GENEVA, Switzerland – United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres is calling on people to summon their common humanity to reverse harmful trends affecting migrants.
He made the call on Wednesday to commemorate International Migrants Day.

In a press release, the UN secretary general highlighted the contributions that millions of migrants make to communities, economies and countries around the world.

“Today is also a day to remind ourselves of the challenges migrants can face — from prejudice and discrimination, to outright violence and abuse, to the unimaginable cruelty of human trafficking,” the release said, adding “these challenges are made worse by the rising tide of mis and disinformation and hate speech which sows division and distorts the valuable contributions migrants are making each and every day.”

The UN head highlighted the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, adopted six years ago, which aims to protect migrants at every step of their journeys and continue expanding rights-based pathways for migration.

“Today and every day, let’s stand up for the rights of all migrants and work to create safe, humane and inclusive migration systems,” Guterres urged.