UN approves international agreement to protect migrants

MANILA, Philippines — The United Nations has approved the final draft of an international agreement that will ensure protection of millions of migrants worldwide, including overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said UN member-states have agreed on the final text of the Global Compact on Migration during an inter-governmental meeting in New York on Friday.

“For the Philippines, a Global Compact on Migration was long overdue,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola said.

“Through our four decades of managing migration, we had fought for this: for migration to come to the UN and be recognized as a global issue worthy of mankind’s attention,” she added.

The Philippines, with its high number of overseas workers, was among those that pushed for the approval of the agreement.

“In the course of our negotiations, we must not forget that we are setting a moral standard for the world – not just in the purposes we achieve but in the sincerity and civility with which we attain them. We realize our humanity when we uphold the rights and dignity of every migrant,” Arriola said.

According to the DFA official, the final text of the Global Compact is firmly anchored on human rights, ensuring the protection of the rights and promotion of welfare of migrants regardless of migration status. 

Arriola said the final draft builds on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and integrates a development perspective that recognizes that human rights and sustainable development are not mutually exclusive.

She said the final draft moves the 2016 New York Declaration on Refugees and Migrants forward, providing actionable commitments and an implementation, follow-up and review framework.

The final text affirms that migration governance is a shared responsibility and that migration cannot be addressed by one state or by governments alone, said Arriola.

“Our work on the Global Compact does not cease with its finalization today. We will continue to engage in its implementation and follow-up and review, to ensure that it continues to reflect changing needs, challenges and interests,” she said.

The text is expected to be adopted during the 2018 International Migration Conference in Morocco in December.