MIGRANT.NEWS 

 

 

 

Joint Initiative by December 18 and Migrants Rights International.

 

 

MIGRANT.NEWS, 22 March 2002

 

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:

Human Trafficking page

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

NGO Press Releases

Desperate call for more immigrants ironic while Canada deports Filipino women and children, 14/03/02

Spain: Dialogue sought on Migrant's Rights, 07/03/02

Deplorable action on the part of the Danish government, 07/03/02

Spain: Migrants' Rights Violated on Canary Islands, Spanish E.U. Presidency Needs to Address Migrants' Rights, 21/02/02

 

Articles and papers

Report by the International Catholic Migration Commission on the World Conference against Racism, March 2002

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

International Calendar

Human trafficking page

Special page for job advertisements

 

END

 

Spanish and French version available upon request at migrantnews@december18.net

 

Spanish version translated by Maria Ruiz, Spain and French version translated by Catherine Thomas, France.