UN Secretary General says migration inevitable, calls for global agreement

Antonio Guterres in Oslo: "If migration is a necessity, then it is better to organize and regulate it. It is important for countries to cooperate with each other ". Meanwhile, the migration crisis continues in the Mediterranean and on the border between the US and Mexico.


Oslo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Migration phenomena are "inevitable" says the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, talking to journalists in Lorenskog, near Oslo. Each State can use the migration policies it deems appropriate "by respecting the human rights of migrants," explains the secretary.

 On December 10 and 11 2018 the international community will meet in Marrakech for a conference on migration issues. It is expected that the conference will end with a global pact for safe and regulated migration.

At the Angelus on 17 June, Pope Francis recalled the importance of this point: International Refugee Day "s uch a day this year comes at a time of consultations between governments on the adoption of a global pact on refugees to be adopted within the year like the one on a safe, orderly and regular migration".

Speaking of the case of his sick mother, cared for by foreign migrants, Guterres says: "For me migration is necessary", for those who leave their country and for those who welcome. And he continues: "It is better to organize and regulate it so that the countries cooperate with each other. It is advantageous for both parties, especially for the many migrants who are now in desperate conditions".

The Secretary General's words come after weeks of tensions in the Mediterranean and on the border between the United States and Mexico. Here, starting May 7, US President Donald Trump has applied a "zero tolerance" policy against illegal immigration. Anyone who crosses the border with the US without permission is arrested.

Furthermore, Trump decided to implement a deterrent policy. Minors arriving with families are separated from their parents while they are awaiting trial. Between October 2017 and April of this year, about 700 children were taken from their parents. Minors are held for weeks before being reunited with family members. But this has not stopped arrivals. This decision has divided public opinion, also following the dissemination on social media of photos and videos that bear witness to these dramatic moments.

The picture by photographer John Moore's showing a two-year-old girl from Honduras in tears while the police arrest her mother has become emblematic. Children are taken into custody by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (see photo). The HR currently has 12,000 migrant children. 10 thousand of these have crossed the border without families.

Two days ago, the UN Human Rights Council denounced the US for choosing to separate children from family members on the border. Following this decision, the United States left  the Human Rights Council. This was announced yesterday by Nikki Haley, US ambassador to the United Nations. Among the official reasons, Haley only mentioned the fact that the Council is "pervaded by a prejudice against Israel" and "protects those who abuse human rights".