Joint Initiative by December 18 and Migrants Rights International.
1. UN Commission on Human Rights
The UN Commission on Human Rights started
on March 18th and will be finalised on April 26th. The
rights of migrants will be discussed under Item 14 at the end of the fourth
week
(8-12 April). The voting of Item 14
resolutions is scheduled on April 23. Traffic in women and girls will be
discussed during the same week under Item 12. The voting on Item 12 is
scheduled on April 19.
See UNCHR timetable: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/2/58chr/timetable.htm
We expect the following resolutions to be
presented
A. International
Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families by Mexico
B. Protection
of migrants and their families by Ecuador (on Social and Economic Rights of
Migrants)
C. Human
Rights of Migrants by Mexico (on Political Rights of Migrants and the mandate
of the Special Rapporteur)
D Traffic in women and
girls by the Philippines (Bi-annual resolution)
Last yearís migrant
resolutions and reports can be found at:
http://www.december18.net/unchrreports2001.htm
A complete report of the 57th
session of the UNCHR can be found at:
http://www.hri.ca/uninfo/unchr2001/contents.htm
(English only)
From the NGO perspective, some of this
yearís main issues are:
The human rights of
undocumented migrants
The human rights of
trafficked persons, in particular women and children and the protection and
assistance provided by the Governments
The right to life of
migrants on the borders of the nations
The right to health of
migrant workers and their exposure
to pesticides.
The human rights of domestic
migrant workers
The coming into force of the
Migrant Workersí Convention
Renewal of the mandate of
the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants
Reports and written NGO
statements can be found at:
http://www.december18.net/unchrreports2002.htm
You will find among others:
Item 12: Report by the
Secretary General on Traffic in Women and Girls
Item 14a: Report by the
Secretary General on the Status of the International Convention on the
Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
and efforts made by the Secretariat to promote the Convention.
Item 14a: Report of the
Secretary-General, Violence against Women Migrant Workers
Item 14a: Report of the Special Rapporteur
on the Human Rights of Migrants (to-date in Spanish only)
The daily UN pressreleases usually give a brief
overview of the discussions.
See: http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/NewsRoom?OpenFrameSet
The opening statement by the UN High Commissioner can
be found at:
http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/150A9BAB5EA6B17DC1256B80003210A2?
Briefings
and special sessions
A briefing by Ms. Gabriela RodrÌguez Pizarro, Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants is scheduled on April 12 from 2 pm to 3 pm in Room 23 ñ UNCHR, Palais des Nations, Geneva. For details on other briefings, please check the following page:
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/2/58chr/srbriefings.htm
The Steering Committee for the Global Campaign for the ratification of the UN Migrant Workersí Convention is organizing on April 15 a special session on the Human Rights of Migrants and the upcoming enforcement of the UN Migrant Workersí Convention. It will be held from 1 pm to 3 pm in Room XXI ñ UNCHR, Palais des Nations, Geneva. Interpretation in English, French and Spanish will be available.
__________________________________________________________________________
2. Entry
into force of the UN Convention on the protection of the rights of all Migrant
Workers and their families
Our next MIGRANT.NEWS edition will cover the
upcoming entry into force of the 1990 Convention and what is next! As one more ratification is needed, we
would appreciate it to receive a brief update of the position of your
government towards the ratification and/or your campaign. Please send your
update before April 1 to Marina Narvaez at Migrants Rights International
[migrantwatch@vtx.ch].
Anyone interested to receive the printed version of the French manual:
ëDignitÈ pour tous, Manuel du participant ý la campagne en faveur de la
ratification de la Convention sur les droits des migrantsí should again contact
Marina Narvaez at migrantwatch@vtx.ch.
Also English copies can be obtained. The
Spanish translation is available online at
http://www.migrantsrights.org/index_span.htm
__________________________________________________________________________
3. Europe
A European Social Forum (ESF) will be held in Italy in the autumn
of 2002, as part of the global process towards the Third World Social Forum in
Porto Alegre 2003. A listserv is formed based on the addresses collected in
Porto Alegre during the Assembly of the European Social Movement and in
Brussels during the first meeting of the European Working Group (March 9 and
10) for the ESF. Interested organisations should contact Mr. Laurent JESOVER
[jesover@ras.eu.org]. ESF works in several languages.
