A panel discussion on the Objective 12 of the Global Compact for Migration (GCM) which aims to ‘strengthen certainty and predictability in migration procedures for appropriate screening, assessment and referral’ was jointly organized by the Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA), Cross Regional Center for Refugees and Migrants (CCRM), Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism (GRFDT) and Civil Society Action Committee (CSAC) on 17th November, 2020. Panelists from across the world put forth their opinions about the Objective which deals with identifying vulnerable migrant population and providing necessary information to them.
Objective 12: A Difficult Objective to Deal With
Ms. Paddy Siyanga Knudsen, Migration Governance Analyst, GRFDT, initiated the exchange of dialogue by introducing Mr. Stéphane Jaquemet, Director of Policy, International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC), and asking him about their work at ICMC with respect to recognizing and enabling access to proper referral procedures and the kind of challenges that they have faced. According to Mr. Jaquemet, ICMC is actively engaged in advocating migrant’s rights in situations of mixed migration. Objective 12 is a difficult topic to talk about as he said, “Probably it is not one of the fanciest ones”, because some of the elements that constitute the Objective, like access to services, detention, are some of the ineluctable choices that we make. Pointing out the peculiarity with which it was drafted, he stated that the meaning of the Objective which asserts that transparent and predictable procedures of migration should be put in place for all migrants, is unclear as questions relating to successful governmental measures in order to ensure proper registration for each and every migrants remain unaddressed.
“You need to have procedure in place to do a bit of screening, profiling and identifying people who may have very specific needs.”: Mr. Stéphane Jaquemet.
Mr. Jaquemet also elaborated on the initial GCM or the Zero draft, where Objective 12 was found to have some intrinsic problems by some of the governments. He took the example of UNHCR, which in 2007, had produced a document called 10-Point Strategy in order to show how measures with respect to the vulnerable people had already been undertaken long back. The strategy, which was effective during the situations of mixed migration, had the specific purpose of locating the vulnerable migrants, women who were in crisis, victims of human trafficking, and disabled children, so that sufficient measures could be taken to help them as soon as the process starts. Thus, some of the elements that constitute the Objective have been present much before the Compact was made. Ms. Aletheia Fernandez de la Reguera, Associate Researcher, Institute of Legal Research, National Autonomous University of Mexico, also agreed with Mr. Jaquemet, stating that many countries already deal with gender and child sensitive procedures along with other aspects of Objective 12.
Transparency in Mobility for the Migrants
According to Ms. Aletheia Fernandez, while features of mobility are getting new forms, in the transit countries, there are many challenges that the migrants face concerning accountability and transparency.
“Many migrants in reality are first migrants and I believe that we need to think on global governance of migration in terms of what are the priorities that are needed for the people.”: Ms. Aletheia Fernandez de la Reguera.
The main problem that the migrants face is their inability to access the destination countries. Mr. Henry Rojas, Coordinator, Lawyers Beyond Borders Network (LBB),whose main focus was on Philippines, talked about the roles played by the countries of origin and the destination. As a lawyer, he felt that the particularities of the migration laws and the procedures dealing with migration in the destination countries are of importance to the lawyers as well as the ‘would be migrant workers.’ Transmitting appropriate information on migration to the migrant workers in the countries of origin is essential before they depart for the destination countries. In this light, Mr. Rojas took up the case of Philippines, where pre-employment seminars and pre-departure orientation seminars are being held for the migrants. Mr. Rojas pointed out, “these are generic information seminars and not specific to the countries where the migrant workers would actually be working,” and said that this is an issue which needs immediate attention. If the government agencies could identify the specific points of intervention within the whole process of migration, there is a chance of providing specific and broad pre-departure information to the soon-to-be migrants. Lastly, he stated that there is a need to strengthen cross border collaboration and ensure migrant’s rights.
Problems of the Migrant Workers in a Receiving Country: A Malaysian Perspective
Ms. Florida Sandanasamy, long time CSO activist took up the case of Malaysia in order to elaborate on the challenges faced by the migrants in a receiving country. According to her, the reason behind the country’s difficulty in decision making with respect to migrant’s rights, is their narrow outlook.
