Yesterday I attended a discussion on the theme “Protecting Migrants from Trafficking and Forced Labor” organized by the U.S. Department of State and Human Rights Watch at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. I haven’t been to the U.N. so far with GYAN, but this discussion still felt properly official – lots of security, flags galore, obnoxious constant camera flashes. The two speakers were Ambassador Mark P. Lagon, the director of the Office to Monitor & Combat Trafficking in Persons at the U.S. Department of State and Kenneth Roth, the Executive Director of Human Rights Watch. They each spoke about the current vulnerability of migrants to physical and sexual abuse, labor abuses and forced labor, exploitation, and discrimination. This was followed by a question and answer session during which attendees could make statements, announcements, and ask questions. Those attending included representatives from various N.G.O’s, U.N. departments, and even a few diplomats.

I was definitely the youngest person in attendance, which is disappointing as young people, and especially young women are particularly vulnerable to this kind of exploitation. About 30% of global migrants are youth, many of whom are successful and whose remittances are an important financial benefit for the development of their home countries. However many migrants are exploited, amounting to forced labor/slavery and human trafficking, often with little to no legal protection. The United States State Department estimated that out of all those trafficked across international borders each year, approximately 80 percent are women and girls and up to 50 percent are minors.

One of the first questions asked was about how NGOs could better address these issues as governments themselves seem unwilling to confront them. The point made was that nations do not want to admit abuses occur, and often officials are unwilling to confront other nations about the abuse of their citizens for fear of losing emigration privileges and remittance money. The U.S. ambassador said he was supportive of the United Nations trying to convince member nations to respect, work with, and see NGOs as legitimate agents for positive change. His comments reflected the constant debate on UN - Civil Society Relations

In answer to this same question, Kenneth Roth discussed possible plans of action to counter this unwillingness to address the issue. What he suggested was that a regional group of nations could be formed as a block, so that nations with less bargaining power could not be singled out. This would give them greater leverage power to win protections for their citizens abroad, as well as protect them from the possible repercussions of raising the issue. I was delighted by this idea, the obvious strength of networking and communication to promote shared goals.

Mr. Roth ended on an interesting note. Central to protecting the rights of migrant workers and indeed to the success of the 21st century, is a shift in the way we see human migration. He said that as globalization will only increase human migration across the globe, continuing to see a person’s movement across national boundaries as a potential merit for being thrown in prison will continue to erode international human rights and global stability. A person’s location should never deprive them of their rights. Finally he recommended a major task for the next generation of young people to be redefining the rights of migrants and easing the human and economic costs of migration.