ISLAMABAD:United Nations (UN) International Migrants Day will be marked on December 18 (Sunday) across the globe including Pakistan to recognize the efforts, contributions, and rights of migrants worldwide.
International Migrants Day recognizes the efforts, contributions, and rights of migrants worldwide.
Each year the UN invites governments, organizations, and individuals to observe International Migrants Day by distributing information on human rights and migrants’ fundamental freedoms. People are also invited to share their experiences and contribute to designing action plans to ensure their protection.
According to a Global Commission on International Migration report in 2005, the number of international migrants increased from 75 million to about 200 million in the past 30 years, and migrants could be found in every part of the world. The report also found that migration could accelerate due to the growing developmental, demographic, and democratic disparities that existed between different world regions. Moreover, migration is driven by powerful economic, social and political forces that governments need to acknowledge as a reality.
On December 4, 2000, the UN General Assembly, taking into account the large and increasing number of migrants in the world, proclaimed December 18 as International Migrants. On that day, a decade earlier, the assembly adopted the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. Earlier celebrations of the day can be traced as far back as 1997 when some Asian migrant organizations marked December 18 as the day to recognize the rights, protection, and respect for migrants.