“If you look at the law itself, it’s a bit complex, it’s not fully protecting their rights.”: Ms. Florida Sandanasamy.
Asylum seekers and refugees are not given proper benefits. In the workforce, for example, they are not recognised even if they can stay in the country. Thus she questioned how the refugees are going to make their livelihood. It has been noted that the undocumented migrant workers face greater challenges than the documented ones because they are unable to defend themselves. Living in the fear of getting arrested, the undocumented migrant workers are victims of unscrupulous attacks in the heightened xenophobic atmosphere during the pandemic. They tend to run away, which invites spike in COVID-19 cases. This prompted Malaysian government to control movement. Ms. Sandanasamy also pointed out the difficulty in enabling transparent social dialogue due to the lack of data on undocumented migrant workers as well as the laxity in approach to deal with the issue on the part of government and the lawmakers.
The bitter reality at present is the criminalisation of the innocent migrant workers. It has been found that less than 4% of the foreigners are guilty of crimes. The reason behind such hatred towards the migrant workers lies in the mentality of the local workers, who feel that the migrants are the cause of their low salary and unemployment as they tend to snatch away their jobs. However, in order to ease down the tension, the Civil Society Organisations, taking up the case of asymptomatic run-away migrant workers during the pandemic, are making efforts to stop the arrest of these workers and halt the spread of the disease, asserting that governments should make efforts at reducing the number of undocumented migrant workers rather than criminalising them.
Ministry of Human Resource, Malaysia is engaged in developing strategies to decrease the number of undocumented migrant workers. Ms. Sandanasamy felt that Malaysia is not a very encouraging place for the migrant workers due to lack of protection, poor wages and gruelling work hours, and stated that, “there must be an alternative to detention.”
The migrant workers are an essential part of Malaysian workforce and hence their talent should be recognised. If the rigidity of the government regulations becomes unbearable for the migrant workers, the country should stop employing migrants, and instead, rely on the small number of already residing refugees, Ms. Sandanasamy concluded.
Plight of the Migrant Women and Children
According to Ms. Aletheia Fernandez, women struggle to access basic facilities like smartphones which are instrumental for them in times of migration. Scared of falling into the hands of agents and military personnel, women tend to migrate through secret routes. They are also victims of sexual abuse, trafficking, lack of proper education and bribery, and are the ones who are more vulnerable to the militarization of borders. Women are under-represented owing to their inability to access proper information and it’s an irony that they feel safer staying in hotels rather than shelters deemed for the migrants.
Women are thought to be no more than caregivers to children and so the prerogative of accessing documentation with respect to migration procedures rests with the male migrants. Women always have had a background history of violence, the seeds of which are sown right in their families and it germinates to attain the form of an institutional violence. Thus, the present situation demands proper and safe detention facilities for the women.
In addition to this, there are no sufficient protocols that can identify the age and needs of the migrant children as well. The problems which arise when children are separated from their families in the detention centres are also not addressed. Mr. Henry Rojas took up the case of Filipino diaspora communities and said that the nationality of many cross border children remains unknown, due to which, they are denied access to education and health care. But, in Philippines, if one of the parents is found to be Filipino, the child becomes a Filipino, no matter where the child is from. Ms. Florida Sandanasamy agreed that the stateless children are not provided basic education and this is an area which should be taken care of.
Ensuring Justice is Essential
Mr. Stéphane Jaquemet concluded his talk by stating that there is an urgent need to identify vulnerable migrant population and in order to do that sufficient trained personnel, including the female staffs, are necessary. Ms. Aletheia Fernandez stressed on the need for providing information and training not only to the migrants but also to the agents and police officials, because it has been seen that these personnel are better informed about the migration procedures at national levels than at the local levels. Mr. Henry Rojas emphasised on transmission of correct information to the migrants, protection for the children of the undocumented migrant workers and provision for justice both in the countries of origin and destination countries. Lastly, Mr. Forida Sandanasamy emphasised on a positive political will to ensure proper social dialogue and transparency in the migration process.
Srija Mukhopadhyay is currently a final year master’s student in the department of History at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India. Her research interests include history of empires, decolonisation, international migration, international security, foreign policy, cultural diplomacy, gender and feminism.