International Migrants Day 2020: History, Significance, Facts And Quotes On This Day

International Migrants Day is an annual day observed every year on 18 December 2020. The day commemorates the adoption of the International Convention on the Protection of Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. The convention was adopted in the year 1990. Later the United Nations (UN) decided to observe 18 December as the International Migrants Day based on the same convention. One of the other reasons for observing this day was also the growing interest of people across the world for protecting the human rights of all the migrants.

Today we are here to tell you more about this day along with those who are termed as migrants. Scroll down the article to read more.

Who Is A Migrant

As per the UN Migration Agency, a migrant is the one who has moved or is moving to a different country or a different state within a country from his/her actual place of residence. A migrant can be a person who has moved or is moving voluntary or involuntary, irrespective of his/her legal status. The length of the stay of a migrant can be indefinite.

Facts And Figures

• Three out of every four migrants are workers. They belong to the age of 16-64.
• In the year 2019, the number of migrant labours and people living in countries other than their own nation has grown up to 272 million.
• Out of all the people who have migrated or are migrating, women are 48 percent of them.
• It is an estimate that there are 38 million children among those people.
• Around 31 percent of the total migrants are in Asia. 30 percent are in Europe while 10 percent are in Africa.

Significance

• The day is observed to acknowledge the struggle, problems and sufferings of migrants.
• The day also highlights the contributions of migrants towards shaping the nation as they too possess some knowledge and skills that they utilise in not only earning a livelihood for themselves but also in playing a significant role in the development.
• People are encouraged to stop exploitation and trafficking of these people.

Quotes

• "The land flourished because it was fed from so many sources - because it was nourished by so many cultures and traditions and peoples." - Lyndon B Johnson
• "Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially are descended from immigrants and revolutionists." - Franklin D Roosevelt
• "We can't deter people from fleeing for their lives. They will come. The choice we have is how well we manage their arrival, and how humanely." - Antonio Guterres
• "People come here penniless but not cultureless. They bring us gifts. We can synthesize the best of our traditions with the best of theirs. We can teach and learn from each other." - Mary Pipher