UN official calls for end to violence and abuse of migrants and refugees

ASTANA. KAZINFORM The Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Yury Fedotov, called on all countries to join the Office on Drugs and Crime to pursue justice by undertaking the necessary action to end the violence and abuse of migrants and refugees on the occasion of the International Day of Migrants, which falls on Monday, December 18th, WAM reports.

The UN official said in a statement issued by his office at the UN headquarters in Vienna that immigrants and refugees faced appalling exploitation and abuse as they fled from economic conflicts and crises, and that many of them were desperate and risking their lives by crossing rough seas and burning deserts.

The Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime encouraged all states to adopt and fully implement the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its protocols on migrant smuggling and human trafficking. He assured that these protocols offer unparalleled provisions for international cooperation against those who prey on migrants and refugees.

"We must protect and uphold the rights of all migrants and refugees, break up the criminal gangs and provide safe channels for migration," said Fedotov.

He added that the Last year's New York Declaration provides a powerful platform for the assistance of migrants, and it will be strengthened by the global compact on safe, orderly and regular migration.