To find more information about the debate on the Convention on
the Future of the European Union, please check the website of Tomorrow
Europe at http://ciginfo.net/
For an update of European Union proposals concerning third country nationals,
please check http://www.december18.net/instrumentsregion.htm#ten
An update of proposals and laws on trafficking of human
beings can be found at
http://www.december18.net/traffickingconventions.htm
For information about the upcoming ASEM Ministerial Meeting on migratory flows in
Lanzarote, Spain, please check:
http://www.ue2002.es/Presidencia/PlantillaReunionDetalle.asp?opcion=3&id=16&idioma=ingles
To receive information about Europe and their policies towards refugees, please contact the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), Mr. Elnur Nasibov at:
bill.seary@ecre.be, and ask for their
excellent electronic newsletter ECRAN (English
only).
__________________________________________________________________________
4. New Publications and web sites
Le gout amer de nos fruits et lÈgumes (The bitter taste of our fruits and vegetables), a publication on the exploitation of migrants in the European agriculture. Special edition of the magazine ìInformations et commentariesî (French only) in cooperation with the Forum Civique EuropÈen. The magazine is for sale starting April 2002. 132 pages A4, 10 EURO. To order, please contact the Forum Civique EuropÈen at longomai@free.fr
An introduction article entitled ëLe travail prÈcaire agricole dans quelques pays de líEurope du Nordí about the situation in Switzerland, Germany, UK and the Netherlands is made available on our French Articles and Papers page at http://www.december18.net/f-papers.htm
Forced Migration Review, Issue 12, February 2002-03-19
Dilemmas of development-induced displacement
http://www.fmreview.org/fmr12.htm (English)
Filipino
community groups in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, announced the
launch of a new website at www.kalayaancentre.org
(English)
The new Internet address of the European
Coordination for Foreigners' Right to family life is: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/ciemi.org/indexce.html
(multilingual)
Exiled Writers Ink ñ Voices in a Strange Land
http://www.exiledwriters.co.uk/
(English)
_________________________________________________________________________
5. International
Calendar http://www.december18.net/calendar.htm
16-24/03/02
European-wide Action Week Against Racism
16-24/03/02 5th
World-Wide Action Week Against Racism
16-24/03/02 All
Different-All Equal: Sensibilisation campaign for the Roma community in Albania
18/03/-26/04/02
58th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, Geneva, Switzerland.
21-28/03/02
Solidarity with the Peoples struggling against Racism and Racial Discrimination
22-24/03/02
Unsettling Imagi(nations): Towards Re-Configuring Borders, BC, Canada.
23/02/02 NYC
Labour solidarity with immigrant detainees, Brooklyn, New York, USA.
23/03/02
Conference to Defend Asylum Seekers, Manchester, UK.
25/03-5/04/02
World Summit on Sustainable Development: Third Preparatory Committee for the
Johannesburg Summit (PREPCOM 3) , New York, USA.
29/03/02 VMC Study
Day on the local culture policy: opportunities and follow-up for the Belgian
migrant civil society
3-20/04/02,
International Human Rights Training Course, Cape Town, South Africa.
4-6/04/02 ASEM
Ministerial Meeting on migratory flows, Lanzarote, Spain.
4-7/04/02 EUROFOR
conference No. 35 - Ethnic conflicts: Prevention, Intervention and Solution
Strategies, Burg Schlaining, Austria.
5/04/02 UN
Commission on Human Rights: Briefings by Mr. Miloon Kothari, Special Rapporteur
on Adequate Housing, by Mr. Louis Joinet, Chairman Rapporteur on Arbitrary
Detention, by Mr. Jean Ziegler, Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.
6-14/0402 (Social)
Reconstruction Along a Former Frontline, Zagreb, Croatia.
8/04/02 Berlin
Forum on migration policy : non-accompanied minor refugees and migrants
8/04/02 Getting
foothold : Male Immigrant Employment Integration and Structural change in
Sweden, 1970-1995, Utrecht, Netherlands.
8/04/02 Roma Nation
Day
10-12/04/02
International Conference on Identifying Economic Linkages Between Overseas
Filipinos and Rural Communities in the Philippines, Davao City, Philippines.
10-13/04/02 The
Sixth International Conference for National Human Rights Institutions, on
combating racial discriminations, Copenhagen (Denmark) and Lund (Sweden).
11/04/02 UN
Commission on Human Rights : Briefings by Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special
Rapporteur on Violence against Women.
12/04/02 UN
Commission on Human Rights : Briefings by Mr. Francis M. Deng, Special
Representative of the Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons, by Ms.
Gabriela RodrÌguez Pizarro, Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants.
12-13/04/02
Euromed Civil Forum, Valencia, Spain.
13/04/02 For a
humane life (on refugee policy), The Hague, Netherlands.
15/04/02 How to
handle racism, Lier, Belgium.
15/04/02 Panel on
Migrant's Rights organised during the UN Commission on Human
Rights by the UN
Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights and the Steering Committee for
the Global Campaign, Geneva, Switzerland.
