AMMAN — The UN
General Assembly declared December 18
International Migrants Day, an occasion,
the
UN Twitter page says, “to celebrate the millions of migrants that are
integral members of the societies in which they live and their contributions to
both their home and host countries.”
اضافة اعلان
This year, the
day was held under the theme “More than just migrants”, aiming to alter
stereotypes about migrants and to focus on elements of diversity, in light of
the increase in the number of migrants around the globe.
In a
press release, Secretary General of the Higher Population Council
Abla Amawi stressed
that
HPC aims at highlighting the Global Compact for Migration which provides
an effective migration governance framework in light of international
cooperation. The framework ensures that the migrants’ rights are protected and
that they receive a fair treatment. The GCM emphasizes that migrants and
refugees shall enjoy human rights which should be respected, protected, and
achieved.
However,
number of
migrants of Syrian, Egyptian, Palestinian, Iraqi, Yamani, and Libyan
nationalities in Jordan reached to 2,720,740, constituting 93.2 of the
non-Jordanian residents in Jordan.
According
to the council’s statistics, there are about 57 nationalities in Jordan. The
2015 population and housing census showed that among these nationalities,
Syrians were the most numerous, counting about 1.3 million, Palestinians
numbered about 634,000, Egyptians around 636,000, Iraqis about 131,000, while
domestic workers of various nationalities numbered approximately 9,000,
according to the permits issued by the Ministry of Labor. Other nationalities
constituted 30.6 percent of the population.
Statistics
also show that non-Jordanian residents in Jordan formed 4.2 percent of the
entire population in 1979, 7.6 percent in 1994, and 30.6 percent in 2015.
Despite
the large numbers of migrant workers in Jordan, who may enter the Jordanian
labor market, the Workers' House issued a statement demanding, through its
“national campaign for the alternative immigration regulation”, the inclusion
of migrant workers with social security in all labor sectors, in implementation
of the principle of equality and non-discrimination.
Hamada
Abu Najma, head of the Workers’ House, told
Jordan
News: "The campaign's message will be sent this day to the prime minister,
the minister of labor, and the director-general of the Social Security
Corporation. This campaign includes civil society institutions and labor
activists."
The
statement calls for the abolition of the kafala system in Jordanian legislation
and procedures. Kafala restricts individuals’ basic freedoms, such as freedom
of movement and mobility, freedom of assembly, and the right to access
services. It may also expose workers to various forms of physical, verbal,
sexual, and psychological violence and harassment, and deprive them of social
security in most work sectors.
Countering
claims that migrant workers take jobs that the 404,105 unemployed Jordanian
citizens could, Abu Najma said that these workers' jobs are complementary, and “it
is very rare for a migrant to occupy the position of a Jordanian worker”. He
also said that employers hire the available labor force, and do not prefer
migrant workers over Jordanian workers, as some think.
He added:
"The number of Jordanian citizens who hold university degrees is
increasing, and therefore their demand for jobs that do not require university
degrees is very low. Therefore, those who take these jobs are usually migrant
workers of different nationalities. As such, we cannot say that immigrants play
a role in increasing the unemployment rate, as they have no direct relation with
this matter.”
Abu
Najma said that the government is responsible for regulating the labor market
and the relation between the private and public sectors in order to reduce
unemployment rates among Jordanians, stressing that “the rights of migrant
workers as human beings who deserve a decent life must not be forgotten.”
Jordan
News unsuccessfully tried to contact the
Social Security Corporation for a comment on the matter.
According
to the National Population Strategy 2021-2030, which was launched by the HPC in
cooperation with the UN Fund, the total ongoing migration rate in Jordan
reached 4.1 percent, while the lifestyle migration rate reached 11 percent,
Al-Ghad news said.
A report
issued by the Economics Studies Center in 2021 and titled “Challenges of female
migrants and refugees blending, where are we?”, indicated that the rate of women
migrants is globally stable; it reached 45 percent last decade, with one in
three refugees being woman.
The
report also indicated that the
COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact on all human
movement, including international migration, due to border lockdowns and
instability in international travel.
Recent numbers show that the instability caused
by the COVID-19 pandemic has lowered the number of international migrants by 2
million globally in the middle of 2020.
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