What's a Migrant's Life Worth?

In December 2018, Heads of State and Government met in Marrakech, Morocco under the auspices of the United Nations to adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration, placing migration and refugee matters squarely on the international agenda. Camilo Perez-Bustillo, the Executive Producer of Witness Radio, was there. In remembrance of both International Human Rights Day (Dec 10) and International Migrants Day (Dec 18), he sat down with Sarah Towle, Witness Radio Host & Director, to discuss the tragic migrant deaths in Chiapas, Mexico, the unresolved humanitarian crisis on the Poland-Belarus border, the secret detention centers in Northern Africa funded by the EU, and the resumption of the US Remain in Mexico program.What connects these obvious human rights abominations? Securitization, which frames migrants as threats to national security, and externalization, which invites nations of the global north, under the guise of "global migration governance," to extend their borders beyond the boundaries asylum-seekers are hoping to cross.Sarah and Camilo wonder: Though The Global Compact on Migration promotes "safe, orderly, and regular migration," has it resulted in international crimes against humanity and potential "migrant genocide" instead?correction, Dec 17, 2021: the number of dead in the Chiapas tragedy has now risen to 57Additional reading:The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular MigrationThe Impact of Externalization of Migration Controls on the Rights of Asylum Seekers and Other Migrants, By Bill Frelick, Ian M. Kysel, and Jennifer PodkulMexico, Honduras, Guatemala deploy troops to lower migration, By Alexandra Jaffe"Enemy Mentality": Mexico Cracks Down on Migrants and Asylum-Seekers at its Southern Border, By Sandra CuffeThe Secretive Prisons That Keep Migrants Out of Europe, By Ian Urbina10 DECEMBER 2021, Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Click here to support us on Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Get full access to Tales of Humanity at sarahtowle.substack.com/subscribe