CAIRO (Arab News/Anadolu) – The Arab League has urged countries around the world to recognize the value of immigrants but also tackle issues that result in the exploitation of people fleeing conflict and other disasters.
To mark International Migrants Day, held on Dec. 18 every year, the league said in a statement that many migrants contribute positively to the economies of the countries where they live.
The league added that issues around migration and refugees have increasingly become the focus of world leaders over the past decade. These topics were discussed at the International Migration Review Forum held in May 2022, which was based on the adoption of resolutions in 2018 under the “Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.”
The league highlighted in its statement that migrants had faced several major challenges over the past three years including the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia-Ukraine war, and an increase in racism, discrimination, xenophobia and Islamophobia.
In addition to the risks that migrants face, they are also vulnerable to human traffickers, who keep them trapped for extended periods at borders or at sea.
The league highlighted the importance of the Algiers Declaration issued by the 31st Ordinary Arab Summit in November 2022, that saw member states commit to tackling Islamophobia and promoting tolerance and respect.
With regard to the recurring incidents of migrants becoming stranded on rescue ships in the Mediterranean, the Arab League said cases must be addressed based on several criteria, including whether they are unaccompanied children and women.
In a relevant incident, the Turkish Coast Guard said it rescued a total of 181 irregular migrants on Monday, including many who were illegally pushed back into Turkish territorial waters by Greek authorities, according to Anadolu Agency.
In the first incident, teams were dispatched off the coast of Ayvacik in the northwestern Canakkale province after the coast guard learned that there were irregular migrants in an inflatable boat. A total of 39 people from various countries who were pushed back by Greek authorities were rescued, it said.
In the second incident in the same region, 54 migrants were rescued.
Meanwhile, in Turkey’s Aegean province of Mugla, 88 irregular migrants who were pushed back by Greek forces were rescued.
According to a statement on the Coast Guard Command website, teams were dispatched to the scene.