DFA exec highlights protection of migrants’ rights before UN

A Philippine official on Wednesday highlighted before the United Nations the importance of protecting the rights of migrants, as the country mourns the brutal killing of domestic worker Joanna Demafelis in Kuwait.

"The Global Compact should be firmly anchored on human rights. The protection of the rights and promotion of welfare of migrants, regardless of migration status, should be at its core," Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola said.

Arriola was speaking during the first round of negotiations of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration at the UN headquarters in New York.

She said the Philippines will draw particular attention to women, especially domestic workers, children and other groups in vulnerable situations.

Arriola also stated the Philippines’ views on the Global Compact as both a human rights and sustainable development instrument.

"Human rights and sustainable development are not mutually exclusive," she said. "They progress together and reinforce each other."

The Global Compact is expected to be adopted by governments at a high level conference in Morocco in December 2018.

Demafelis was found stuffed inside a freezer in an abandoned apartment unit in Kuwait two weeks ago. Her killing prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to ban the deployment of first-time OFWs to Kuwait. —KBK, GMA News