On 8-9 May 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland, the United Nations held the first thematic consultation for the Global Compact on Migration on “Human rights of all migrants, social inclusion, cohesion and all forms of discrimination, including racism, xenophobia and intolerance”.

 

More information and background documents for this event are available here.

 

During the opening panel on “Human rights of all migrants”, IDC Advocacy Coordinator Ben Lewis stressed the importance of States to honor their long-standing commitment to human rights, noting with concern that:

 

“In the current political climate, many States seem more concerned with stopping or limiting irregular migration than protecting the fundamental rights of people on the move.”

 

Among other things, Mr. Lewis highlighted the fundamental right to liberty of all persons, regardless of legal or migration status, and called upon States to end the criminalization of irregular migration, to adopt rights-respecting alternatives to immigration detention, and to refrain from the immigration detention of migrants in situations of particular vulnerability, including children and families.

 

“Migrants in situations of particular vulnerability should never be detained in the context of routine border governance. And regarding children and families in particular, it is now incredibly clear that the detention of children based on their or their parents’ migration status is never in the best interests of the child. . .”

 

You can read the complete remarks of Mr. Lewis online here.

Background documents