Destination countries must also take more initiative for migrants

United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights of migrants, Felipe Gonzalez Morales, recently paid a visit to Bangladesh to observe the state of protecting the human rights of migrants. During his visit from 20 to 31 January, he looked into the issue of migrants as well as the Rohingya situation. As he left Bangladesh, he placed emphasis on the need for Bangladesh to strengthen its  laws pertaining to the recruitment of workers in order to protect the migrants. He also spoke of the responsibility of the countries that were receiving migrant workers from Bangladesh, saying that they should play an active role in carrying out investigations against those violating human rights and impose sanctions accordingly.

During his trip to Bangladesh, the UN special rapporteur exchanged views with the foreign ministry and the ministry for expatriate welfare and overseas employment, the National Human Rights Commission, the civil society, migrant workers and recruitment agencies. He also visited Cox's Bazar and exchanged views with Rohingya representatives there. He said he will assess how much progress had been made in implementing the states' responsibility to ensure the protection of the human rights of the migrants.

He will recommend that the state and all concerned stakeholders identify the challenges connecting to the protection of the migrants and ensure their human rights accordingly. He will submit a report about this in June to the UN Human Rights Council.

In 2019, Bangladesh ranked sixth among countries sending migrant workers overseas. Over the past few years the number of Bangladeshi workers overseas has increased. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, in 2022 around one million workers went abroad from Bangladesh, in search of employment. And 10 per cent of them were women. There are Bangladeshi workers in 160 countries of the world, the majority in the Middle East. Thanks to the migrants, remittance of around USD 18 billion comes to the country per year, that is 40 per cent of the country's total foreign exchange reserves and 7 per cent of the GDP.

Before leaving Bangladesh, the UN Special Rapporteur Felipe Gonzalez Morales had said rapporteurs like himself were generally experts in one particular field. They work with a small team. They observe what regulatory measures the states were taking and place these before the UN Human Rights Council. He said they looked into the shortcomings in the states' responsibility and behaviour.

At the end of his Bangladesh visit, the assessment of the UN Special Rapporteur was that the migrants faced challenges in three phases -- before their departure from the country, while working overseas and upon their return home. That is why it was necessary for the government to take measures to protect the migrants in all three phases.

The special rapporteur said, it would be more beneficial for the workers if rules and regulations were strictly followed at a government-to-government (G2G) level and the entire process monitored closely. However, the complications were much higher in the recruitment of workers through private recruiting agencies. The 1,700 or so members of BAIRA (Bangladesh Association of International Recruitment Agencies) mostly depended on middlemen or agents. This was an open secret. Even so, there was no legal framework to monitor these middlemen. This was a matter of concern. 

Gonzales Morales said that the migrants, desperate to go overseas, were ready to leave the country by any means. Many of them sold their property or borrowed money, and thus went abroad with a burden of loans on their shoulders. The entire process placed excessive expenditure upon the migrants. The middlemen took advantage of the situation and pushed the migrants into traps.

The UN Special Rapporteur encouraged the ongoing training programme to build up a skilled workforce. He said, the migrants would have adequate information before they leave the country. In the case of any abuse, solutions must be sought. He lauded the initiative to create a database of workers aspiring to go overseas. He also praised steps being taken to make it compulsory to register the middlemen in the recruitment process and to strengthen control over them.

The migrants returning home, particularly the women, are faced with social castigation and humiliation. Women who have faced physical abuse or were victims of trafficking, often face the stigma of shame. They are mistreated. Other returnees also face discrimination. The families expect them to return from overseas with huge sums of money. However, after facing exploitation overseas, they cannot return with the amount of money expected by their relations. The families spurn them and so it is rare to find a happy reunion upon return. Also, when they return home, they do not find any jobs in keeping with the skills they have acquired abroad.

The US special rapporteur placed particular importance on collecting data concerning the condition of Bangladesh's migrant workers for their overall welfare. These dreamers go abroad and return as corpses. There is no compensation for the dead. Their relations are deprived in all ways. When Felipe Gonzalez Morales was questioned about this, he replied that he had heard of many Bangladeshi workers dying overseas. What were the causes of their death? Accidents, torture or murder? It is vital to have accurate data regarding the death of the workers, he said.

