COMMITTEE ON THE PROTECTION OF MIGRANT WORKERS OPENS TWENTY-FIRST SESSION

The Committee on the Protection of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families opened its twenty-first session this morning, hearing an address by June Ray, Chief of the Civil Society Section at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and adopting its agenda and programme of work. The Committee also heard from a representative of a non-governmental organization.

June Ray, Chief of the Civil Society Section at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that the inter-governmental process aimed at elaborating sustainable development goals for the period after 2015 continued in New York, but the existing drafts did not go far enough when it came to integrating migration in the post-2015 development agenda. At its session in June, the Human Rights Council had adopted a resolution on the promotion of the rights of migrants to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had submitted its report to the Council on the rights to challenge the lawfulness of detention, which also referred to the rights of migrant workers in irregular situations.

Francisco Carrion Mena, Chairperson of the Committee, stated that a lot of work of the Committee was connected to what was being done by civil society, whose role ought to be protected and promoted. Increasing the number of ratifications of the Convention by States was among the priorities. In that sense, expected ratifications by Brazil and South Africa, two major countries, would be very much welcome.

The Committee Members discussed ways of stepping up communication between the Committee and States parties. The Committee ought to find a better way to better communicate its work to the outside world and promote concepts related to migrant workers. Migrant workers themselves around the world ought to be better informed about what was being done to improve their conditions.

The next public session of the Committee will take place at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 2 September, when it will consider the initial report of Belize in the absence of the report.

Opening Statements

JUNE RAY, Chief of the Civil Society Section at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that the treaty body strengthening process had entered its implementation phase, and as of the September session the following year, the Committee would be provided with three additional days of plenary time. The Annual Meeting of Chairpersons in June had discussed the implementation which was taking place in three distinct areas: the simplified procedure, the alignment of methodologies for constructive dialogue with States parties, and a common format for short, focused and actionable concluding observations. There was now a momentum to improve even more the quality and efficiency of the system and its delivery. The Secretary-General was asked to report to the General Assembly every two years on progress achieved by the treaty bodies in that regard.

Regarding migrants rights and the post-2015 sustainable development agenda, Ms. Ray said that a revised Zero Draft by the General Assembly’s Open Working Group had been released on 30 June 2014. The seventh meeting of the Global Forum on Migration and Development held in Stockholm in May had underscored the role of migration in the post-2015 agenda. The Secretary-General had called on all countries to rally around the common goal of creating regular, safe and orderly channels of migration and to optimize the benefits of that phenomenon. The Global Migration Group Principals’ meeting had adopted a joint communique on migration and the post-2015 agenda. OHCHR’s policy was well known – all migration policies should align with human rights standards.

Ms. Ray said that at its twenty-sixth session, the Human Rights Council had adopted a resolution on the promotion of the rights of migrants to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. The Council had also held an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, who stressed that fighting labour exploitation of migrants by sanctioning exploitative employers would contribute greatly to reducing the size of the underground labour markets. The Council had extended the Special Rapporteur’s mandate for three years. The Rapporteur had visited Sri Lanka in May 2014. Ms. Ray informed that the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had submitted its report to the Council on the rights to challenge the lawfulness of detention, which also referred to the rights of migrant workers in irregular situations.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was launching a film and publication on migrants domestic workers in an irregular situation within the framework of the ILO’s Global Action Programme on Migrant Domestic Workers. The focus of the paper was on international migrants, and it aimed to provide guidance to States in fulfilling their obligations to govern borders in accordance with international human rights norms and other relevant standards. The one hundred and third session of the International Labour Conference, held in Geneva in May and June 2014, had adopted a legally binding Protocol on Forced Labour to address practices such as human trafficking, and to intensify efforts to eliminate contemporary forms of slavery. It was estimated that there were over 20 million people who were victims of forced labour worldwide, many of whom were migrants.

