Ambassador Moreno, Your Excellencies,

Distinguished Invitees, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great honour and privilege to participate in the
celebration of the 40th Anniversary of this distinguished
Institute.  

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is proud of its
long-standing cooperation with Ambassador Moreno and the
Institute’s talented staff.

Our collaboration extends over a range of academic activities;
these include a number of joint-publications and of course the
popular International Migration Law Course, now in its fifth
year.  

As part of our efforts to strengthen this partnership, I was very
pleased that Ambassador Moreno and I signed in March of this year a
Memorandum of Cooperation, in behalf of our Organizations –
reaffirming our partnership in the field of humanitarian law.

Introduction 

I have been invited to make a few remarks on global violence and
human mobility.   

A simple research exercise reveals innumerable incidents of
violence over the past 40 years that prompted mass movements of
people around the globe.  From the outbreak of civil war in
Jordan in September 1970, to the expulsion of Asians from Uganda in
September 1972; and from the fall of Kabul in September 1996 to the
outpour of refugees from Kosovo in September 1998 ---- violence
remains among the root causes of human mobility.  

The threat of violence, however, often does not end with the
flight from home.  Violence lingers on migration routes. 
This manifests itself in psychological, social, or physical
violence perpetrated by criminal gangs, armed thugs, drug cartels,
corrupt officials, or, even by other
migrants.       

To put this in context, we live in the era of the greatest human
mobility in recorded history.  There are more than 214 million
international migrants, and an estimated 740 million internal
migrants.  In other words, a total of nearly 1 billion persons
on the move; that is to say roughly one of every seven persons in
the world is a migrant.  Far too many of these persons on the
move are subject to violence.

I. Trends of Violence Towards
Migrants 

I would like to highlight three specific trends in violence against
migrants; and three means of addressing the violence. 

A. Threats from war and
conflict 

First, is the violence in times of war or armed
conflict.   Migrants and IDPs are often subject to grave
human rights violations, including torture, deportation,
enslavement, or direct attack.  

Violence is also present after the fighting has stopped --- in
the form of reprisals against returnees or those who have
re-settled elsewhere.  In some cases, unfortunately, States
themselves are party to that violence -- either through their own
actions or passivity that allows violence to occur with
impunity.  

B. Threats from organized crime

The second strain of violence is related to migrants’
vulnerability at the hands of transnational organized crime
networks.  These criminal rings use migrants as a mechanism of
exploitation and income. 

Another manifestation of this violence is human trafficking and
smuggling -- two of the great crimes of the globalization era.
Trafficked or smuggled migrants become a commodity.  Financial
profits from trafficking -- estimates go as high as USD$ 30 billion
-- are second only to the illicit trade in weapons and
drugs.   

A tragic example of this trend is the brutal slaying last month
of 72 migrants from Central and South America in northern
Mexico.  One of the survivors of this tragedy alleged that the
killing started after migrants refused to pay ransom sums and
engage in slave labour.   Sadly, this is not an isolated
case. 

C. Threats from xenophobia and
intolerance 

Third, is the violence associated with intolerance,
discrimination, and xenophobia, and the challenge of migrant
integration. 

High-profile cases in recent months demonstrate a failure on the
part of us all -- a failure of the state to recognize and inform
its publics about the contribution that migrants make to our
societies and the global economy -- through innovation, hard work,
and remittances; a failure to inform and educate about the
inevitability of large-scale migration in view of the North-South
push and pull factors: demographic and labour market trends; and a
failure to counter harmful stereotypes.  

II. Addressing Violence Against
Migrants 

Let me conclude with a few remarks about some of the legal
instruments and options available to States to break the bond
between migration and violence.

States have every right to control their borders and to
safeguard the security of their citizens -- but states also have a
responsibility to protect the human rights of migrants, including
irregular migrants, under their jurisdiction.   These
include the right to human dignity, physical integrity, as well as
safety and freedom from racism and discrimination. 

A certain degree of violence also occurs every year on state
borders due to existing border policies.   This is an
issue that requires our collective engagement to address. 

In addition to using the existing international migration legal
framework, there are specific options available to States at the
national level.   Let me highlight three:  

(a) One, adopting legislation and implementing policies
that prevent, suppress, and punish violence in all stages of the
migration process.  Both the International Convention on the
Elimination of All forms of racial discrimination (ICERD), and the
Declaration and Plan of Action of Durban of 2001, provide for
appropriate legal provisions in this regard.

(b) Two, providing migrants with access to legal mechanisms
to seek just and adequate reparations where their rights have been
violated -- regardless of their migration status. This is
particularly relevant in cases involving trafficking and
smuggling.

(c) Three, promoting public information and awareness about
multiculturalism, diversity, and the valuable contribution of
migration and migrants.   In this regard, media also
plays an important role as a vehicle to promote tolerant societies
and to counter “wilful
ignorance.”      

 In summary, is this age of the greatest human mobility in
history, there is unprecedented violence against migrants. 
The three principal sources of violence are:

(a) war and conflict;

(b) organized crime, especially trafficking; and

(c) xenophobia.

 A State’s responsibility is three fold: 

(d) To adopt appropriate legislation;

(e) To ensure migrant access to justice;

(f) To highlight migrants’ contributions to society
through public education and information.