青年對移民問題的控訴

On 14 February 2014， the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) launched its flagship UN World Youth Report (WYR) “Youth and Migration”. The Report examines， for the first time， the concerns， challenges and opportunities of young migrants based on their own experience and in their own voices.

Some recent and previous programs by both state and non-state actors recognise the importance of addressing youth migration issues from a human rights， gender sensitive and sustainable development standpoint. These efforts， including youth-led interventions， identified in the WYR， could be sustained and scaled up considering youth migration is likely to be stimulated in the short and medium term from a demographic perspective. At the same time it is important for young people， especially youth-led civil society organisations， to recognise that the WYR’s focus on youth migration presents an opportunity to strengthen youth leadership/engagement and evidence-based policy advocacy in addressing the challenges young people face with the migration process.

While it is important for stakeholders who seek the best outcomes of youth migration to address the structural barriers (including the lack of youth-friendly migration policy engagement spaces) that youth-led organisations face， young people have the opportunity to design and implement context-specific actions for “safe migration” as identified by the Report. If young people would like their migration to be ‘safe’， practical actions to influence policies and programmes are required. As suggested by the Report， practical action can be taken from the organisation of information campaigns to encourage safe migration while discouraging irregular migration by lobbying for laws and policies that protect and promote the rights of young migrants. However， the challenge lies in the need for a greater focus on addressing the marginalised and most vulnerable young migrants (including irregular migrants， female migrants and forced migrants).

Youth migration can facilitate youth development. Now that the issues have been brought to the limelight， the question arises; will we listen and take action? But keep in mind that “no action” isn’t really an option!