17-20/04/02 Family
in Africa and the African Diaspora, University of Salamanca, Spain
18-19/04/02
Immigration and 'Usefulness' - One Hand Washes the Other?, Mainz, Germany,
21-26/04/02
Discrimination of Migrants in the Work Place - Equal Treatment!, Germany.
22-23/04/02
Euro-Mediterranean meeting of Foreign Ministers, Valencia, Spain.
23-25/04/02
OSCE/ODIHR: Human Dimension Seminar on "Judicial system and human
rights", Warsaw, Poland.
25/04/02 Seminar
On Regional Integration, Migration And Poverty, Pretoria, South Africa.
For details and
the complete 2002-2003 calendar, see:
http://www.december18.net/calendar.htm
6. Update http://www.december18.org
Spanish
homepage at http://www.december18.net/e-frontpage.htm
Enlace Informativo
Sin Fronteras 70, 1-14/03/2002
Enlace Informativo
Sin Fronteras 69, 15-25/02/2002
Articles and
papers:
EspaÒa: La otra cara de
las Islas Canarias, ViolaciÛn de los derechos de los inmigrantes y los
solicitantes de asilo , 21/02/2002
Other updates:
Regional page: European Human
Rights System and European Immigration Law
French homepage at http://www.december18.net/f-frontpage.htm
Articles and papers:
Le travail prÈcaire agricole dans quelques pays de líEurope du Nord,
Printemps 2002
Mineurs Ètrangers isolÈs
en danger, 03/2002
Victimes ou dÈlinquants
?, 03/2002
Esclaves ý domicile,
02/2002
Un rapport prÈconise une
rÈforme complËte de la politique d'asile en France, 5/03/2002
Ojectif zÈro, Les
Ètudiants algÈriens en France
Les formes
contemporaines díesclavage dans six pays (A,B,F,GB,I,E) de líUnion europÈenne,
janvier 2002
Pour une vÈritable
citoyennetÈ europÈenne, mai 2001
Pressreleases:
ACOR SOS Racisme
communique son indignation concernant la Loi sur les Etrangers Suisse, 11/03/02
Droit de vote et
ÈligibilitÈ des rÈsident(e)s non communautaires aux Èlections locales et
europÈennes, 01/03/02
Espagne: Líautre visage
des Óles Canaries - Violations des droits des migrants et des demandeurs
díasile, 21/02/02
Publications:
La circulation des
mineurs Ètrangers hors de France
EntrÈe et sÈjour des
Ètrangers en France - Note juridique
Le gout amer de nos
fruits et lÈgumes
Dutch homepage at http://www.december18.net/d-frontpage.htm
Electronic
newsletters:
Nieuwsbrief door
Provinciaal Integratiecentrum Oost-Vlaanderen, Cel Vluchtelingen
Oost-Vlaanderen, Cel Woonwagenbewoners Oost-Vlaanderen en Intercultureel
Netwerk Gent
Nieuwsbrief
MIGRANTENWEEK, Nederland (Nederland en de ratificatie van de 1990 VN Conventie
voor de bescherming van alle Arbeidsmigrant en hun families)
Articles and
papers:
Sommige kansen zijn
gelijker dan andere (nieuwe ontwerpdecreet over gelijke onderwijskansen),
BelgiÎ, 5/03/2002
EÈn op drie gecontroleerde
werkkrachten heeft geen arbeidsvergunning, BelgiÎ, 4/03/2002
English
homepage at http://www.december18.net/intro.htm#one
Story of a
bracero, Mexico-US, March 2002
You Sure Know How
to Pick 'Em: Human Rights and Migrant Farm Workers in Canada, 2000
Does a Rising Tide
Lift All Boats?, The Labour Market Experiences and the Income of Recent
Immigrants (1995-1998), Canada, February 2002
Sudan takes steps
to stop child camel jockey trade, 27 February 2002
Indonesia, Wannabe
Workers - Not Slaves, 26 February 2002
Spain: The Other
Face of the Canary Islands: Rights Violations Against Migrants and Asylum
Seekers, 21 February 2002
How Illegal
Migrants use Kenya's Airports, 20 February 2002
Adrift in the
Pacific, The Implications of Australia's Pacific Refugee Solution, February
2002
Israel Prepares
for Major Immigration from Argentina, 11 January 2002
For a real
European Citizenship, May 2001
Other updates:
Legislation per
country page: Admission of Third Country Nationals for Paid Employment or
Self-Employment Activity (to Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany,
Greece, Ireland,
Italy, Luxemburg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, UK)
Regional:
European Human Rights System and European Immigration Law
Human
trafficking page
Special page
for job advertisements
END
Spanish and French version available upon request
at migrantnews@december18.net