Countries at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on 28 September 2026 called for comprehensive human rights protections for migrant workers irrespective of their legal status, urging coordinated global action against trafficking and exploitation while pushing back against framing human mobility purely as a security and border-control challenge.

Philippines Champions Migrant Seafarers

Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro told the Assembly that millions of migrant workers sustain economies and communities across national borders, and are entitled to fundamental freedoms and protection from abuse along dangerous migration routes. She placed particular emphasis on seafarers, noting that nearly 90 per cent of global trade moves by sea, supported by close to two million seafarers worldwide — of whom more than a quarter are Filipinos. Her remarks framed migrant labour as a structural pillar of the world economy rather than a peripheral border issue.

India Raises Maritime Worker Safety

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar echoed concerns about maritime workers during India's address, calling for uninterrupted energy and commercial flows amid ongoing conflicts affecting the Gulf and international waterways. He said attacks targeting commercial vessels and their crews were unacceptable, and demanded stronger protections for shipping and seafarers. The intervention is of direct consequence for India: a large Indian diaspora is employed across the Gulf, North America, Europe and Asia, and Indian sailors crew commercial vessels transiting some of the world's most sensitive maritime corridors.

Tunisia and Djibouti Highlight Transit Pressures

Tunisian Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Nafti urged countries to move beyond a narrow security-based approach to migration. He said Tunisia continues to rescue irregular migrants on land and at sea and assists those seeking voluntary return, but added that the country 'firmly rejects becoming either a transit country or a destination for irregular migrants who are victims of human trafficking networks.' Nafti called for a comprehensive approach addressing conflict, poverty, unemployment, trafficking and economic inequality — one that embodies 'shared responsibility, solidarity and cooperation among countries of origin, transit and destination.'

Djibouti's Foreign Minister Abdoulkader Houssein Omar described the strain on his country's limited capacity after several thousand people fleeing violence in Yemen crossed its borders. He appealed for international assistance for refugees and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict driving their displacement.

Rohingya Crisis and Youth Migration in Focus

The Holy See raised the continuing plight of the Rohingya, hundreds of thousands of whom have endured statelessness and dangerous conditions for more than nine years. Cardinal Pietro Parolin declared: 'Their suffering must end!' He called for conditions that would allow their safe, legal, voluntary and unhindered return. Zambia's Foreign Minister Mulambo Hamakuni Haimbe connected the migration debate to domestic youth opportunity, arguing that young people need education, relevant skills, technology access, entrepreneurship pathways and decent employment before economic hardship compels them to leave their communities.

Fault Lines in the Global Migration Debate

The statements laid bare persistent tensions at the heart of international migration governance. Destination and transit countries pressed for stronger border management, while migrant-sending nations demanded protection for their citizens abroad and recognition of remittances and labour contributions to host economies. Notably, this debate has deepened as conflicts in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa have intensified displacement pressures. The UNGA session offers a platform for principle, but binding agreements on migration remain elusive — a gap that advocates and several delegations flagged as urgently in need of closing.