COMMITTEE ON PROTECTION OF RIGHTS OF MIGRANT WORKERS OPENS TWENTY-FOURTH SESSION

The Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families this morning opened its twenty-fourth session, hearing statements by a representative of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, members of the Committee, and civil society on the situation of migrant workers in Mauritania, whose report will be reviewed starting this afternoon.

Opening the meeting, Simon Walker, Chief of the Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Section, Human Rights Treaties Division, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, underlined that linking the 2030 Agenda to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families had the potential to provide increased accountability and strengthened coherence. He recalled that the High Commissioner, during the last session of the Council, had implored decision-makers to take swift action to establish effective and principled migration governance in line with international law. Notwithstanding resource constraints, the Office of the High Commissioner continued to work to support the Committee and to promote the ratification and the implementation of the Convention, liaising with civil society organizations and international trade unions.

Committee Members expressed appreciation over the support provided by the Office of the High Commissioner, but expressed concern about the lack of human resources dedicated to the task. They noted that the conceptual difference between “migrant workers” and “refugees” was becoming more and more blurry, and stressed that, although the Committee had to continue its regular treaty body work, the current refugee crisis was an “elephant in the room” that could not be ignored.

Three newly appointed Committee members made their solemn declaration.

The Committee then heard statements by a non-governmental organization and the national human rights institution of Mauritania on the situation of migrant workers in Mauritania, highlighting the lack of awareness-raising efforts, the slow process of regularization and obstacles to family reunification, and calling for enhanced international support and cooperation in that field. Speaking were Observatoire mauritanien des droits de l’homme and the National Human Rights Commission of Mauritania.

The reports of Lesotho, Senegal and Turkey will also be considered by the Committee this week, but there were no civil society representatives speaking on those countries.

The Committee will next meet in public this afternoon at 3 p.m., to start its consideration of the initial report of Mauritania (CMW/C/MRT/1).

Opening Statement

SIMON WALKER, Chief of the Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Section, Human Rights Treaties Division, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, brought the Committee’s attention to some developments in four main areas: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Human Rights Council and other mechanisms, migration-related activities of the Secretary-General and the General Assembly, and treaty body-strengthening. Starting with the 2030 Agenda, he underlined that treaty body recommendations which were directly relevant to Sustainable Development goals and targets should be an integral part of the High-Level Political Forum country review. The reporting guidelines of the Sustainable Development Goals accountability architecture should request States parties to include recommendations from human rights mechanisms. The Office was therefore upgrading the Universal Human Rights Index to link recommendations to Sustainable Development goals and targets. On the other hand, the President of the Economic and Social Council should communicate the outcome of the country reviews to international human rights mechanisms so that they could help reinforce the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. Linking the 2030 Agenda to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families had the potential to provide increased accountability and strengthened coherence and alignment among the various processes to assist States in delivering on their human rights obligations related to the rights of migrant workers and their families. He noted that at least 10 of the 169 targets included references to issues directly pertaining to international migration and migrant workers.

Moving on to relevant developments in the Human Rights Council, Mr. Walker recalled that the High Commissioner for Human Rights, during the last session of the Council, had implored decision-makers to take swift action to establish effective and principled migration governance in line with international human rights law, refugee law and humanitarian law. Also during the last session of the Council, the Deputy High Commissioner had provided a keynote address at a side-event highlighting the Office of the High Commissioner’s study on the situation of migrants in transit, stating that it was absolutely imperative to bring a human rights lens on responses to the current crisis. The Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants had also introduced a thematic report on recruitment practices among migrant workers on their impact on their human rights. In addition, the Special Rapporteur had issued a press statement calling on European Union leaders to halt the continuous repression of human rights of migrants. During the seventieth session of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General had convened a high-level meeting aimed at promoting a comprehensive approach to the refugee and migration crisis, as well as a side-event on strengthening cooperation on migration in the perspective of the 2030 Agenda. The General Assembly had adopted a resolution 70/147 entitled “Protection of migrants”, in which it called upon States to promote and protect the rights of all migrants.

Turning to treaty body strengthening, he noted that the Foreign Minister of Costa Rica had recently called on academic institutions worldwide to develop creative and innovative proposals in view of the General Assembly’s 2020 review of the treaty body system. Switzerland had supported this call, and the Geneva Academy had launched an independent research process. The Handbook for treaty body elections had been published, he said. The capacity of the Secretariat to service the Committee’s session was stretched due to an increasing workload and insufficient staffing, he regretted. Efforts had been made to reduce the number of hardcopies distributed with the aim to have paper smart sessions for all treaty bodies by 2017. Notwithstanding resource constraints, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights continued to work to support the Committee and to promote the ratification and the implementation of the Convention, liaising with civil society organizations and international trade unions. The High Commissioner had also engaged in bilateral meetings, including with European Union representatives, on issues relating to migration.

