Bangladesh delegation comprising senior officials and civil society representatives on Monday called for making the global compact on migration normative and legally binding agreement so that rights and benefits were ensured for all migrant workers across the world.
They made their remarks while speaking at the Global Compact or Migration: Civil Society Voice-Bangladesh Event’ on the sidelines of Asia Pacific Preparatory Meeting on GCM for Safe, Orderly and Regular migration at regional headquarter of United Nations’ ESCAP in Bangkok.
Presenting his keynote, Bangladesh foreign secretary Shahidul Haque who chaired 9th GFMD termed the migration as a highly political and global issue that has been affecting the lives of the millions of migrants.
He expected the possible outcomes of the global compact on migration to be legally binding agreement containing concrete goals serving the benefits of the migrants.
‘The global compact on migration has to be normative. Otherwise this will not serve the main purpose,’ he said.
He lauded the role of Bangladesh Prime Minister londontoto Sheikh Hasina who has courageously dealt the current influx of the Rohingya people, the forcibly displaced migrants from Myanmar.
Ambassador Shahidul compared PM Sheikh Hasina with the German Chancellor Angelia Markel who has also dealt the thousands of refugees entered into Europe since recent years.
WARBE Development Foundation chairman Syed Saiful Haque, an organizer, activist and advocate for migrants' human rights at national, regional and international level since last 20 years, called upon the concerned all to ensure rights of the migrant workers who were often treated as slaves at the countries of destinations.
‘Migrants rights is the human rights,’ he said, demanding that the global compact on migration should be normative and legally binding.
Saiful Haque, who also a returnee migrant of Bangladesh, reminded the attending diplomats and delegates from different countries that there were lots of global policies and treaties which were yet to be implemented.
IOM director general William Lacy Swing, Migrant Forum Asia coordinator William Gois and Bangladesh Ambassador in Thailand Sadia Muna Tasneem among others also spoke at the meeting.
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