The impact of COVID-19 on the status of migrant workers: international legal experience

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely curtailed international migration through border closures and forced millions of people to return home to their homelands. The harsh measures taken by the countries of the world to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic provoked a severe crisis in the world economy and affected all areas of people's daily lives, regardless of their social status and status. The main restrictions affected migration mobility and politics due to the fact that the main goal of states has become the minimization of personal contacts of the population to control the further spread of the virus by closing borders and stopping or reducing transportation by all modes of transport. These actions led to significant changes in global migration processes, as many countries closed their borders without the possibility for migrants and their populations to leave them or return to their homeland. The ineffectiveness of many areas of the economy, where migrants worked, led to mass dismissals and, as a result, to a lack of funds both for returning home and for living in the country of residence.
 The crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the crucial role that social protection plays in overcoming severe social and economic crises, as well as the importance of introducing a minimum level of social protection for all, including migrant workers.
 The pandemic and its economic effects carry risks of stigmatization and discrimination against migrant workers in both destination and origin countries. Countries should systematically monitor cases of discrimination and hate speech against migrant workers. The governments of the countries should also take care of systematically informing citizens about the positive aspects of labor migration. For countries, it can be an emphasis on the role of labor migrants in critically important areas, such as agricultural industry, logistics, transport, medicine, and critical services.