Statement by the Chairperson

FRANCISCO CARRIÓN MENA, Committee Chairperson, thanked Harumi Fuentes, who had been selected for a position with the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, after having successfully served with the Committee on Migrant Workers.

The Chairperson stated that a lot of work of the Committee was connected to what was being done by civil society, whose role ought to be protected and promoted. Increasing the number of ratifications of the Convention by States was among the priorities. In that sense, announced ratifications by Brazil and South Africa, two major countries, would carry immense significance. The Chairperson welcomed the participation of the Special Rapporteur in various multilateral events and conferences, as he was thus raising awareness on the issue of migrants.

There were terrible human rights situations involving migrants all over the world, including Mediterranean crossings and Central American children detained at United States’ borders. The Committee ought to do more to promote the issues and raise its profile globally.

The Chairperson informed about the meeting of treaty bodies Chairpersons in June, which had discussed the role of the Chairpersons in achieving goals enshrined in the General Assembly resolution on the effective functioning of the treaty body system. It had also dealt with the harmonization of the working methods of treaty bodies, such as the simplified reporting procedures, constructive dialogue with State parties and concluding observations. The Chairperson stressed that he saw no difficulty in the Committee on Migrant Workers fully applying the resolution. The Committee was way ahead of other committees.

A number of initiatives had been taken to promote the Convention. The Chairperson had delivered several public lectures in Ecuador and addressed the media on the work of the Convention, and underlined the importance of a large number of countries ratifying it. The topic was particularly acute now with the ongoing crisis with child migrants at the Mexican-United States border.

Discussion with Committee Members

An Expert raised the question of “actionable” concluding observations, and wondered whether it would be better if the Committee were to provide concrete, practical recommendations to States parties. Another Expert said that the leadership of the new High Commissioner for Human Rights Commission was needed in promoting the Convention and increasing the number of ratifications. The Committee would like to meet with the High Commissioner in order to express its position and encourage him to endorse the widest possible ratification of the Convention. Climate change was already causing a number of disruptions in various countries, and had a major effect on migration trends, an Expert said, and supported a meeting with the new High Commissioner at the earliest possible time.

Ms. Ray said that the Experts’ messages to both the outgoing and incoming High Commissioners would be promptly passed. The ratification issue was a shared priority. Migration as such was not a specific thematic priority for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, but was rather mainstreamed across other six priorities. Ms. Ray referred to a number of the Office’s guidelines on the engagement with civil society.

It was hoped that actionable concluding observations would be applied in this Committee as well. Efforts were also underway to intensify campaigns with international labour unions to promote ratifications of the Convention, especially in those countries which were close to ratifying it. South Africa was seriously considering it, and Brazil was also in the process, which could provide a momentum.

The issue of stepping up communication between the Committee and States parties was also raised. The Committee ought to find a better way to better communicate its work to the outside world and promote concepts related to migrant workers. Migrant workers themselves around the world ought to be better informed about what was being done to improve their conditions. A strategy could be adopted in that regard, and activities of individual Committee members should be promoted more actively.

Statement by Non-Governmental Organization

Global Migration Policy Associates stated that populations had circulated between Mauritania, Senegal and Mali for centuries, but recent economic developments had stimulated influx of new migrants into Mauritania. Most migrants living in Mauritania today were irregular, as the Government did not have the resources to regulate the labour market. The proportion of women migrant workers stood at 60 per cent, and they were often exposed to harsh working conditions and abuse. Local and international experts agreed that slavery continued to affect significant sections of Mauritania’s society. Since 2012, at least 7,000 migrants, mostly from Senegal and Guinea, had been arbitrarily detained. In Lesotho, as in the rest of southern Africa, animosity against Asian traders and migrants was on the rise, but the numbers of Chinese small business owners were reportedly high. Xenophobic sentiments had been spread through radio programmes, and the Government of Lesotho had shut down a number of foreign shops.


For use of the information media; not an official record

CMW14/005E