- News on the Migrant Workers’ Convention
- International Platform (IPMWC)
- UN News
1. News on the Migrant Workers Convention
The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families has 37 State Parties. You can find the Convention in 14 different languages on this page. If you have another version of the Convention that is not listed, you can send it to info@december18.net and it will be added on the page.
Committee on Migrant Workers
The UN Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (UN CMW) concluded its eighth session on Friday 25 April, after two weeks of meetings.
The Committee adopted Concluding Observations on the reports from the Syrian Arab Republic and Bolivia. They are available on this page.
Syrian Arab Republic: During the interactive Dialogue that took place between the Committee members and the Syrian Delegation on 15 and 16 April, issues that were discussed included: the situation of Iraqi and Palestinian refugees; expulsion of Arab and other foreign workers; access to labour justice for regular and irregular migrant workers; Syrian citizens abroad and their return; lack of migration data. For more detailed information, see the OHCHR Press release.
Bolivia: on 16 and 17 April, the interactive dialogue between the Bolivian delegation and the CMW took place, and dealt with the situation of Bolivians abroad and the consular services; the vulnerability of Peruvians in Bolivia; national legislation on migration and judicial remedies; remittances; and family reunification. For more detailed information, see the OHCHR Press release. In addition, the Committee had heard additional information on the situation in Bolivia from the Scalabrinians during a public session on Monday 14 April.
The Committee also adopted lists of issues on the reports from El Salvador, Azerbaijan and Colombia. The lists are not yet available.
The following information was received from the NGOs:
El Salvador: Alternative report by the Comisión de Derechos Humanos de El Salvador and an oral statement from FIDH; oral presentation from ICMC and Alternative report from Salvadoreños en el Mundo.
Colombia: Alternative report and oral statement from the Scalabrinians.
Many of these documents can be found on the IPMWC webpage: www.ipmwc.net.
The Committee also held a Round-table to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the entry into force of the Migrant Workers Convention. The round-table gathered Committee experts, State Parties representatives, academics, Inter-Governmental Organisations and NGOs with the aim to take stock of developments and prospects around the Convention. You can read December 18’s oral presentation on the Actions for Ratification of the Convention. The other papers are available on this page.
The next session of the Committee will take place in Geneva from 24 to 28 November 2008. The Committee will review the report on El Salvador, and adopt lists of issues on Bosnia & Herzegovina and the Philippines. In April 2009, the Committee will review the reports from Azerbaijan and Colombia. In addition, the Committee also received the report from Sri Lanka.
If you would like to submit information to the Committee on Migrant Workers on the following countries, El Salvador, Azerbaijan, Colombia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, please contact the Secretariat of the Committee, Ms. Carla Edelenbos, at CMW@ohchr.org. You can also consult the Web page of the International NGO Platform on the Migrant Workers’ Convention to find more information on the way to submit information to the CMW. We would appreciate it if you could keep us informed of the information you are submitting to the CMW so that we can share it with IPMWC members and other interested organisations.
2. International Platform on the Migrant Workers Convention (IPMWC)
The IPMWC met on 14 April 2008 in Geneva. It unanimously adopted new Statutes under Swiss law. In addition, two new members were welcomed to the IPMWC: WARBE from Bangladesh and International English Association of Lund from Sweden. To see the full list of 19 IPMWC members, see this page.
Information on the IPMWC and minutes of former meetings can be found on December 18 website (click here). If you are interested in the work of the IPMWC, want to join it, or if you have any question, do not hesitate to contact the IPMWC coordinator at ipmwc@december18.net.
3. UN News
Human Rights Council
The Human Rights Council has started its new mechanism: the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), from 7 to 18 April in Geneva. The following countries were reviewed: Bahrain, Ecuador, Tunisia, Morocco, Indonesia, Finland, United Kingdom, India, Brazil, Philippines, Algeria, Poland, Netherlands, South Africa, Czech Republic, and Argentina. The next session will take place from 5 to 19 May 2008, and will look at the human rights situation in: Gabon, Ghana, Peru, Guatemala, Benin, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, Pakistan, Zambia, Japan, Ukraine, Sri Lanka, France, Tonga, Romania, and Mali. To view the list of countries selected for the full cycle of review until 2012, see this document. The third session will be held from 1 to 12 December 2008.
