MIGRANT.NEWS, Issue 77, 18
December 2003
18 December 2003
International Migrant’s Day!
25th ratification of the UN
Migrant Worker’s Convention!
ICMC
(International Catholic Migration Commission) informed us that President Xanana signed on 16th
December 2003 Timor Leste's accession to the UN Convention on the Protection of
the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families. The Legal
Treaties and Human Rights Division of the Timorese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
confirmed that the instrument of ratification was forwarded to the UN. However,
at the time of publishing this newsletter, no confirmation was yet received
from the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights.
Following is the text of Secretary-General
Kofi Annan’s message on International Migrant’s Day
Every day, in countries all over the
world, people leave their home countries in search of a better life for
themselves and their families. The phenomenon of migration has a profound
effect on the countries migrants leave, those through which they transit, and
those to which they move.
A key challenge for our world in the
twenty-first century is to manage migration better. We need to maximize
its many real benefits and minimize the difficulties that it can cause.
Many United
Nations agencies, as well as the International Organization for Migration, work
hard to do just that.
The recently launched Global Commission on
International Migration can help us take international cooperation to a new
level. The Commission is the initiative of States from both North and
South, and has my full support. I hope its final report will contribute
to better public understanding of migration, and help build a framework for
greater cooperation among States to manage migration for the benefit of all.
In building that framework, let us
remember the people at the heart of this issue –- migrants themselves.
Many migrate under duress, endure a perilous journey, and face hardships in
their new home countries. Many remain vulnerable to exploitation and
abuse by unscrupulous traffickers, smugglers and employers. Moreover, in
recent years, migrants have been vilified in certain societies, while some have
been denied their rights in the name of national security. Despite all
these obstacles, the vast majority of migrants contribute greatly to their new
societies, and many send back remittances which support the economies of their
countries of origin.
More must be done to ensure the respect of
the human rights of migrant workers and their families -– be they regular or
irregular, documented or undocumented. That is why I call on States to
become parties to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights
of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, which entered into force
this July. The Convention establishes for its ratifying countries the
obligation to respect the core human rights and fundamental freedoms of migrant
workers in their State of immigration. It is a vital part of efforts to
combat exploitation of migrant workers and members of their families.
The States which are already parties to
the Convention held their first session on 11 December 2003 in New York, where
they elected the members of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of
All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. This Committee will
consider reports on measures taken by participating States to give effect to
the Convention. I encourage all participating States to recognize the
Committee’s competence to receive and consider communications from individuals
subject to their jurisdiction who claim that their rights under the Convention
have been violated.
On this fourth International Migrants Day,
let us resolve to manage migration better, and redouble our efforts to protect
the human rights of migrants.
Press
Releases
Press releases by
the Steering Committee for the Global Campaign for the Ratification of the UN
Migrant Workers’s Convention and various non-governmental organizations can be
viewed on the following site (only in English):
IMD events
The International
Migrant’s Day is celebrated across the world. NGOs and governments from the
following countries shared their IMD programmes with us:
Bangladesh,
Belgium, Brazil, Chile, France, Honduras, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Morocco,
Mexico, Netherlands, Senegal, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland,
Taiwan, United States of America, Uruguay.
They can be
viewed at :
http://www.december18.net/web/general/page.php?pageID=183&menuID=36&lang=EN
http://www.december18.net/web/general/page.php?pageID=184&menuID=36&lang=ES
http://www.december18.net/i-IMDagenda2003.htm
http://www.december18.net/d-IMDagenda2003.htm
http://www.december18.net/f-IMDagenda2003.htm
Migrant Workers’ Convention: outcome of the election of the
Committee members
On 11 December 2003, the
following committee members were elected. Their CV’s are available on the following site: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/cmw/
|
NAME OF THE MEMBER |
COUNTRY OF NATIONALITY |
TERM EXPIRES ON 31 DECEMBER |
|
Mr.
Francisco ALBA |
Mexico |
2007 |
|
Mr.
José Serrano BRILLANTES |
Philippines |
2005 |
|
Mr.
Francisco CARRIÓN-MENA |
Ecuador |
2007 |
|
Ms.
Ana Elizabeth CUBIAS MEDINA |
El
Salvador |
2007 |
|
Ms.
Ana María DIEGUEZ |
Guatemala |
2005 |
|
Mr.
Ahmed Hassan EL-BORAI |
Egypt |
2007 |
|
Mr.
Abdelhamid EL JAMRI |
Morocco |
2007 |
|
Mr.
Arthur Shatto GAKWANDI |
Uganda |
2005 |
|
Mr.
Prasad KARIYAWASAM |
Sri
Lanka |
2005 |
|
Mr.
Azad TAGHIZADE |
Azerbaijan |
2005 |
New
articles and papers available on December 18 and on following sites:
The
Migration-Trafficking Nexus: Combating Trafficking Through the Protection of
Migrants’ Human Rights – Anti-Slavery International (only in English)
http://www.antislavery.org/homepage/resources/the%20migration%20trafficking%20nexus%202003.pdf
Migrants
in European Agriculture: seasonal exploitation - ICFTU
http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991218826&Language=EN
http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991218828&Language=FR
http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991218827&Language=ES
END
Spanish, Italian and French version available upon
request at :
info@december18.net
Spanish version translated by Maria Ruiz, Spain
French version translated by Catherine Thomas,
France
Italian version translated by Eny Giambastiani,
Italy.