Migration and Human Rights

Trumps policy of ‘America first’ with continuously changing immigration norms, his stance of wall between Mexico and USA, U. K’s exit from European Union, the Rohingya crisis in South Asia etc. all these are examples of growing anti-immigration sentiment throughout the world. Immigration is generally perceived in a negative notion as people coming from outside and taking away the opportunities available to the natives. The complexity and magnitude of this phenomenon of migration is no longer considered as peripheral to development. For many this process of migration is empowering and fulfilling whereas for few it leads to discrimination and exploitation, particularly the migrant women and children are the most vulnerable.

It is often social and economic exclusion,inequality of opportunities, poverty, violence, lack of access to basic services,  and multiple aspects of discrimination that force people to leave their livelihoods and communities. So, migration is not always voluntary but also forced. However migration is a productive phenomenon, Migrants contribute to their home state through remittances and to their host states through their work, cultural diversity, change in age and population growth structures Generally, the people from the lower strata has to face much more challenges than the well-off group in this process of migration as they suffer in congested railway bogeys, reside in unhygienic slum areas, face absence of affordable healthcare facilities and other basic amenities like potable drinking water etc..  Recently during the lockdown in the backdrop of Corona pandemic these migrants formed the most vulnerable group. These migrants travelled on foot for thousands of kilometers to reach their home destination, they were also targeted as super spreader in their home State as well as work State. The government failed completely to ensure and protect their basic fundamental and human rights, it was only after the Supreme court intervened that modes were organized for their travel to home states. The OECD report on Human Rights suggest that the government possess three basic obligation with respect to migrant’s human rights i.e. –

1. Respect – States must refrain from interfering with enjoyment of human rights
2. Protect – States must prevent private and third parties from violating their human rights
3. Fulfil – States must take positive actions to ensure realization of human rights

The State also failed to abide by the obligations under ILO convention 143 which provides for –

1. to ensure respect for the basic human rights of all migrant workers, including migrant workers in an irregular situation;
2. to guarantee equality of opportunity and treatment to migrant workers in a regular situation; and

The Durban Declaration (2001) called on states to “recognize that xenophobia against non-nationals, particularly migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers, constitutes one of the main sources of contemporary racism and that human rights violations against members of such groups occur widely in the context of discriminatory, xenophobic and racist practices (para 16). This declaration is equally applicable for intra country migration where the people from Bihar are specifically categorized as the unwanted social entity and provides the basis for novel form of racism. In reality the phenomenon of migration is complex as the search for security is often entangled with search for opportunity however migration is generally seen from the economic lens and the migrants are treated as mere commodity.

Recently the government proposed ‘One nation one ration card” policy which would have been utterly beneficial under current crisis. The opposition also demanded for creation of a migrant’s database. 45.36 crore Indians which constitute around 37% of the population in India are migrants as per census data 2011.Their rights must be ensured in order to ensure the establishment of an egalitarian society and the State to fulfill its obligations under the provisions of Directive Principles. The Preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) asserts the “inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation offreedom, justice and peace in the world”.