Legal or not - migrants need help
12 April 2002

Red Cross and Red Crescent representatives from some 50 European nations will produce a concrete action plan to assist vulnerable migrants who have no international legal protection, at the 6th European Regional Red Cross and Red Crescent Conference, which opens in Berlin on April 14.

"We must help those who are exploited by traffickers and we must fight xenophobia and discrimination against 'new arrivals' by developing programmes to integrate them into their community of adoption", underlines Robbie Thomson. "Trans-national programmes between Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in countries of origin, transit and arrival of vulnerable migrants, where vital information is exchanged, could provide a strong network of support", he adds.

Experts estimate international population movements at more than 120 million people - that's more than two per cent of the planet's 6.1 billion people, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Some 150 million people live outside their country of birth today and about 100 million people are displaced and moving within their own country. More than half of international migrants have moved from one developed country to another, but tens of millions are leaving their homes for richer lands, because of conflict, persecution or poverty - some voluntarily, some not. And among them, millions live in desperately poor conditions, facing a bleak future or no future at all.

"These population movements are inevitable and they will continue to increase", says Robbie Thomson, Population movement advisor at the Federation Secretariat in Geneva. "To remain true to the fundamental mission of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which is to protect and assist people in need, we must help the most vulnerable of these migrants, whether they are legal or not, to have access to decent health care and living conditions. We should also be prepared to advocate on their behalf, especially in the case of those who are not protected by any international legislation, such as the 1951 UN Refugee Convention."

According to the UN Population Division, international migration will not diminish. The population of richer countries is growing steadily older, and immigrants are needed to replace an ageing working population (15 to 64 years old). At the same time, the gap between rich and poor widens, pushing many to seek a better future in a richer country. But with many nations tightening restrictions on immigration, hundreds of thousands of migrants are turning to smugglers and traffickers. Today, the global business in human trafficking is thought to be worth more than 7 billion US dollars annually (1997 estimate), exceeding that of drug trafficking, and illegal immigrants are estimated at between 20 to 40 million worldwide, of which three million live in Western Europe.re

For further information, or to set up interviews, please contact:

InMarie-Françoise Borel, Information Officer Tel: + 41 22 730 4346 / + 41 79 217 33 45re

The Geneva-based International Federation promotes the humanitarian activities of 181 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies among vulnerable people. By coordinating international disaster relief and encouraging development support, it seeks to prevent and alleviate human suffering. The Federation, National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross together, constitute the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.