During his 10-day stay in Bangladesh, the UN special rapporteur repeatedly heard about the need to collect and preserve data on migration. He said that this was not just a matter of policy decision. Such statistics were essential to get an accurate picture of the state of human rights of the migrants. The collection, management and digitalisation of data was very important in the interests of the large number of migrants.

It is not unknown fact that Bangladesh's migrants, in their desperate bid to go to Europe, resort to all sorts of unlawful means. Speaking to government and non-government stakeholders related to migration, the US special rapporteur confirmed that many Bangladeshis were even willing to bear the stigma of being 'illegal immigrants', in the hope of good work and good earnings.

The special rapporteur learnt that after going legally to a certain country, the work permit or visa of the Bangladeshi migrants would eventually expire. So even though they went legally, their stay became illegal. Many ever undertook treacherous journeys by sea or over land. These irregular migrants fell prey to human traffickers and faced all sorts of hazards. They would get stuck or it would be difficult for them to even return home. Under the circumstances, it was important for the states to monitor such irregular migration and take coordinated measures to tackle the situation.

Just as Bangladeshi migrants are going overseas in huge numbers, many people from abroad, particularly neighbouring countries, are coming to Bangladesh to earn. UN Special Rapporteur Felipe Gonzalez Morales said that upon coming to Bangladesh, he learnt that a section of the foreigners working here were of medium or high skilled. Some came on tourist visas, worked here and returned. Some came with work permits, worked for a certain span of time and left. But there was a shortfall in data about foreign migrants working in Bangladesh. He said it was essential to step up surveillance on foreigners working in Bangladesh.

Before the end of his Bangladesh visit, the UN special rapporteur also clearly said that other than the government's liability to protect the migrant workers, this was also the responsibility of the destination countries. He said Middle East countries took a large number of migrant workers from Bangladesh. The governments of these countries must investigation those who were violating the human rights of Bangladeshi migrants and, if the allegations are proven, they must actively take punitive action. So in the interests of the migrant workers, it was important to step up cooperation between Bangladesh and the countries of that region.

Gonzalez Morales said, I had submitted several reports in the past about the violation of the migrants' human rights. In letters sent to the Middle Eastern countries, he had called for a halt to the kafala system as it gave the employers excessive power. Under this system, the human rights of migrant workers were violated and the employers could often get impunity. He stressed the need to ensure protection of women migrants because they were the most at risk of human rights violations, particularly when working as housemaids.

The UN Special Rapporteur, during his Bangladesh trip, visited Cox's Bazar to see the condition of the Rohingya refugees. Gonzalez praised Bangladesh for providing shelter to the one million or so Rohingyas who had fled from Myanmar. He said he was amazed at the resilience of the Rohingyas. Some of them had been living in the camps for five years. And some who had come in the early nineties, had been in the camps for 30 years.

In his statement, the US special rapporteur said a sustainable solution for the Rohingya refugees was essential. He expressed concern that they had no legal status, saying in the camps he had inspected, the Rohingya infants born there were not even given birth certificates.

Gonzalez Morales called upon the authorities to strengthen the system for educating the Rohingyas at the educational institutions there and to impart skills to them. Many Rohingyas welcome his appeal and hoped that this would ensure a dignified life for them. He stressed the need to improve the living conditions of the Rohingyas, keeping in mind fires, floods and the impact of climate change.

Pointing to the distress of the Rohingyas the problems of this minority community of Myanmar remained unresolved, Gonzalez Morales said many of them were trying to leave the camps in frustration. They became victims of trafficking, exploitation, sexual violence and attacks. He said he was concerned about this. Certain groups in the camps had become involved in crime. So alongside surveillance, security would have to be stepped up further in the camps to ensure the safety of the Rohingyas.

Many of the Rohingyas had left Bangladesh in attempts to go to Malaysia and other neighbouring countries. Many had died at sea in precarious voyages. And many leaving Myanmar to come to Bangladesh were being pushed back. From an integrated regional approach, strong steps should be taken to rescue the Rohingyas who risked their lives, taking dangerous journeys in search of new shelter. As in many migration-related initiatives on an international level, here too Bangladesh can take a leading role.

* This report appeared in the print and online editions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ayesha Kabir