In line with our continued efforts to strengthen the human rights of migrants, QUNO delivered an oral statement at the 46th Session of the Human Rights Council as part of the interactive dialogue with the  Special Rapporteur on minority issues. (Full statement available below)

This statement underlined the impact of language used to describe migrants which constructs them  as threats and contributes to their stigmatization and marginalization. We highlighted OHCHR’s migrant narratives toolkit as a practical instrument States can use to build human rights-based narratives on migrants and migration and encouraged them to join the call to Stand Up for Migrants.

We asked the special rapporteur to highlight the steps States can take to create safe and enabling environments for minorities including migrants, to be at the centre of efforts to shift narratives.  While the timing meant he couldn’t respond to this question, we hope that future work provide guidance on this.