WUNRN
CALL FOR SIGNATURES FOR NGO
STATEMENT
HUMAN RIGHT TO PEACE & MIGRATION
UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL - 11th
SESSION - JUNE 2009
For Immediate Signature Attention, Please
WUNRN NOTES GENDER DIMENSIONS OF
STATEMENT
WOMEN
& MIGRATION - CHILDREN - PEACE
_____________________________________________________________________
Contact details of (main) NGO:
NGO
Name: Spanish Society for International Human Rights Law (SSIHRL)
Name
of main contact person: David Fernández Puyana and Alfred de Zayas
Phone
number: 0033450421917 (
E-mail:
david.fernandez-puyana@orange.fr, zayas@bluewin.ch
Language(s): ENGLISH
AND SPANISH
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
Eleventh session
Joint
written statement submitted by (PROVISIONAL LIST) The International Alliance of Women
(IAW), the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the World
Council of Churches (CCIA/WCC), Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University
(BKWSU), the International Association of Soldiers for Peace, Zonta
International, International the Federation of Settlements and Neighbourhood
Centres (IFS), the International Council Of Women (ICW-CIF), the International Women's Tribune Centre, the
International Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPWI), the
International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations (ISMUN), the
International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF), Soroptimist
International (SI), the World Movement of Mothers, the Asian Legal Resource
Centre (ALRC), the Women’s Federation for World Peace International (WFWPI),
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, World Vision International
(WVI), Buddha’s Light International Association, the International Council on
Social Welfare (ICSW), the World Young Women’s Christian Association (World
YWCA), the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), non-governmental
organizations with general consultative status
Conscience
and Peace Tax International (CPTI), Dominicans for Justice and Peace (Order of
Preachers), the Federación de Asociaciones de Defensa y Promoción de los
Derechos Humanos (España), Interfaith International, Pax Romana (International
the Catholic Movement for Intellectual and Cultural Affairs and the
International Movement of Catholic Students), Temple of Understanding (TOU),
the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), the Women’s
World Summit Foundation (WWSF), Ithe nternational Society for Human Rights
(ISHR), the International Federation of University Women (IFUW), Femmes Africa
Solidarité (FAS), the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the Worldwide
Organization for Women (WOW), the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC), the
Union of Arab Jurists, Rencontre Africaine pour la Defense des Droits de
l’Homme (RADDHO), the Foundation for the Refugee Education Trust (RET),
International Bridges to Justice (IBJ), the Inter-African Committee on
Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (IAC), the
American Association of Jurists (AAJ), the Lassalle-Institut, the UNESCO Centre
of Catalonia, the Anti-Racism Information Service (ARIS), the Colombian
Commission of Jurists (CCJ), the Pan Pacific and South East Asia Women’s
Association (PPSEAWA), the Ius Primi Viri International Association (IPV), the
Permanent Assembly for Human Rights (APDH), the International Movement for
Fraternal Union Among Races and Peoples (UFER), the Women's International
Zionist Organization (WIZO), the International Federation of Women Lawyers
(FIDA), the International Federation of Women in Legal Careers (FIFCJ), the
Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW), the International Association
for Women's Mental Health (IAWMH), the European Union of Women (EUW), the
European Women’s Lobby, the International Women’s Year Liaison Group (IWYLG),
the African Services Committee, Inc., the International Federation of Family
Associations of Missing Persons from Armed Conflict (IFFAMPAC), the Institute
of International Social Development, African Action on AIDS, the International
Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), the Lama Gangchen World Peace
Foundation (LGWPF), the Pax Christi International, International Catholic Peace
Movement, the Tandem Project, the Al-Hakim Foundation, Canadian Voice of Women
for Peace (VOW), the Organization for Defending Victims of Violence (ODVV),
Solar Cookers International (SCI), the Medical Women’s International
Association (MWIA), the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH), the United
States Federation for Middle East Peace, the Susila Dharma International
Association, Network Women in Development Europe, the Nord -Sud XXI, General
Arab Women Federation, the United Towns Agency for North-South Cooperation, the
World Association for the School as an Instrument of Peace, the International
Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the
Latin American Committee for the Defense of Women’s Rights (CLADEM), the
African Women’s Association (AWA), the United Nations Association of Spain
(ANUE), Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic, the
International Forum for Child Welfare, the BADIL Resource Center for
Palestinian Residence and Refugee Rights, the Virginia Gildersleeve
International Fund, the African Commission on Health and Human Rights
Promoters, the Arab Lawyers Union, the General Federation of Iraqi Women, the
