MIGRANT.NEWS, Issue 76, 1
December 2003
Migrant Workers’ Convention: Creation of the Committee of Experts
On July 3, 2003, 22 States
Parties were invited by the Office of the UNHCHR to submit the name of their
national candidate for the Committee of Experts. Only 10 countries presented a
candidate. The final election is scheduled for 11 December 2003 in New York. On
the same occasion, the Chairman of the meeting will choose by lot the names of
the five members whose term will expire at the end of two years. The remaining
five will serve for a term of four years. Once the Committee is set up, elections are held
every second year.
List of candidates
nominated by States Parties. Their CVs are available on the following site:
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/cmw/
Mr. Francisco ALBA Mexico
Mr. Jose Serrano BRILLANTES Philippines
Mr Francisco CARRIÓN-MENA Ecuador
Ms. Ana Elizabeth CUBIAS MEDINA El
Salvador
Ms. Anamaría DIEGUEZ Guatemala
Mr. Ahmed Hassan EL-BORAI Egypt
Mr. Abdelhamid EL JAMRI Morocco
Mr. Arthur Shatto GAKWANDI Uganda
Mr. Prasad KARIYAWASAM Sri
Lanka
Mr. Azad TAGHIZADE Azerbaijan
Status of the Convention: 23 ratifications.
Migrant Workers’ Convention: Studies
The IMD Platform Flanders commissioned a comparative study between the
MW Convention and the Belgian legislation. The study was made by Prof. Foblets
(K.U. Leuven), Prof. Vanheule (U. Antwerpen) and Sander Loones and is since
November 10 available in Dutch on the following page: http://www.december18.net/d-frontpage.htm
A French translation is expected by mid December.
UN Special Rapporteur on the
human rights of migrants
The Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Ms. Gabriela Rodriguez, will visit the
Islamic Republic of Iran from 1 to 10 February 2004. As usual, she will be
meeting with officials and civil society. Relevant information and materials on the situation
of migrants and future migrants and relevant contacts in the country can be
forwarded to the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations Office at Geneva, CH-1211 Geneva
10 or emailed to webinfo@ohchr.org
(please put in the subject: Attn. SR on the human rights of migrants/IRAN).
Global
Commission on migration
The Global Commission on Migration,
an independent, non-UN body is to be launched next month in Geneva. It will be
co-chaired by Jan Karlsson of Sweden, a former Migration Minister from that
country, and Mamphela Ramphele of South Africa, a managing director of the
World Bank.
According to a senior UN official,
the idea for the Commission came from a core of 11 countries from the North and
South, led by Sweden and Switzerland. The panel is expected to begin working in
January and complete its final report by the middle of 2005.
The Commission will have a
three-part mandate: to bring the issues surrounding international migration to
the top of the global agenda, to analyse shortcomings and gaps in approaches by
governments or other bodies to migration, and to give practical recommendations
on how to manage migration better.
For more information (only in
English): see
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=8957&Cr=migration&Cr1=
Campaign by the European Coordination for
Foreigners’ Right to Family Life
A directive concerning foreigners' family
reunification has just been adopted by the European Union. While the measures
of this "European law" are to be incorporated into the national law
of all member states, the principle of the right for non-EU foreigners residing
in Europe to live with their families, included in the first version that was
proposed by the European Commission in 1999, has completely disappeared.
Instead, the directive grants states the right to subject family members
seeking reunification to conditions that may be insurmountable.
The Legal Affairs and Internal Market Committee of
the European Parliament will begin deliberations in the first week of December
(originally scheduled for November 26) on the possibility of requesting the
Court of Justice of the European Communities to annul the Directive on Family
Reunification of Third-Country Nationals residing in a State of the Union.
