Honduran migrants remain outside a migrant shelter in the municipality of San Marcos, Guatemala (AFP)
Geneva, Switzerland:
More than 2.7 million migrants who wanted to return home have been stranded abroad due to restrictions put in place to fight the coronavirus pandemic, the United Nations said on Friday.
The world must urgently step up cooperation to enable people to return safely despite the constraints of the coronavirus, the UN International Organization for Migration has said.
IOM warned in a report that border closures and travel bans have left large numbers of migrants stranded.
He defined stranded migrants as people outside their country of usual residence who wanted to return home but were prevented by restrictions linked to the pandemic.
IOM chief Antonio Vitorino urged countries to do more for the estimated 2.75 million people stuck in limbo.
“The scope and subsequent application of tens of thousands of mobility restrictions, including border closures and nationwide lockdowns linked to Covid-19, is forcing states to reach out to their neighbors and countries of origin of migrants to meet their needs and vulnerabilities, ”he said in a statement.
“Migrants can be returned home in a safe and dignified manner despite the constraints imposed by Covid-19.”
IOM said it had calculated the figure of 2.75 million from official sources on known cases through July 13 of migrants stranded abroad in need of assistance, including food , water, shelter and repatriation.
They include seasonal workers, temporary residents, international students, migrants who have traveled for medical care, and seafarers.
The Middle East and North Africa had the most stranded migrants, with 1.26 million stranded, followed by Asia and the Pacific with 977,000.
There were 203,000 more in the European Economic Area and Switzerland, and 111,000 in North and Central America and the Caribbean, he said.
“Great underestimation”
Based on data from 382 locations in more than 101 countries, it “is considered a significant underestimate of the number of migrants stranded or otherwise affected by Covid-19,” IOM said.
IOM said it had received requests to help nearly 115,000 stranded migrants return home safely and voluntarily, and that it had been able to do so for more than 15,000 of the most vulnerable in recent months.
“Once stranded, some migrants are at higher risk of abuse, exploitation and neglect,” he warned.
“The loss of livelihoods can increase vulnerabilities and expose them to exploitation by criminal syndicates, human traffickers and others who take advantage of these situations.”
The organization said that all too often, migrants were excluded from national coronavirus response and recovery plans because of their irregular status.
“Covid-19’s mobility policies and measures – ranging from various travel restrictions, health requirements and measures to complete border closures and nationwide and / or localized lockdowns – have, in some cases, created new challenges for migrants while at the same time. exacerbated their existing vulnerabilities, ”the report says.
She also raised the issue of some 400,000 sailors currently stranded at sea, some of whom have been on board their ships for up to 17 months, six months more than the maximum allowed.
(This story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
