translated from Spanish: Migration is a human right

today is commemorating 70 years of the signing of the Universal Declaration of rights Human rights, adopted and approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations, and currently composed of 193 countries. One of the major who led the political process of international consensus on the need to put limits on the sovereignty of States and recognize a minimum of rights inherent in human nature, was a woman – Eleanor Roosevelt – as so many others invisible and silenced by the official history.
The text agreed by the international community was drafted by a Committee of eight people, among whom the Ambassador of Chile in United Nations in 1948, Hernán Santa Cruz, who drove with special force the recognition of rights economic, social and cultural. The fact that these have been built and guaranteed by the international human rights law is largely thanks to his contribution in the editor Committee.

The Universal Declaration consists of 30 items, which is article 13 which provides as follows: every person has the right to move freely and to choose their residence in the territory of a State.
Everyone has the right to leave any country, including one’s own, and to return to his country.
Discussion on the respect for the right to migrate, is framed by a context of increased migration from countries that are going through deep humanitarian crisis and States that do not have the ability to ensure people, who inhabit their territories dignified living conditions. So, in most of the time, the migratory momentum is determined by individuals, families and communities seeking a better life. In our country, we have received from migrants from different countries, such as Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and Haiti. Women, men, boys, girls and adolescents who migrate towards Chile seek to live in decent living conditions and face everyday to labor exploitation, overcrowding, but mostly racist and discriminatory practices that finds support in a approach to security and not rights, which, even unintentionally, generated in the citizenship questions about their rights and their dignity.
Chile has a long tradition of respect for and promotion of human rights. Like all countries in the world, has not been without episodes of massive violations, but we fought to regain and strengthen democracy and consolidate an international community based on principles of recognition of the dignity of the people. We were an active part of the drafting of the Universal Declaration of human rights 70 years ago and today we must participate in the defense of the rights enshrined in it. Those who work in human rights should defend that migrate is a right and promote that States comply with their obligation to establish regulatory frameworks appropriate to the international standards of equality and non-discrimination, ensuring always by the dignity and the life of people who live in the territory. We must remember that in situations critical and painful in our recent history, were not few and compatriots forced to leave the country to preserve their own lives and those of their families. Migrants, in the end, we can all be.
 

Poured in this op-ed content is the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the edit line orial or posture of the counter.

Original source in Spanish

Related Posts

Add Comment