UN investigator respect for rights of migrants

(October 24, 2011) The United Nations’ independent investigator on the human rights of migrants is calling on people around the world to tone down inflammatory talk about migration. Special Rapporteur Francois Crepeau, a Canadian law professor, told the U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee on Friday that “we are all migrants,” noting that few people live where their grandparents were born. He says migration is humanity's way of coping with environmental threats, political oppression and our desire for a better future. Crepeau says a xenophobic discourse on migration has increasingly gained ground in many countries. He insists that everyone is responsible for ensuring that the rights of migrants are respected.