Win more victories for migrants, refugees and peoples to fight imperialist exploitation and war
Statement of the International Migrants Alliance for
2023 International Migrants Day
18 December 2023
On this day, International Migrants Day, let us all in the International Migrants Alliance celebrate the many victories of our collective unity and struggle in the face of growing imperialist attacks on our rights, dignity and life.
This year, 2023, our campaigns have brought gains for our movement. Wages of migrant workers have increased. Undocumented migrants won their right to stay and remain with their families. More migrants have become more organised as new associations and unions are established even under repressive conditions. And our unity with workers, women and many sectors have strengthened through formation of alliances and networks.
This year, we heightened our fight against imperialism. The IMA, together with our partners and allies, has exposed and opposed the various schemes of imperialism to economically and politically divide the world for their benefit, exhilarate neoliberal impositions, finance and support occupation, fascist rule and repression, and heighten military presence everywhere. From the Group of 7 (G7) Summit in Japan to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in San Francisco, USA, we rallied hundreds to thousands of migrants and peoples demanding not only for living wages and benefits, upholding and protection of rights of all migrants and host workers, and conservation of our planet, but for an end to imperialist exploitation and war.
Millions of migrants, refugees and peoples continue to suffer under imperialism. Monopoly capitalists and their puppet governments shamelessly champion the neoliberal framework of migration for development as they aggressively peddle and exploit cheap, disposable and rights-denied migrant workers. Commitments to mitigate economic and climate crises only meant to worsen the latter, putting people and the planet in grave danger all in the name of super profit. During the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, world leaders have yet again failed to agree on the “phase out” of fossil fuels while committing miniscule amounts to the Loss and Damages Fund. Political repression, attacks on human rights defenders, and militarisation of borders have likewise aggravated under the guise of peace and order.
And as the year ends, the Palestinian people continually confront the genocide and ethnic cleansing by Zionist Israel in the last 75 years of occupation all the while being backed by US imperialism which is keeping the United Nations and Security Council in gridlock and foregoing the provision of basic services, debt forgiveness, and the public welfare to spend up to 10 billion dollars for war.
In the coming year, we can expect imperialist countries to string new phrases and pose new promises to cover up the worsening crisis that they themselves have created and continue to exacerbate. The conflict among them will only sharpen and may lead to proxy wars, wars of intervention and aggression, causing more harm and displacement to millions of people.
As the crisis worsens, let us intensify our efforts to consolidate ourselves on the struggle to resolve the root causes of forced migration. As we do this, let us continue amplifying our just demands: for the respect and upholding of the rights of migrants and their families; our right to living wage; our right to form unions, associations; an end to arrest, detention and deportation; an end to stigmatisation, criminalisation and discrimination; the call for regularisation, and to stop human labor trafficking.
Let us continue to build on the victories we have gained this year - from our collective learning, coming together and articulating collectively our issues and just calls, forming organisations, learning and utilising new forms to organise and gather, and our forging solidarity with trade unions, women and youth groups, and other movements.
Let us turn the crisis of imperialism to our favor by arousing, organising and mobilising the broadest ranks of our fellow migrants, refugees and displaced peoples. Let our migrant movement surge with greater victories for the rights, wellbeing and dignity of migrants, refugees and peoples around the world and for a world without imperialist exploitation and war.
Long live migrant movement!
Long live international solidarity!
