International Migrant day, Ban Ki-moon calls for an open pluralistic society

December 18 is the "International Day of migrants". Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, human rights Gao Zeid and other people issued a statement calling for an open and pluralistic society to protect and implement the rights of 232 million of migrants worldwide.

In his address to "international Migrants Day", Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted that too many migrants in all parts of the world are living and working in precarious situations and often face unfair treatment. Many migrants have risked their lives to drift in the sea, trying to seek refuge, and migrants and their children are also vulnerable to exploitation and sexual abuse, many of whom are deprived of their liberty without compassion and the necessary protection.
Ban said that the persistence of discrimination against migrants, leading to serious inequalities, poses a threat to the social fabric and can lead to violent and deadly attacks.
Ban said that the development agenda 2015 years later provides an opportunity to improve the precarious situation of migrants around the world. In that connection, he appealed to States to ratify and implement the core international human rights instruments, including the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their families, and urged them to adopt a comprehensive human rights-based approach to migration and to promote legal channels for migration.
According to William Lacy Swing, Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (Swain), statistics show that there is an increasing number of migrants who embark on dangerous smuggling journeys in the hope of improving their lives and those of their families. This year, 4868 people around the world have died from crossing the oceans, deserts and other places, one times higher than last year, making 2014 a record year. Swain called on the international community to take urgent action to stop the smuggling of migrants, which exploited the desperate mentality of immigrants.
The International Labour Organization Director-General Ryder and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zayd Hussein, also issued a joint statement stating that the world today has more international migrants than ever before, but unfortunately many of them face various forms of exploitation.
Ryder and Zeid said as the 25 anniversary of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their families, and the 40 anniversary of the Convention on Migrant Workers (Supplementary provisions), the 2015 called upon States to make full use of the aforementioned international instruments in order to achieve sustainable development and ensure the dignity of all, including migrants.
The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution in 2000 to establish December 18 as the International Day of migrants to publicize the human rights and fundamental freedoms of migrants and to promote national policies and plans of action to protect the rights of migrants. (Xiaofan, United Nations Headquarters in New York)