United Nations celebrates International Migrants Day

United Nations Sunday marks International Migrants Day, to commemorate the contributions of hundreds of millions of migrants who have struggled to leave their homes for a better life.

This year, the celebrations take place as a growing number of European countries close their doors to refugees and economic migrants from Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa. They take place as increasing numbers of Central American migrants attempt to cross the southern border into the United States.

The United Nations says people are not leaving their homes voluntarily. It says most of the world’s 280 million international migrants have been forced to move by conflict, persecution, desperate poverty and, increasingly, climate change.

Many migrants, who have no legal channels, take dangerous routes to countries of asylum. Many are exploited, abused and die along the way. The International Organization for Migration estimates that more than 50,000 migrants have died and thousands more have disappeared over the past eight years.

IOM Director General Antonio Vitorino says the world is failing to protect the most vulnerable people.

Indeed, all over the world, migrants move, often at great risk, for the most fundamental reasons of seeking a better future for themselves and their families. Behind every trip there is a person, there is a story no less valid than ours. This year, on International Migrants Day, I want to pay tribute to all those who died or disappeared on the threshold of their dreams.

World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus echoes those sentiments. He says countries have a legal and moral duty to help people in distress and to provide health services and protection to vulnerable people.

In search of a better life, many migrants find themselves in vulnerable situations, suffer from poor health and lack access to health services. We can prevent suffering and save lives by helping countries build resilient health and care systems that are sensitive to the needs of migrants, he said.

The United Nations affirms that the rights of migrants are human rights and must be respected without discrimination. These rights, he adds, apply regardless of whether people are forced to flee or move voluntarily.