium noted that protection of human rights was a
prerequisite for the successful integration of young migrants.
An ever-growing number of young people are crossing national
borders. Their motivation is an often complex mixture of the need for protection
and the desire for opportunity due to unemployment, conflict and economic
hardship. This increase in migration by young people has been fostered by the
global explosion in communication technologies.
The United Nations estimates that 214 million people – three
per cent of the world’s population – are now living outside their countries of
origin. About 35 million of these are between the ages of 10 and 24.
A study released by the United Nations Human Rights office
last September found that the migration of children is usually considered
within the framework of the migration of adults, with the effect that the
distinct vulnerabilities of children are disregarded by national migration
laws. However, as pointed out at the symposium, migrant children have special
needs and status. “International law provides that all children affected
by migration should be seen and protected as children first and foremost,
rather than letting their migratory or other status, or indeed that of their
parents, dictate their access to protection,” said Assistant Secretary-General
for Human Rights, Ivan Šimonović.
“Young people have a higher propensity to take risks,
migrate and adapt. Unfortunately, they are also more vulnerable to abuse and
exploitation,” said the President of the United
Nations General Assembly, Joseph Deiss.
“Irregular migrant children and youth can be prevented from
gaining effective access to health care, including because of high costs or
because they are reluctant to access health services due to fear of detection
or deportation,” observed Šimonović. “Migrant children and their families
can often be found living in substandard housing, whether because they cannot
pay high rents, their legal status prevents them from renting legally or
because they have joined diaspora communities that live in run-down and
spatially segregated parts of the city.”
“Migrants in irregular situations are more vulnerable to
abuse of their fundamental human rights, often being denied even the most basic
labour protections, due process guarantees, personal security and access to
health services,” said UNICEF’s Executive Director, Anthony Lake on behalf of
the Global Migration Group,
a collection of 14 UN entities, the World Bank and the International
Organization for Migration. This Group organized the symposium which was
followed by a General Assembly informal thematic debate on international
migration and development. The General Assembly discussion focused on, among
other things, how to safeguard the human rights of all migrants, and ensure
their full social and economic integration in host countries.
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