owever, as essential workers and remittance providers, the migrant workers are also key to recovering better, according to the Asia-Pacific Migration Report 2020 that was released on the occasion of International Migrants Day on Friday.
Unlike nationals, migrant workers have generally not been included in social security provisions like unemployment insurance or income support. Migrants have also been disproportionately affected by border closures and lockdowns, leaving many vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, it says.
This exclusion of migrants poses major threats to their human rights and well-being. Poverty reduction efforts in the region are likely to be affected too as will the effort to build stronger, more inclusive and resilient communities, says the report.
Migrant remittances to the Asia-Pacific region, which rose from US$183 billion in 2009 to US$330 billion in 2019, have declined due to the Covid-19 outbreak, leaving many households of migrants without a major source of income, it states.
The report was prepared by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Regional United Nations Network on Migration for Asia-Pacific ahead of the first ‘Asia-Pacific Regional Review of Implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration’ slated for March 2021.❐