NGOs wishing to send information to the Human Rights Council under the UPR should pay attention to the short deadlines that are fixed in advance of the sessions (approximately 4 months). Furthermore, the OHCHR uses strict rules for submitting information in order to facilitate their compilation. The UPR webpage of the OHCHR provides general and technical guidelines for the preparation and submission of information. An Info note for NGOs also gives detailed information on the objectives and process of the UPR, as well as the role of NGOs.
Other Treaty Monitoring Bodies
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) held a Day of General Discussion on “The right to take part in cultural life” on Friday 9 May 2008 in Geneva. The Committee is meeting in Geneva from 28 April to 16 May (40th session).
The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) will hold a Day of General Discussion on "The Right of the Child to Education in Emergency Situations” on 19 September 2008 in Geneva.
The Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants
The Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Jorge Bustamante (Mexico), presented his annual thematic report to the Human Rights Council on 7 March 2008, including an addendum to the report on his mission to the United States of America in May 2007, and a report on all communications sent to governments and replies received. The focus of his annual report was on the criminalisation of irregular migration, the subject of which was a parallel event to the Human Rights Council, including governmental, academic and NGO participation and input.
In March the Special Rapporteur undertook two country missions, to Mexico and Guatemala, on which he will report to the Human Rights Council in March 2009. He now plans to direct attention to the African region and has pending requests to visit South Africa and Senegal. The Special Rapporteur hopes to undertake a country mission in July/August 2008.
In June 2008 the Special Rapporteur will give a statement in support of the renewal of the migrants mandate to the Human Rights Council and attend the Annual Meeting of Mandate Holders at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. He will also contribute to a training organized by the Raoul Wallenberg Institute (Sweden) and the Inter-American Institute for Human Rights (Costa Rica) on the human rights of migrants targeted at Latin American public service officials and civil society institutions. Finally, the Special Rapporteur plans to contribute to the 2nd annual Global Forum on Migration and Development, to be held in Manila in October 2008.
Contact information :
All correspondence to the Special Rapporteur and in regard to the mandate of the human rights of migrants of the Special Procedures Division, OHCHR, should be sent by mail, fax or e-mail to:
Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of
Migrants
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Fax: (+41 22) 917 90 06
E-mail: urgent-action@ohchr.org
(Please include in the subject box : Special Rapporteur HR of Migrants)
As one of his functions, the Special Rapporteur shall “request, receive and exchange information on violations of the human rights of migrants, wherever they may occur, from Governments, treaty bodies, specialized agencies, Special Rapporteurs for various human rights questions and from intergovernmental organizations, other competent organizations of the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations, including migrants' organizations, and to respond effectively to such information.” NGOs and Migrants Groups are therefore encouraged to provide the Special Rapporteur with accurate and detailed information on violations of the human rights of migrants. To have more information on this function and how to send information, you can consult this page.
Social Forum
The Social Forum is a unique space for interactive dialogue between the United Nations human rights machinery and various stakeholders, including grass-roots organisations. The next Social Forum will be held from 1 to 3 September 2008 in Geneva. It will focus on: a) Questions relating to the eradication of poverty in the context of human rights; b) Capturing best practices in the fight against poverty in the light of grass-roots presentations to the Social Forum; c) Social dimension of the globalization process. NGOs can submit written or oral presentations, in particular highlighting best practices.
Durban Review Conference 2009
It is expected that the review conference on the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action will take place during the first half of 2009. The Human Rights Council is acting as the Preparatory Committee. Proceedings and background information can be found here.
Published by December 18 vzw
Editors: Marie d’Auchamp and René Plaetevoet
Contact: info@december18.net
The Spanish, Italian, and French versions are available upon request.
Contacting December 18
Main Office Geneva Liaison Office
164 Gaucheretstraat Rue de Varembé 1
1030 Brussels PO Box 96
CH-1211 Geneva 20
Belgium Switzerland
Tel: +32-2-2741435 Tel: +41-22-9191042
Fax: +32-2-2741438 Fax: +41-22-9191048
Email: info@december18.net Email: marie@december18.net