Issue 92, 18 December 2005
1.
IMD Calendar 2005
Non-governmental organizations and governments from 28 countries informed us about their events and activities, demonstrating the growing success of International Migrant’s Day. More details on the following pages:
English: http://www.december18.net/web/general/page.php?pageID=536&menuID=36&lang=EN#two
Spanish: http://www.december18.net/web/general/page.php?pageID=539&menuID=36&lang=ES#two
Italian: http://www.december18.net/web/general/page.php?pageID=537&menuID=36&lang=IT#two
French: http://www.december18.net/web/general/page.php?pageID=538&menuID=36&lang=FR#two
2.
Statement by Mr. Jorge
Bustamante, Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants and Mr. Prasad
Kariyawasam, Chairman of the Committee on Migrant Workers
International
Migrants day is an occasion to recall the important contribution made by
migrants today and throughout history to the economic, social and cultural
development of the societies they have joined and the countries they have left
behind. It also reminds us of the continuing serious problems migrants, women
and men, face everywhere including racism and discrimination, as well as
numerous types of exploitation, abuse and human rights violations.
Next year
marks an important moment in the reflection on the multiple issues raised by
the phenomenon of migration today. In 2006, the General Assembly has scheduled
to hold a High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development. Only
yesterday, the Committee on Migrant Workers held a Day of General Discussion on
the protection of the rights of migrant workers as a tool to enhance
development. The Special Rapporteur actively participated in the debate with
numerous representatives from governments, intergovernmental organizations and
civil society. We believe that it is of the utmost importance to place the
human rights of migrants at the forefront of any discussion about migration. In
our respective capacities, we will relentlessly advocate for a human rights
approach to migration in all fora.
Next year's
high-level dialogue will be the latest in a series of global and regional
initiatives that have been carried out in the last few years in the field of
migration. These initiatives have permitted in-depth discussions of many
aspects of migration and provide guidance on international action in this
field. The discussions have also made it abundantly clear that gaps exist in
the protection of the rights of migrants. It is imperative to address them.
In order to
bridge these gaps, we re-iterate our call to all countries that have not yet
done so, to ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights
of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. The convention, adopted
15 years ago, on 18 December 1990, establishes a comprehensive framework to
protect the rights of all migrants. We also urge those States which are a party
to the Convention to present their initial reports to the Committee so that it
can effectively start monitoring the implementation of the Convention vis-à-vis
today's migration challenges.
Geneva,
16 December 2005
3. Statement
by December 18
International Migrant’s Day is an
opportunity for the international community to recognize and value the
contributions made by migrants around the world to the cultures and economies
of the host countries as well as their countries of origin. Today, however,
migrants find them-selves regularly in situations characterized by human rights
abuses and an increasing level of discrimination and racism.
It is against this background that December 18 – an international resource and
advocacy centre on migrants’ rights – continues to call for universal
ratification and effective implementation of the U.N. Migrant Workers
Convention. This unique Convention puts the human rights of all migrant workers
and members of their families at the centre and underlines the fundamental
principle of non-discrimination.
We
welcome the submission of the first initial reports by Mali and Mexico to the
U.N. Committee on Migrant Workers and encourage other States Parties to live up
to their responsibilities under the Convention.
The seven new ratifications of the
Convention this year are a very encouraging sign, as is the growing support by
Central and South-American States. However, of grave concern to us is the fact
that no ratifications were received from the traditional countries of
destination.
Therefore, given that most
obligations foreseen under the Convention rest on destination countries, it is
important that the UN Committee finds a way of addressing this situation. One
way to do this would be for the Committee to emphasize that States Parties –
especially the countries of origin - must take up their responsibilities when
it comes to transfers, duties and taxes, the safety and support of their
nationals abroad and following their return.
On the other hand, migration
patterns do change over time and traditional countries of emigration sometimes
become transit and to some extent destination countries.
Furthermore, it is crucially important that the competence of the Committee to receive and consider communications from individuals subject to their jurisdiction who claim that their rights under the Convention have been violated is recognized by all States Parties. We call on all governments to make as soon as possible a declaration on this matter under article 77.
We believe it is important that the
six other UN Treaty Monitoring Bodies examine migrant rights in a transversal
way under the relevant articles of their respective Conventions. In this way,
more States will be scrutinized and held responsible.
At the European level, the year has
been marked by mass expulsions from the Italian island of Lampedusa and the
Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. These tragic events illustrate the
externalisation of the restrictive asylum and immigration policy of the EU,
characterized by the readmission agreements with countries with poor human
rights records, the unfair burden imposed on third countries and double
standards in criticizing human rights performance by third countries when
fundamental human rights are severely eroded in various recent decisions of the
European Union. We regret that the focus is not put more on political, economic
and social cooperation from the perspective of combating the root causes of
emigration.
It is encouraging to see that both
civil society organizations and institutions such as the European Parliament
keep pushing for the protection of the human rights of migrants and for the
ratification of the U.N. Migrant Workers Convention. Similar calls were made in
the submissions prepared by a wide group of actors as part of the consultation
process on the Commission’s Green Paper on Economic Migration.
In our contribution to this
consultation process we listed a series of specific recommendations regarding
employment strategies for undocumented and documented migrants. We regretted
that the European Commission was putting forward its ideas based on a
utilitarian approach to migration policy. We consider it must be complemented
by a rights-based approach to migration management taking into consideration
the existing international human rights standards as well as major economic and
social inequalities between poor and rich countries, often caused by the impact
of EU trade policy and the course of action taken by international financial
institutions.
The absence of any reference in the
Green Paper to the UN Convention and other relevant international instruments
is of a particular concern to us. We are very disappointed with this apparent
lack of recognition on the Commission’s side of the broader international legal
context in which any proposal on economic migration to the EU should be
advanced. The Convention should be used as one of the main benchmarks against
which to measure the emerging economic migration policy of the EU.
Finally, we can only regret that the
Global Commission on International Migration in its concluding report fails to
call upon all States to ratify the Convention, which to us is in contradiction
with the Commission’s own statement that “people who are moving from one
country to another are able to exercise the rights to which they are entitled
under international law.”
International Migrant’s Day 2005
marks the fifteenth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention. We hope that
by next year’s High Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development
we will have welcomed many more States Parties to this core international human
rights treaty.
December18
4. Other
Statements
APILA (Chile) http://www.december18.net/web/docpapers/doc3285.doc
Amnesty International Spain http://www.december18.net/web/docpapers/doc3338.doc
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991223229&Language=EN
International Labour Organization http://www.december18.net/web/docpapers/doc3340.doc
International Organization for Migration http://www.iom.int/en/news/pr890_en.shtml
Migrante International (Philippines) http://www.december18.net/web/docpapers/doc3344.doc
National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (U.S.A.) http://www.december18.net/web/docpapers/doc3318.doc
Obra Católica Portuguesa de Migrações (Portugal) http://www.december18.net/web/docpapers/doc3346.pdf
SEDHU (Uruguay) http://www.december18.net/web/docpapers/doc3347.doc
UN Secretary General http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/sgsm10263.doc.htm
Xarxa 18 de Desembre (Catalunya, Spain) http://www.december18.net/web/docpapers/doc3310.doc
Published by December 18
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For more
information, please contact Myriam De Feyter at info@december18.net