Comments by the Members of the Committee

JASMINKA DZUMHUR, Committee Member, had serious concerns that the crisis in Syria may be used to deprive migrant workers from human rights protection. She referred to countries trying to avoid their obligation to receive people and to register them.

PRASAD KARIYAWASAM, Committee Member, expressed his warm welcome to new Committee Members. He noted that although the Committee had to carry out its traditional work as a treaty body, the current migrant crisis was an “elephant in the room” that the Committee could not ignore. The Committee had to contribute to the United Nations’ efforts to discuss and address this situation, and to provide some answers. He encouraged the Committee to have a private meeting on this issue and to hold consultations with relevant stakeholders. He noted that the migrant crisis could not be avoided when the Committee would consider the report of Turkey.

KHEDIDJA LADJEL, Committee Member, said that the task of the Committee was to see how States parties were implementing the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, and to propose sustainable situations that enable those “people on the move” to settle. The Committee had to integrate other thematic issues to make proposals to improve the situation of persons fleeing conflict situations.

ABDELHAMID EL JAMRI, Committee Member, welcomed that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and other United Nations agencies were making efforts to address the current situation in the Mediterranean, where migrants and asylum seekers faced inhumane conditions. He also welcomed that the situation of migrants had been taken into account in the 2030 Agenda. He stressed the need for the Committee to receive additional support, including human resources, from the United Nations Secretariat in order to promote the Convention and better protect the rights of migrant workers and their families.

SALOME CASTELLANOS DELGADO, Committee Member, said that the Committee needed to call upon States parties and the international community to respond to the current crisis. She appealed to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to call upon the United Nations Secretariat for greater coordination and support to the work of the Committee.

JOSE BRILLANTES, Committee Member, noted that the distinction between “migrant workers” and “refugees” was becoming less and less clear. Some reflection was needed with regards to the implications of this on the work and mandate of the Committee.

Solemn Declaration from new Committee Members

JOSE BRILLANTES, Committee Chairperson, then invited Ms. Jasminka Dzumhur, Ms. Maria Landazuri De Mora and Mr. Can Unver to make a solemn declaration as newly elected Committee Members.

Adoption of the Agenda

The Committee then adopted its agenda for its twenty-fourth session.

Statements by a Non-Governmental Organization and a National Human Rights Institution on Mauritania

Observatoire mauritanien des droits de l’homme raised the Committee’s attention to the high number of Mauritanians living abroad, who required specific strategies to contribute to the country’s development by facilitating the transfer of their earnings. The right to family reunification of all migrants had been a priority for law-makers, but there was a lack of interpreters in welcome centres. The insufficient dissemination of the Convention, and the lack of human rights training for those dealing with migration issues in the country remained obstacles to the enjoyment of human rights by migrant workers. All migrants should be provided with work and residence permits, and there should be birth-registration units in all hospitals to ensure that all new borns, including from parents in an irregular situation, were registered. Measures were needed to address trafficking.

National Human Rights Commission of Mauritania presented its mandate in line with the Paris Principles. It welcomed efforts by the Mauritanian Government to welcome foreign migrants. Mauritania had ratified the main human rights treaties, and had adopted legislation to enable migrant workers and combat human trafficking. Despite efforts, migrants continued to face risks of trafficking. Unaccompanied minors had to be specifically protected. International cooperation was crucial in dealing with migration issues, and Mauritania had engaged with its European and African partners in that regard. The Commission then encouraged Mauritania to further disseminate information on the Convention.


Statements by Committee Members

Experts asked for detailed information on family reunification in Mauritania and noted that the price for residence permits was exorbitant in the country. Other questions pertained to retention and detention of irregular migrants in Mauritania. A Committee Member noted that there had been international cooperation and humanitarian assistance to improve Mauritania’s border control, and asked for information in that regard. Was the national human rights institution undertaking cooperation activities with other national human rights institutions in Mauritania’s neighbouring countries on migrant issues?

Responses by a Non-Governmental Organization and a National Human Rights Institution on Mauritania

Observatoire mauritanien des droits de l’homme said that the process of regularization of migrants, including in the context of family reunification, was very slow, and was made even slower by the lack of interpretation. Additional support and cooperation were needed. The authorities should open up other possibilities for irregular migrants to be deported directly to their countries of origin.

National Human Rights Commission of Mauritania said that Mauritania did not have detention centres specifically for migrants. The Commission had visited all detention centres in the country. Irregular migrants were sometimes placed under detention by the police, which was a violation of their rights. Residence permits should be made less expensive.



For use of the information media; not an official record

CMW16/002E