2016 (EN)

MUSEUM OF PEACE - MAMT CELEBRATES THE "INTERNATIONAL MIGRANT DAY”

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Napoli  ||  18 December 2016
Tutte le Attività (EN) - Anno 2016

On December 18, the rights of migrants are celebrated all over the world. At the Museum of Peace - MAMT, a special day devoted to the emotional journey "Migrant Voices" has particularly appealed to young people in schools.

"It was another turbulent year for refugees and migrants. We have seen continuing the devastating effects of armed conflicts on civilian populations, deaths, destruction and forced transfers. We have witnessed the unacceptable loss of thousands of lives in the Mediterranean and elsewhere. And, to add insult to hiori, we have been witness to the growth of populist movements seeking to isolate and expel migrants and refugees and to inculpate them of various evils in society."
So Secretary-General of the United Nations BanKi-Moon in the message spread on the eve of the International Migrant Day, celebrated all over the world on December 18th. There is, however, room for hope, represented by the New York Declaration adopted last September by world leaders. But it is now crucial that "governments honor their commitments and build on these, to handle the large movements of refugees and migrants in a compassionate, people-centered manner that responds to gender needs and rooted in fundamental human rights”.
“Every migrant is a human being with human rights”, recalls number one member of ONU, calling for stronger cooperation between countries of origin, transit and destination. It is also necessary to "reject intolerance, discrimination and policies led by xenophobic rhetoric and the making of scapegoats migrants. Those who exploit and try to hurt immigrants must respond”. Forced migrations will not stop if they do not deal with the causes.
The list is very long: "poverty, hunger, armed conflict, natural disasters and environmental degradation, maladministration, persistent inequalities and violations of economic, social, civil, political or cultural rights." The good governance of immigration - according to BanKi-moon - must also "expand safe legal channels of legal migration, including family reunions, job entry at all skill levels, and child and adult learning opportunities as well as depenalizing irregular migration and regularize the status of migrants without documents.
"On this International Migrant Day - concludes the Secretary-General of ONU – I ask on the international community to move forward with the global agreement on safe, regular and orderly migration as an important contribution to building a world of peace, prosperity and dignity for everyone”.
The International Migrant Day is celebrated on the anniversary of the adoption of the "International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families" by the United Nations General Assembly (18 December 1990). They prohibit discrimination, inhuman treatment and exploitation and sanction a long series of rights that are independent of the legal status of migrant workers, to which more are added to regular migrants. Up to now, only about fifty countries in the world have been ratified, almost all countries from which migratory flows start, while flocking to the main countries of destination. Italy has not yet ratified it.