When the Israeli army invaded Lebanon in July around 11,000 migrants were left stranded amid the destruction. But scant attention was paid to the plight of these workers - mainly women from Africa and Asia working as domestic servants - in stark contrast to the extensive coverage of westerners trapped in the conflict.
The International Organisation for Migration hopes to change that with a new campaign to raise awareness of migrant workers caught up in armed conflict around the world. The campaign, launched on International Migrants Day, hopes to build support for a permanent fund to help evacuate migrant workers in such emergencies.
The chances of achieving this goal could well be slim, however. According to Amnesty International only 34 countries across the globe have ratified the UN's migrant workers convention, which came into force three years ago today.
