Migrants and refugees to hold counter-forum in Geneva during GFMD

Migrants and refugees to hold counter-forum in Geneva during GFMD

Reiterating that the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD)is contemptuous of migrants and refugees and denies the exploitativenature of exporting human labor and of making profits out of migrants,the International Migrants' Alliance (IMA), a progressive globalalliance of migrant and refugee organizations, said they will lettheir voices echo in Geneva when the GFMD convenes in December there.

"We are determined to expose and oppose this so-called 'development'through migration and reliance on remittances as a development tool.These are neoliberal anti-poverty and financial concepts that thriveon people’s exploitation and the miseries of migrants, enhance laborflexibilization and therefore, greater commodification of labor,"stressed Grace Punongbayan of Migrante International-Europe and whorepresents the European section of the IMA.

The GFMD is an annual inter-government meeting of differentlabor-sending and labor-receiving countries. It is now on its 5th yearand is scheduled to convene in Geneva on December 1-2 hosted by thegovernment of Switzerland. As in previous GMFD meetings in 2008 inManila, 2009 in Athens and 2010 in Mexico, migrant and refugeeorganizations led by the IMA held counter assemblies and challengedgovernments to address urgent migrant issues and uphold migrant rightsas human rights.

"Increasing poverty, unemployment, wars and conflicts and ecologicaldisasters are forcing millions to migrate as exploitable cheap labor.The economic and financial crisis is breeding the politics of“anti-migrant/refugees” and policy to criminalize and deport theundocumented. Border control mechanisms are in place causing thousandsof deaths and untold suffering," according to the IMA.

Punongbayan also explained that the GFMD shows contempt on migrantsand their families by giving them only token participation in the GFMDprocesses and failing to address issues that urgently affects them. Itis thus right, said Punongbayan, for migrant organizations to say “wecan speak for ourselves” and “not in our name! ”.

The IMA Europe section, said Punongbayan, is determined to echo thevoices of migrants and refugees in Geneva as a migrants counter to theGMFD by holding a protest demonstration at the site of the GFMDmeeting on December 1 at the “The Chair” infront of the Palais desNations, from 17:00-19:00 to denounce the GFMD and to call forprotection of migrant and refugee rights especially the undocumented,and a Consultation Meeting for the Rights of the Undocumented andagainst their Criminalization and Deportation on November 30 followedby a discussion on a “Critique of the GFMD” (a research prepared bythe Hong Kong-based Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants, an IMA-memberorganization),at the Maison Internationale des Associations from 18:00-20:30.

Reference:
Rev. Cesar Taguba
MIGRANTE International-Europe
bayanintl@gmail.com