PM Hasina urges global community to address migrant and refugee issues

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged the global community to focus on the migrant and refugee crisis across the world.

She was inaugurating the 9th annual meeting of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) in Dhaka on Saturday.

"As the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) moves into the global consultative process in 2017, we must pledge and act to lift the migrants from misery and agony," she said.

The prime minister pitched for an 'ambitious, pragmatic and balanced' international response.

Migrants contribute their ideas, labour and resources to the development of the host societies, said Hasina.

"A migrant is not just a labourer; each has their own unique story to tell. A migrant sacrifices so much as they leaves their family and country."

She said that migration plays a key role in connecting communities and economies. "It is equally essential for peace, stability and growth."

There was no need to fear migrants or drive them away, she said.

“We need to focus instead on how we can improve our immigration infrastructure to reap the benefits of the transformative power of good migration.”

She lauded the UN Secretary General and the UN Special Representative for International Migration Peter Sutherland, for bringing the matter of ‘good migration’ to the fore of the international stage.

The prime minister also stressed the importance of ensuring the safety of travelling migrants.

“There are many reasons people may move from one place to another,” she said. “Not just for jobs. And we need to ensure the rights of migrants are protected, regardless of the circumstances.”

“We cannot, in any way, think of migration as an ‘us versus them’ issue. The prosperity and welfare of everyone must be the concern of all people, from all countries.”

UN Under Secretary General, Department of Economic and Social Affairs Wu Hongbo, International Organization of Migrants (IOM) Director General William Lacy Swing, International Labour Organization (ILO) Director General Guy Ryder and UN Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi Puri also spoke at the event.

Representatives from 125 countries and over 30 international organisations took part in the summit, according to the organisers.