By “Ellie Finkelstein, Freedom United”

Humans have been on the move for millennia. Whether seeking a better life, new opportunities, escaping conflict, persecution, or climate disasters, we honor the courage, resilience, and contributions of the millions of migrants around the globe.  So today, on International Migration Day, we reaffirm our commitment to protect all people on the move and call for actions that promote safe migration and remove vulnerabilities that can lead to human trafficking.

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A combination of factors makes many migrants particularly vulnerable to exploitation. Here are just a few key reasons:

Economic vulnerability

Some people, particularly from low-paid economies, are exploited by traffickers who promise lucrative jobs or improved living conditions elsewhere only to subject them to forced labor or other forms of exploitation.   Under schemes like the kafala system, migrant workers’ immigration status is tied to their employer, resulting in an extreme power imbalance that facilitates exploitation.

Watch our webinar about the kafala sponsorship system in Qatar:  Qatar, Kafala and the World Cup: What still needs to change

Lack of legal protections and fear of authorities

Low-paid migrants may not benefit from legal protections available to other workers, discouraging them from reporting abuse. In many countries, their immigration status may be insecure, breeding a fear of deportation and making them easy targets for traffickers. 

The U.K. government, for example, passed the Illegal Migration Act, a law that infringes on the rights of migrants, refugees, and trafficking victims by undermining modern slavery protections and breaching the Refugee Convention, making them vulnerable to being overlooked, detained indefinitely, and deported. 

Read our news coverage on the U.K.’s Illegal Migration Act: From self-styled modern slavery leader to abandoning trafficking victims – what happened?

No safe migration routes

Without safe migration routes, people are unable to access restrictive visa routes and are forced to take perilous journeys, putting their lives at risk. Like crossing through Libya, where migrants risk detention, extortion, and even ‘slave sales.’   The E.U., despite being aware of the conditions, intercepts and returns people who manage to escape via the Mediterranean back to the unspeakable horrors in Libyan detention centers.

See our campaign to end slavery in Libya: Call to end slavery in Libya

The fact is, migration is human nature, and it is not only traffickers that are to be blamed but also governing bodies that have failed in their moral obligation to protect those on the move.  

On this International Migrant’s Day, show your commitment to protecting all people on the move by calling for genuine anti-trafficking immigration policies.

In solidarity, 

Ellie and the team supporting the Freedom United community

Ellie Finkelstein Campaigner and News Editor, Freedom United