International Migrants Day, 2012

"We all share a responsibility to protect the human rights of all people on the move.”  International Organization for Migration on International Migrants Day,  December 18th 2012

The evacuation of more than 200,000 migrant workers from Libya in 2011 focused world attention on the plight of tens of thousands of migrant workers, mainly from low-income, developing countries, who found themselves swept up by the political upheaval, without money, jobs, documentation or any means of getting home to their families.

Their marginal status in Libya and obvious vulnerability touched a chord with international donors who stepped in to help agencies including IOM and UNHCR to mount a massive repatriation operation. They included the World Bank, which funded a USD 10 million IOM airlift of 35,000 migrants to Bangladesh.

The crisis highlighted the fact that conflicts and man-made or natural disasters can impact already vulnerable migrants resulting in humanitarian crises. The international community, and in particular migrant sending and receiving countries, must recognize the implications of crises for migrants and their families left behind and act to mitigate both the short and long term consequences, says IOM as it marks International Migrants Day.

“Finding humane and effective solutions to the complex and multi-faceted challenges of crisis-related migration flows requires strong partnerships between international organizations, States and a variety of non-state actors, including NGOs, the media, the private sector, religious groups and transnational diaspora communities,” says IOM Director General Swing.  “We all share a responsibility to protect the human rights of all people on the move.” More...