On this occasion, the European Coordination for Foreigner's Right to Family
Life is releasing the following communiqué:
In English
http://www.december18.net/web/papers/view.php?paperID=879&menuID=41&lang=EN
In Spanish
http://www.december18.net/web/papers/view.php?paperID=881&menuID=41&lang=ES
In French
http://www.gisti.org/doc/actions/2003/regroupement/com21nov.html
Complete file on this EU
directive in French
http://www.gisti.org/doc/actions/2003/regroupement/index.html#liens
To receive it in other EU
languages and for information, please contact:
coordeurop.secretariat@coordeurop.org
Visit also the new web site of the European Coordination:
International Migrant’s Day 2003
Since 1999, December 18 encourages non-governmental
organizations to join the global solidarity movement for the promotion and
protection of the human rights of migrants and to use the International
Migrant's Day to highlight publicly not only the lack of protection but
also the contributions made by
migrants. Many organizations also use the IMD to remind politicians and civil
society of the importance of international human rights instruments, in
particular the UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant
Workers and Members of Their Families.
NGOs and migrant organizations are starting to get
ready for the celebration of the 4th official International
Migrant’s Day.
If you plan to organise an action or an event, please
let us know at info@december18.net.
You are also welcome to use the IMD logo that will
upon request be adapted to your needs.
For details, see:
In English
http://www.december18.net/web/general/page.php?pageID=183&menuID=36&lang=EN
In Spanish
http://www.december18.net/web/general/page.php?pageID=184&menuID=36&lang=ES
In French
http://www.december18.net/f-IMDagenda2003.htm
In Italian
http://www.december18.net/i-IMDagenda2003.htm
In Dutch
http://www.december18.net/d-IMDagenda2003.htm
ILO International Labour Conference, Geneva, 1 to
11 June 2004
Among the highlights on the agenda: migrant workers
About accreditation of NGOs: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/ilc/pdf/note.pdf
Movies about migrants and migration
Ontario, Canada
J4MW informed us that the Canadian National Film Board last month
released a new film about the situation of migrant workers in Ontario. It is
called EL CONTRATO. More details, including how you can order it, can be
found on the following site: http://www.nfb.ca/elcontrato/ (English)
Mexico-US
LA
BODA (The
Wedding) is a first documentary by Hannah Weyer to chronicle the Luis family
and their struggles as a migrant farm workers. Profiling the 22-year old
Elizabeth Luis (Liliana’s sister) during the weeks leading up to her wedding,
"La Boda" unfolds the challenges and sacrifices faced by
Mexican-American girls who labour as seasonal agricultural workers. (Spanish
subtitled in English)
http://www.wmm.com/girlsproject/c493.htm
Mexico-US
There are over 800,000 students enrolled in migrant
education programs in the United States and, of those, only 45-50% ever finish
high school. ESCUELA,
the sequel to Hannah Weyer’s critically acclaimed documentary "La
Boda", personalizes these glaring statistics through the honest portrait
of a teenage Mexican-American farm worker, Liliana Luis.
http://www.wmm.com/Catalog/pages/c573.htm
Mexico-Central America-US
TROUBLED HARVEST is an
award-winning documentary that examines the lives of women migrant workers from
Mexico and Central America as they work in grape, strawberry and cherry
harvests in California and the Pacific Northwest. Interviews with women farm
workers reveal the dangerous health effects of pesticides on themselves and
their children, the problems they encounter as working mothers of young
children, and the destructive consequences of U.S. immigration policies on the
unity of their families. Featuring an interview with Dolores Huerta, co-founder
of the United Farm Workers Union.
http://www.wmm.com/Catalog/pages/c72.htm
If you know of
movies and documentaries about the situations of migrants, please share the
details with us at info@december18.net.
The complete list will made available on http://www.december18.net
International Calendar on migration and human rights
http://www.december18.net/web/calendar/start.php?menuID=49&lang=EN
Latest articles, press releases, newsletters by NGOs and others
http://www.december18.net/web/papers/start.php?menuID=41&lang=EN
Join the December 18 team
You stand up for equal rights, have spare
time and an easy access to the Internet? Join the December 18 team. We are a
group of 20 volunteers from different backgrounds and origins, living in
Argentina, Australia, Belgium, France, Italy, Panama, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
We need more bright minds and fast hands to work on the update our new
database-driven site. We are in particular in need of native French, Italian,
Spanish and Dutch speakers with a good knowledge of English. For more details,
please contact us info@december18.net.
END
Spanish, Italian and French version available upon
request at :
info@december18.net
Spanish version translated by Ana Parra, Spain
French version translated by Catherine Thomas,
France
Italian version translated by Eny Giambastiani,
Italy.