Senator Legarda Calls for Protection of Migrants at IPU’s 138th Meeting 

Senator Loren Legarda addressing the 138th IPU during the General Debate.

10 April 2018 GENEVA — Senator Loren Legarda led the Philippine delegation to the 138th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Included in the delegation were Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon, Senator Maria Lourdes Nancy S. Binay, Deputy House Speaker Ferdinand L. Hernandez, and House Majority Leader Rodolfo C. Fariñas. Senator Legarda addressed the assembly and delivered the Philippine statement at the general debate with the theme “Strengthening the Global Regime for Migrants and Refugees: The Need for Evidence-based Policy Solutions.”

In her remarks Senator Legarda highlighted the vulnerability of migrants, in particular women migrants, she said “women comprise 73.4% of all migrant domestic workers worldwide. Unfortunately, respect for women migrant workers, especially those employed in domestic service, is not yet universally shared.”

She further highlighted the plight of refugees in that “Worldwide displacement in 2015 reached an all-time high, with one in every 122 humans classified either a refugee, internally displaced, or seeking asylum.”

In light of these global concerns on both migrants and refugees, a “Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration” is being negotiated. This document though non-binding will set in place a voluntary international framework that will manage migration in an acceptable and implementable manner by all States.

In this regard, Senator Legarda pointed out the salient provisions needed in the Global Compact. She said that “First the Global Compact should be firmly anchored in Human Rights, second it is both a Human Rights and Sustainable Development instrument, third the standards of protection should not be less than the agreement in the 2016 New York Declaration, fourth international migration governance is a shared responsibility of all States, and fifth it should be gender responsive and child sensitive.”

The Global Compact is being negotiated in at UNHQ in New York and other venues. The next round will be in New York on April 3 to 6. The Philippines has been actively participating in the negotiations given the needs of Filipino migrants. It is estimated that 10 million Filipinos are residing or working in almost all countries of the world. Hence the urgency of coming up with a strong agreement that will promote the rights and privileges of Filipino migrants. END

For more information, visit www.genevapm.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/genevapcg.