PH Joins International Migration Community in Mourning the Passing of Mr. Peter Sutherland 

12 January 2018 — The Philippines joins the international migration community in mourning the death of Mr. Peter Sutherland who last served as the UN Secretary General Special Representative on International Migration and Development. Mr. Sutherland died on Sunday, 7 January in a hospital in Dublin, Ireland. He was 71 years old.

“The death of Mr. Sutherland is great loss to the international migration community especially at this time when countries are about to negotiate a global compact on safe, orderly and regular migration. Mr. Sutherland has been relentless in the advocacy for the protection of the rights and promotion of the welfare of migrants regardless of their migration status since his appointment in 2006 as the UN Secretary General Special Representative on International Migration,” said Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano.

“In the Philippines, he is best remembered for providing guidance to the Philippine chairmanship of Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) in 2008, which firmly established the Philippines reputation as a leading country on international migration governance and in protection of human rights and promotion of welfare of migrants,” Ambassador Evan P. Garcia added. Ambassador Garcia is the Philippines Permanent Representative to the UN and Other International Organizations in Geneva.

Mr. Sutherland also played a role in setting up the Migrants in Countries in Crisis (MICIC) Initiative, which produced the Guidelines for Protection of Migrants in Countries Experiencing Crisis due to Conflicts or Natural Disasters.

The Philippines and the United States of America co-chaired the MICIC Initiative. It was established to formulate a voluntary set of guidelines that may used by countries and other stakeholders in addressing the protection gaps for migrants for migrants caught in countries experiencing crisis. END