OFW welfare becomes a UN issue

“The final text of the compact was firmly anchored on human rights.”

The United Nations approved 13 July the final text of the Global Compact on Migration that put protection of migrants including overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as a key concern of the world body.

The Philippines helped put together the compact to ensure better treatment for millions of migrants around the world.

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the final text of the compact, which carries strong migrant protection mechanisms that the Philippines strongly pushed for, was approved in the final intergovernmental meeting in New York for adoption in Morocco in December.

“For the Philippines, a Global Compact on Migration was long overdue,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola said in her statement during the closing of the final round of negotiations in New York.

“Through our four decades of managing migration, we had fought for this: for migration to come to the UN and be recognized as a global issue worthy of mankind’s attention,” Arriola, who was the lead Philippine negotiator, said.

In her statement, Arriola recalled the challenges the Philippines and other like-minded states such as Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Costa Rica had to hurdle before the compact’s final text was approved.

Such challenges included the opposition of several western member states and a climate hostile to migrants and migration in certain parts of the world, she added.

“In the course of our negotiations, we must not forget that we are setting a moral standard for the world—not just in the purposes we achieve but in the sincerity and civility with which we attain them. We realize our humanity when we uphold the rights and dignity of every migrant,” she added.

Arriola said the final text of the compact was firmly anchored on human rights.

The protection of the rights and promotion of welfare of migrants, regardless of migration status, particularly domestic workers, was provided under the agreement.

Arriola added the final draft builds on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and integrates a development perspective that recognizes human rights and sustainable development as not mutually exclusive.

They progress together and help each other progress to the great benefit of mankind, she said.

Arriola said the final draft moves the 2016 New York Declaration on Refugees and Migrants forward, providing actionable commitments and an implementation, follow-up and review framework.

Arriola said the final text affirms that migration governance is a shared responsibility and that migration cannot be addressed by one state or by governments alone.

She added the compact creates a UN network that directs all its agencies and programs to have a coherent approach to migration, with the International Organization for Migration acting as coordinator.

“Our work on the Global Compact does not cease with its finalization today. We will continue to engage in its implementation and follow-up and review, to ensure that it continues to reflect changing needs, challenges and interests,” she said.