The coronavirus pandemic appears to have accelerated hostile rhetoric against migrants around the world and radically altered mobility, the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.
Likewise, it projected that travel restrictions and other aspects of the fight against COVID-19 could curb migration around the world as long as they remain in force.
IOM presented its World Migration Report 2022, a vast compilation of the latest trends in human displacement of all kinds, from those fleeing war and conflict to workers seeking employment abroad, and a balance of the last two years in terms of mobility.
He cited the impact, for example, of the drastic drop in air travel during the first wave of the pandemic last year.
The IOM pointed to a “spectacular increase” in internal displacement – within the country’s own borders – as a result of natural disasters, conflict and violence, while coronavirus restrictions have sporadically closed borders around the world since the coronavirus it began to spread almost two years ago.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered immobility around the world at a level never seen in recent history, slowing the pace of human mobility and migration,” said Ugochi Daniels, IOM Deputy Director of Operations, in a meeting of its member states.
“It is estimated that the pandemic has negatively affected the total growth of international migrants by two million.”
According to the Director General of the IOM, Antonio Vitorino, “the pandemic also seems to have accelerated the hostile rhetoric towards migrants that has been increasing in the last decade.”
“That is why we have dedicated, in this report, a chapter to misinformation about migration,” he added. “Our research shows that debunking myths, as well as misinformation strategies, can help mitigate or avoid the harm caused by perverse actors seeking to undermine the balanced debate on migration.”
The report counted around 281 million international migrants – not 283 million as initially expected – worldwide, according to its last complete count in 2020, the equivalent of 3.6% of the global population.
This is an increase compared to the 272 million in 2019. About 60% of those who emigrated last year did so for work reasons, he said.
The IOM highlighted that, increasingly, migration occurs between countries with a high level of development, not only from the poorest to the rich.
International remittances – shipments made by migrants to their countries of origin – fell to $ 702 billion in 2020, compared to $ 719 billion the previous year. The decline was less than expected, the organization noted in its report.
“The strength of international migrant remittances has defied predictions, maintaining a high level in 2020, with just a 2.4% drop globally, much less harsh than the 20% initially forecast,” said Daniels. .
About 3,900 people died in displacement last year, down from 5,400 in 2019, the IOM added.
In its report, the IOM highlighted “the main phenomena of migration and displacement,” including conflicts in places such as Syria, Yemen, Congo, the Central African Republic and South Sudan, as well as the political and economic instability of nations such as Venezuela and Afghanistan. in that period.
In addition, he noted that in the last two years there were climate-related displacements in China, the Philippines, Bangladesh, India, Haiti and the United States.
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