Dismantle labour export programs
Work towards a development agenda that is truly just and transformative
Statement on the occasion of the International Migrants Day,
18 December 2014
The Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM) joins the hundreds of millions of migrants around the world in commemorating the International Migrants Day 2014. As various activities are held to mark this day, it must also be remembered that the declaration of the IMD was brought by the ceaseless struggles of migrants to defend their rights, their wellbeing and their dignity as workers and as human beings.
Over two decades have passed since the United Nations declared the IMD and yet, the condition of migrants remains unchanged. Poverty, unemployment and underemployment, and general displacement still force millions to seek employment and decent living for their families overseas. Meanwhile in receiving countries, migrants remain as marginalized and discriminated, excluded from social protection, and treated as disposable labour and cheap workers.
The economic, social and political offensives of neoliberal globalization has led to more frequent, multiple and serious crisis in the world. Even in the heart if superpower economies like the United States, displacement is rampant and victimizes the working people especially the immigrant communities while trafficking is on the rise as temporary workers programs are institutionalized and expanded.
Notably, international migration increased dramatically in the decades when neoliberal globalization went full-throttle. In 1990, there were 154 million migrants in the world. This increased to 175 million when the neoliberal globalization-driven Millennium Development Goals were formulated and now stands at 232 million after more almost 15 years of the MDGs implementation.
In the midst of the long-running crisis, there is now a move to sugarcoat current labour migration as an engine that can contribute to a country’s development. Through the Global Forum on Migration and Development or the GFMD, the migration for development framework is being advanced by various states – as a way of intensifying labour export for sending countries, and a means to secure the flow of the cheap and flexible labour of migrants.
Such a framework is also now carried in discussions for the world’s post-2015 development agenda. It tries to sanitize the current migration that is forced and commodifies migrants, while also denying the fact that development of a country cannot be achieved through remittances of migrants.
Both in the outcome document of the Open Working Group, tasked to draft the Sustainable Development Goals document for negotiation, and in the synthesized report of the UN Secretary General on the SDGs, migration is packaged as a development strategy with remittance playing a big role in financing development.
This framework, however, aside from not bringing forth genuine development for the people, will only lead to the further commodification of migrants, expansion of the labor export program and intensification of modern-day slavery of foreign workers. This is the framework on migration that neoliberal globalization is advancing together with its other destructive policies of liberalization, deregulation and privatization.
The militant movement of grassroots migrant workers has played a significant role in exposing the migration for development agenda of the GFMD. Initiatives, particularly those led by the International Migrants Alliance or IMA, have demystified the migration or development mantra and delegitimized the GFMD as only servicing the interests of the private sector engaged in the migration business, the sending countries and the labour-receiving governments.
This same movement is steadily growing in the international, regional and national levels. This is also the movement that consistently stands for the right of migrants, wins victories for the rights and wellbeing of migrant workers, and makes the commemoration of the IMD 2014 even more significant and inspiring.
As the world gets ready to firm up the post-2015 development agenda, migrants are again challenged to engage, resist neoliberal dictates on migration and development, and advance development justice as the transformative framework for a development that is based in justice, sustainability and human rights.
With the grassroots movement of migrants strengthening its ranks, the APMM is confident that the movement is ready to face such challenge.
Long live the migrant workers!
Advance development justice!
Resist neoliberal globalization dictates on migration!
Long live international solidarity!
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Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM)
Office Address: G/F, No.2 Jordan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR
Tel. no.: (852) 2723-7536
Fax no.: (852) 2735-4559
General E-mail: apmm@hknet.com
