Joint statement including Migrant Forum in Asia re migrant workers
Uphold Migrants’ Rights in Times of Crisis Situations
A statement on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on migrants by Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA), the Cross Regional Center for Refugees and Migrants (CCRM), Pacificwin Pacific, and Solidarity Center
The dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases and its alarming spread in many parts of the world have further undermined the situation of those who are in the most vulnerable sectors, among them migrant workers. The global pandemic further reveals how migrant workers are more visibly discriminated against and denied their human rights. Migrant Forum in Asia considers that in this time there is a particularly urgent need to call for upholding of migrants’ rights as human rights.
The Plight of Migrant Workers amid COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID 19 outbreak has demonstrated that no government was adequately prepared to deal with a health emergency of this scale. As governments scramble to find adequate responses to address the pandemic, we see that many migrant workers are the first to be left behind.
We have seen multiple examples where migrants are required to pay for testing and treatment. Undocumented migrant workers are denied health care and are rounded up for detention and deportation. In a pandemic, excluding a community from access to healthcare threatens the health security of all.
Some countries have deported migrant workers out of fear that they might spread COVID-19. A number of governments have targeted migrants as scapegoats; blaming them for spreading the disease. Some other deportations have been done on the pretext of migrant workers’ disobedience on rules of social distancing and non-gathering.
Many migrants are currently stranded in transit or in countries of destination as governments impose travel bans and close their borders, while many others are stranded in countries of origin, awaiting deployment, not knowing if they still have the jobs to which they were to be deployed. Some are seeing their recruitment costs mount as they wait.
The COVID-19 pandemic, while largely an issue of health, is also an economic issue for our migrant workers. Many will be at the receiving end of the most severe impact of economic recession. As major industries close down, migrant workers are among the first to be let go. We have received reports of many workers deported to their countries of origin while being denied their salaries and benefits.
Migrant workers who work in the care sector are at the frontlines of this pandemic. As health systems in many countries get overwhelmed, migrant workers will bear a disproportionate burden.
Migrant workers in the service industry, such as on cruise ships, were among the first to deal with COVID-19 infected persons. These workers were provided with little or no protection as they catered to the needs of infected people. As travel restrictions shut down the industry, the same workers were the first ones to be let go. Many of them were not paid their salaries or benefits. Some of the infected workers were not provided support to access treatment.
Many migrant workers continue to live in crowded, squalid and confined spaces. With imposed quarantines, many migrants face barriers for preventing further outbreaks. Lack of decent housing and accommodation, shared facilities and amenities, difficulty in implementing protective measures, such as social distancing – these obstacles could further trigger the spread of the virus. Migrant workers are also affected by limited rights to communication with family and friends, due to restricted access to video and web calling services - furthering their isolation and affecting their mental health.
Migrant domestic workers who reside in-house with their employers will be spending their due non-work days and time in the same place. Imposed quarantines may force many workers to spend their entitled rest days and time working. In many places, societies see restrictions on domestic workers’ movements as a justified means of protecting their employers from infection, while not expecting a similar restraint on the part of their employers. Further, it may increase the potential for workers to be further abused, particularly migrant women workers.
As the world continues to be overwhelmed by the pandemic, we commend the efforts of governments who have included migrants in their public health responses and plans. Such measures are a clear recognition that the health and safety of a society, depends on the health and safety of all. We also appreciate the efforts of governments that implemented measures to provide free testing and treatment for documented and undocumented migrants.
We welcome the initiatives of countries of origin to repatriate and rescue migrants who are stranded or have lost their jobs in countries of destination. We further acknowledge the initiative of governments of countries of origin in providing immediate support for testing and treatment of returnee migrants who have been fund positive.
We applaud migrant organizations and migrant leaders who, despite the quarantine and lockdown, continue to provide much needed services for migrant communities at the risk of their own safety. We also recognize the efforts of organizations ensuring that appropriate and accurate information reaches the most vulnerable migrant communities.
Recommendations
In light of the impact of the ongoing COVID 19 crisis on migrant workers, we call on all governments to uphold migrants’ rights and include all migrants, regardless of their status, in their efforts, strategies and plans to address the crisis and “flatten the curve”.
For Countries of Destination:
Specific to Countries of Origin we have the following recommendations:
We urge international and community organisations to stand firm in the face of this crisis and the resulting adversities; and we wish you all good health as you take limited care of migrant communities.
Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA) is a network of grassroots organizations, trade unions, faith-based groups, migrants and their families and individual advocates in Asia working together for social justice for migrant workers and members of their families.
The Cross-Regional Center for Refugees and Migrants (CCRM) is comprised of active refugee and migrant rights organizations. The CCRM works to combat racism and xenophobia, promote the rights of refugees and migrants, to unify standards and language around the rights of these categories and to be all inclusive.
http://crossregionalcenter.org/
Pacificwin Pacific is the Pacific focal point on migration mandated regional representative for the migration agenda on behalf of the Pacific Islands Association of Non-Government Organisations; also Regional Rep Member on the Global Action Committee; Climate Change Migration Displacement Platform; Alternate Rep on the IOM Work stream 2.1 Work Group; Migrant Women's Forum; and Pacific Rep on the CPDE Migrant Diaspora Constituency.
Solidarity Center is the largest U.S.-based international worker rights organization and it is allied with the AFL-CIO in helping workers attain safe and healthy workplaces, family-supporting wages, fighting discrimination and systems that entrench poverty, promote dignity on the job and greater equity at work, and in their community.