COMMITTEE ON PROTECTION OF RIGHTS OF MIGRANT WORKERS CONCLUDES SIXTH SESSION

The Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families today presented its concluding observations and recommendations on the initial report of Egypt, which it considered during this session, and adopted its annual report to the General Assembly, before concluding its week-long sixth session.

In its concluding observations on the report of Egypt, the Committee appreciated Egypt’s ongoing efforts to regulate private recruitment agencies and to close down those which did not comply with its Labour Code. In terms of migrant workers in Egypt, the Committee noted with concern that the inquiry into the events of 30 December 2005 had been closed without clarifying the circumstances leading to the deaths of 27 Sudanese migrants. Concerned at the situation of Egyptian migrant workers who were the victims of a "sponsorship" or kafalah system – designed to give the sponsor control over them and sometimes even to prevent them from returning to Egypt – the Committee recommended that Egypt encourage its embassies and consulates to provide assistance to those migrant workers, and that it endeavour to negotiate with the relevant countries of destination that such a system be abolished.

Also during the session, on 25 April 2007, the Committee held a meeting with representatives of 18 States parties in which it discussed the status of reporting, as well as ways and means to promote the Convention. The Committee also devoted a meeting to continuing its discussion of ways to promote the Convention and reporting status, as well as addressing issues of treaty body reform with a view to taking a position on various reform proposals put forward by the High Commissioner and the Working Group on Harmonization of Working Methods of Treaty Bodies.

In terms of promotion of the Convention, the Committee decided to request the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to take all possible action to facilitate the representation of the Committee at the Global Forum on Migration and Development, which will be hosted by Belgium in July 2007. Regarding treaty body reform proposals, the Committee decided to adopt a position paper which would then be annexed to its annual report.

It was also decided to organize a public event during one of the Committee's sessions in 2008 to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Convention's entry into force.

Finally, given the number of outstanding country reports and the expectation of further initial reports being submitted in the near future, it was decided to request the Secretary-General to arrange for two sessions of the Committee in 2008: a two-week session in the spring, and a one-week session in the fall. In prior years, the Committee had held two one-week sessions.

At its next session, to be held from 26 to 30 November 2007 in Geneva, the Committee will examine the initial report of Ecuador.


Concluding Observations and Recommendations on Egypt

Among positive aspects in the initial report of Egypt, the Committee appreciated Egypt’s commitment to migrant workers’ rights, as illustrated by the fact that it was the first country to accede to the Convention. The Committee also appreciated Egypt’s ongoing efforts to regulate private recruitment agencies and to close down those which did not comply with its Labour Code. Finally, the Committee welcomed the fact that Egypt had adhered to the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants By Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime; International Labour Organization Convention No. 182 concerning the prohibition of the worst forms of child labour; and the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and on the involvement of children in armed conflict.

The Committee remained concerned, however, that migrant workers – irrespective of their legal status – had in practice limited access to justice in Egypt because they were unaware of the administrative and judicial remedies available to them. The Committee also noted with concern that the inquiry into the events of 30 December 2005 had been closed without clarifying the circumstances leading to the deaths of 27 Sudanese migrants. Concerned that foreign migrant workers seeking permission to work in Egypt had to provide a certificate proving that they did not carry HIV/AIDS, the Committee recalled that, according to the ILO Code of practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work, HIV testing should not be required at the time of recruitment.

The Committee recommended that the Egyptian Labour Code be amended in order to apply to domestic workers, including migrant domestic workers, or that new legislation be adopted to provide protection for them. It also recommended that Egypt take appropriate measures to protect migrant domestic workers, particularly women, and that migrant workers in domestic service had access to mechanisms for bringing complaints against employers. Furthermore, it recommended that consular services respond more effectively to the need for protection of Egyptian migrant workers and members of their families, and, in particular, that they provide the necessary assistance to those in detention, and promptly issue travel documents to all Egyptian migrant workers and members of their families who wished or had to return to Egypt. The Committee also recommended that the mechanisms for receiving complaints from migrant workers be improved and generalized in all embassies and consulates.

Concerned about the situation of Egyptian migrant workers who were the victims of a "sponsorship" or kafalah system – designed to give the sponsor control over them and sometimes even to prevent them from returning to Egypt – the Committee recommended that Egypt encourage its embassies and consulates to provide assistance to those migrant workers, and that it endeavour to negotiate with the relevant countries of destination that such a system be abolished. The Committee also urged Egypt to adopt specific anti-trafficking legislation and step up its efforts to counter migrant-smuggling and trafficking in persons, especially women and children.

Members of the Committee

The members of the Committee are Francisco Alba (Mexico); José Serrano Brillantes (Philippines); Francisco Carrion-Mena (Ecuador); Ana Elizabeth Cubias Medina (El Salvador); Anamaría Dieguez Arévalo (Guatemala); Ahmed Hassan El-Borai (Egypt); Abdelhamid El Jamari (Morocco); Prasad Kariyawasam (Sri Lanka); Mehmet Sevim (Turkey); and Azad Taghizade (Azerbaijan).

Mr. Kariyawasam is the Chairperson. The Vice-Chairpersons are Mr. Brillantes, Ms. Cubias Medina and Mr. El Jamri. The Rapporteur is Mr. Alba.

For use of the information media; not an official record

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