APAC nations told to release migrants in detention

New Delhi: The United Nations has asked Asia-Pacific countries to release vulnerable migrants currently confined in detention centres, notably children and their families, and ensure they have adequate access to Covid-19 testing, diagnosis and health care services.

“The crisis has put millions of migrants out of work in recent weeks, and many of those trying to return home have been stranded with little means to support themselves as international and internal borders close,” it said.

The UN Human Rights Office for South-East Asia, in its report released on Thursday, said governments across the Asia-Pacific region must do everything they can to protect the health of migrants in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, including releasing the most vulnerable from overcrowded and unsanitary immigration detention centres, and suspending forced returns as the global pandemic intensifies.


Citing reports from across the region of extreme hardships faced by migrants, the UN said they are unable to access adequate virus prevention and care, either because they are excluded from national response strategies or because they lack the means to pay.

According to the report, many of them are homeless or live in crowded settlements that put them at a greater risk of being exposed to the pandemic’s rapid spread.
“Migrants are an integral part of our communities, and only by including them fully will we be successful in overcoming Covid-19,” said Cynthia Veliko, regional representative of the UN Human Rights Office for South-East Asia.

Meanwhile, an ILO report on Wednesday said as many as 400 million Indians, including migrant workers and daily wage earners, are at risk of being pushed deeper into poverty because of the Covid-19 pandemic.