Francesco Rocca, President of International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), briefs the press on IFRC's report at the UN headquarters in New York, July 10, 2018. A new report by IFRC is calling on governments to remove the barriers that prevent vulnerable migrants from accessing basic services and humanitarian aid. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)
UNITED NATIONS, July 11 (Xinhua) -- A new report by International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is calling on governments to remove the barriers that prevent vulnerable migrants from accessing basic services and humanitarian aid.
Speaking here Tuesday during the final round of negotiations of the Global Compact for Safe Orderly and Regular Migration, Francesco Rocca, president of IFRC said "all people, regardless of immigration status, should have access to basic services and humanitarian assistance."
"Preventing access to adequate food, basic health care, and legal advice about their rights is completely unacceptable," he added.
IFRC's report, New Walled Order: How barriers to basic services turn migration into a humanitarian crisis, identifies a number of factors that prevent vulnerable migrants from accessing the support they need.
Such factors range from the overt, including the fear of harassment, arrest or deportation, to the less obvious, which can include prohibitive costs, cultural and linguistic barriers, and a lack of information about their rights.
In addition, some governments are enacting laws that effectively criminalize humanitarian assistance, including search and rescue and emergency assistance for undocumented migrants, the report said.
"This criminalization of compassion is extremely worrying, and could undermine more than a century of humanitarian standards and norms," said Rocca.
Currently, governments are negotiating a new Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. Before the ongoing round at the UN headquarters, five rounds have been held.
In this context, IFRC is advocating for governments to ensure that their domestic laws, policies, procedures and practices comply with existing obligations under international law, and address the protection and assistance needs of migrants.
