'Countries vocal on human rights often silent on migrant workers’ sufferings'

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam today said it was a tragic irony that countries that claim to be vocal on human rights issues internationally often remain "silent or in denial" about transgressions with migrant workers within their own territories.

"We witness the impractical and unacceptable realities of border walls, forced returns, offshore detention centres, wilful abandonment at seas, arbitrary immigration practices, transnational criminal networks etc. proliferating around the world," he said.

The state minister was speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural session of the national preparatory consultation for the GFMD (Global Forum on Migration and Development).

"We already observe a growing trend of such migration flows from our coastal areas and other climate hotspots to the large cities in an unmanageable manner," Shahriar said.

In some cases, he said these movements also have a cross-border dimension resulting in added vulnerabilities for those on the move.

"The issue of climate-induced human mobility, therefore, warrants better understanding and attention of our policy-makers and relevant stakeholders in the days to come," said the state minister.

He said there is now scope for looking at climate displacement from the lens of loss and damage for the lasting impacts suffered by its undeserving victims.

"We draw some satisfaction at the fact that the upcoming COP28 is likely to see the operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund notionally agreed upon last year," Shahriar said, urging the World Bank as the proposed custodian of the Fund to give precedence to the issue of both preventing and managing climate induced migration in resource-constrained settings.

He said their objective is not only to discuss but also to reflect their collective thoughts into a summary document that will guide Bangladesh's evidence-based inputs during the forthcoming GFMD discussions in Geneva in January 2024.

"I hope the recommendations from this national consultative meeting will be well reflected in the Summit and contribute to reshaping the global narrative on the interconnected challenges of climate change and human mobility," the state minister said.

He said, "We live in an 'age of migration'. It is estimated that migrants constitute around 3.5 percent of the global population while their contribution to the global GDP is around 10 percent."

Shahriar said migration is duly recognised as a critical development tool for both migrant sending and receiving countries.

"Despite our multi-pronged efforts, unsafe, unethical and irregular migration flows continue to persist at a high cost for human lives and dignity," he said.

"This, in turn, leads to growing backlash against migrants and their families, with rising obstacles to legal and humane pathways for migration," said the state minister.