Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen,

Migrants are human beings with rights which States have an
obligation to respect, protect and fulfill. A lack of effective
protection of the rights of migrants reduces their ability to
contribute to development. Cooperation between governments in
countries of origin, transit and destination, as well as
non-governmental organizations, civil society and migrants
themselves is essential to ensure that international human rights
instruments are implemented and that migrants are aware of their
rights and obligations. One of the main challenges in the
protection of human rights of migrants is the ratification,
implementation and enforcement of existing human rights
instruments.

To mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, the fourteen member agencies of the Global Migration
Group (GMG) embarked on a collaborative effort to analyze the
challenges of protecting the human rights of international
migrants. The product of this collaboration, a publication
entitled, International Migration and Human Rights: Challenges and
Opportunities on the Threshold of the 60th Anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights , has now been published by
UNFPA. IOM has contributed extensively to this inter-agency work,
and today we would like to focus this short intervention on an
aspect often overlooked in the global migration debate, namely
health, migration and human rights.

According to Article 25 paragraph 1 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights "Everyone has the right to a standard of living
adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his
family". Everyone includes every migrant.

Mr. Chairman,

Health outcomes of migration are multi-faceted and need to be
considered in a comprehensive development and human rights agenda.
On the one hand, addressing the health needs and rights of migrants
facilitates integration and active community participation, avoids
stigma and long term health and social costs, and is therefore a
key contributing factor to social stability and economic
development. Discrimination, xenophobia and marginalization on the
other hand, are exacerbated when host societies perceive migrants
as vectors of disease, and migrants cannot contribute to the social
fabric of life due to ill health.

Earlier this year, the World Health Assembly adopted a
resolution on the health of migrants  which calls upon all
governments to address the risk factors and vulnerabilities to
health of migrants, their families left behind, and host
communities. The achievement of optimal health for migrants and
their hosting communities though, cannot be pursued within the
health sector alone; IOM is calling for multi-sectoral actions
among all stakeholders involved in migration policy development and
greatly encourages governments to consider highlighting the health
dimension of human mobility and development.

Mr. Chairman,

While in normal circumstances migration is not a risk factor to
health, conditions surrounding the migration process can increase
vulnerability to ill health. Risk factors are often linked to the
legal status of migrants, and other social determinants which
define the level of access to health and social services. In the
context of migration, development and human rights, IOM works on a
range of health issues, including managing the migration of human
resources for health; responding to the health needs of vulnerable
migrants, such as those in an irregular situation; and policy
dialogue related to health and international labour migration. IOM
will continue to work with governments to respond to the health
challenges of migration in a way that respects the human rights of
migrants and contributes to the strengthening of health
systems.

Mr. Chairman,

Among the wide variety of health challenges of migration, there
is an increasing international awareness of the linkage between
migration and derived health outcomes, also in the context of the
HIV pandemic. Migrants, including migrant workers, in some parts of
the world are often exposed to particular risks of contracting HIV,
even more so those in an irregular situation. Effectively
addressing HIV risks in the context of labour migration and
mobility requires the joint effort of multiple parties at origin
and destination countries, including governments, employers,
organizations of workers, communities and other social parties
representing or working with migrant populations and people living
with HIV. To advance this discussion, IOM, UNAIDS and ILO recently
launched a Policy brief on HIV and Labour Migration  and are
working with partners to design an implementation strategy which
will build on existing migration dialogues, such as regional
governmental consultative processes.

Furthermore, the issue of mobility of people living with HIV is
of significant concern for IOM. The Organization is engaged with
the UNAIDS-created International Task Team on HIV-related Travel
Restrictions to address the issue of non-discrimination and of
non-stigmatization in conjunction with HIV-related travel
restrictions. As of September 2008, 67 countries still impose some
form of restriction on entry, stay and residence of people living
with HIV. It is hoped that the forthcoming report and the
recommendations of this Task Team will be given serious
considerations by those Member States that still maintain such
restrictions. In the context of the work of the abovementioned Task
Team, IOM has been mandated with reviewing national legislation and
regulations as applied to people living with HIV who seek to enter
and stay in another country. The aim of the project was to identify
10 "best practices" of national legislations across various regions
that are "rational, non-discriminatory, treat comparable health
conditions alike, are not overly broad and appear to achieve
legitimate goals". The result is a report  (to be released
shortly) that provides relevant excerpts of legislation,
accompanied by commentary (drawn from the Americas, Africa, Asia
and Europe), illustrating how their laws are in conformity with the
UNAIDS/IOM Statement on HIV-related Travel Restrictions.

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, while the enjoyment of the right to
health by everyone is the ultimate goal, special attention is
deserved and urgently needed for the health care of particularly
vulnerable and marginalized migrant groups.

I thank you, Mr. Chairman.