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Asian nations underline need to protect and support migrants during UN debate

Asian nations underline need to protect and support migrants during UN debate

The rights of the world’s migrants, from workers seeking a better economic life to refugees escaping conflict or natural disaster, were spotlighted today during speeches to the United Nations General Assembly by representatives of Asian nations.

Alberto G. Romulo, Secretary for Foreign Affairs in the Philippines, called on Member States to back the creation of an informal Global Forum on Migration and Development, a standing, non-binding body in which countries will be able to discuss and exchange the best ideas and practices on the issue.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan outlined the proposal for the Forum in a report released in June, and during a high-level meeting at the General Assembly last week he welcomed Belgium’s offer to host the first meeting next year of the planned body.

Noting that about one in 10 Filipinos live overseas, working in almost every country in the world, Dr. Romulo said it was vital that countries cooperate more on issues relating to migration.

He also called on countries to accede to the International Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families to show their preparedness to combat exploitation of migrant workers.

Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Brunei Darussalam’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, lamented that “hundreds of thousands” of people around the world are leaving their families behind and emigrating because they “are feeling so insecure.”

He said this bleak picture would look even worse without the efforts of the UN, especially in establishing and operating refugee camps for the victims of disasters and conflict.

Given the suffering and hardship endured by so many people, Prince Mohamed said the issue of UN reform should be viewed through a much more human lens. He said efforts should focus on whether a given UN reform proposal is “relevant to ordinary peoples’ personal lives and problems.”

Singapore’s Foreign Minister George Yeo took up the subject of regional organizations and the role they can pay in devising solutions to cross-border problems and intractable conflicts.

Citing the work of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in stabilizing the region and promoting economic development, Mr. Yeo called for the UN and other global bodies to work more closely with regional groups to tackle problems such as terrorism, drug trafficking and barriers to free trade.

Bhutan’s Prime Minister Lyonpo Khandu Wangchuk focused on the needs of the world’s least developed countries (LDCs) during his address to the Assembly, voicing concern at the lack of international progress in the past five years.

Mr. Wangchuk said it was important that affluent nations lifted their Official development Assistance (ODA) contributions because this is often the primary resource for development in the world’s poorest nations, as they lack the ability to generate large amounts of foreign investment or raise funds on commercial terms.