UN HRC53: Statement on the human rights of migrants
Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants. Statement delivered by the UK.
Thank you, Mr President [or Madam Vice President].
There are 100 million people displaced around the world, all of whom face additional risks of discrimination, abuse and exploitation in their quest for refuge. Criminal gangs prey on migrants’ vulnerabilities for financial gain, trading cash for lives by facilitating perilous journeys. We all witnessed this recently, with the brutality and misery caused by the business of people smuggling resulting in tragedy in Greece. This is a global problem that requires global cooperation.
The UK is concerned that irregular migration exposes the most vulnerable to exploitation and human rights abuses. The UK supports efforts to ensure migration is safe, orderly and regular, in line with our commitments under the Global Compact for Migration. Alongside this we must take action to combat unsafe routes, which form a critical element of the business model of human traffickers and people smugglers.
Criminal organisations base their business models on a “whole of route” approach, where they target some of the world’s most desperate and vulnerable at popular departure points. The international community must focus on combatting the approaches taken by organised crime gangs in order to address some of the human rights issues raised in the Special Rapporteur’s report.
Thank you.