Wittenberg Center for Alternative Resources, the International Federation of
Social Workers (IFSW), the International Association of Peace Messenger Cities
(IAPMC), the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace
(IIFWP), the Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, Peace Boat, Prison
Fellowship International (PFI), MYOCHIKAI (Arigatou Foundation), the
International Association of Charities (AIC), the National Council of Women of
Great Britain (NCWGB), the Indian Movement Tupaj Amaru (MITA), the Peter Hesse
Stiftung Foundation, The Salvation Army, Action Internationale pour la Paix et
Developpement dans la Region des Grands Lacs (AIPD), the Federation for Peace
and Conciliation (FPC), the National Council of Women of the United States of
America, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), the Comite
International pour le Respect et l’Application de la Charte Africaine des
Droits de l’Homme et des Peuples (CIRAC), the World for the World Organisation
(WFWO), Education International (EI), the Universal Esperanto Association, the
National Council of German Women’s Organisations, Associated Country Women of
the World (ACWW), International Grail, the Council of American Overseas
Research Centres, ICVolunteers (ICV), the International Association for the
Defence of Religious Liberty (AIDLR), Zenab for Women in Development, The
Grail, non-governmental organizations with special consultative status,
The
Institute for Planetary Synthesis (IPS), the International Peace Bureau (IPB),
the UNESCO Centre for the Basque Country (UNESCO ETXEA), the 3HO Foundation
(Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization), the Dzeno Association, the Country Women
Association of Nigeria (COWAN), the International Movement against all Forms of
Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), the Association Nigeriènne des Scouts de
l’Environnment (ANSEN), the International Peace Research Association (IPRA),
the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG), the Asia
Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD), the International Progress
Organization (IPO), non-governmental organizations on the Roster
Title:
The
Human Right to Peace and Migration
Text:
I
The Spanish Society for
International Human Rights Law (SSIHRL) welcomed on 30 October 2006 the adoption of the Luarca Declaration on the Human Right to
Peace. It was drafted by a Committee of independent experts and it was the
culmination of a process of extensive consultations with Spanish civil society,
with the support of the Catalonian Agency for Cooperation to Development.
Following the adoption of the
Luarca Declaration, the SSIHRL has continued in all regions of the world the
process of consultations with civil society through the organization of
conferences and expert meetings on the human right to peace[1][1]. In 2010 the SSIHRL will call for a World
NGO Conference to analyze and incorporate inputs received from international
civil society and to adopt the final text of the Universal Declaration on the Human
Right to Peace
which will be submitted to the HR Council, urging its Member States to initiate
the official codification of the human right to peace.
On 15 March 2007 the Luarca Declaration on the Human Right to
Peace was presented to the fourth session of the Human Rights Council in an
oral statement delivered by UNESCO Etxea on behalf of SSIHRL. Since then
several parallel meetings have taken place at the Palais des Nations in
II
According
to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), there are currently more
than 200 million migrant workers in the world. A third part live in Europe,
being slightly below the figure of those living in Asia and
The
present global crisis has increased the victims of famine and extreme poverty
which has caused a parallel increase in population displacement and mass
migration to safer regions, either within their own country (IDPs) or outside
(mass exodus, international migration, refugees). These massive population
movements affect social peace of the country in which they occur, or may
endanger international peace and security (international migration).
Migration and peace are thus closely linked. The international community
affirmed in 1994 that “poverty and environmental degradation, combined with the
absence of peace and security, human rights violations and the varying degrees
of development of judicial and democratic institutions are all factors
affecting international migration”[3][3]. Moreover, it also indicated in
1995 that social development is also clearly linked to the development of
peace, freedom, stability and security, both nationally and internationally[4][4].
Displaced persons are a vulnerable group that suffers from massive
violations of their human rights. In situations of extreme poverty and social
exclusion, they live in slums around the urban areas of developing countries
without access to their most basic needs, such as food, drinking water,
sanitation, education, health and work. Many
people who decide to undertake a migration die in the effort, or are
rejected by the immigration and security policies of host countries. If, in the
best case, they settle in developed countries, often suffer social
marginalization, discrimination and sexual or labour exploitation, particularly
if they are women or children. This structural violence is incompatible with
peace.
The emerging international migration law should be built on two
principles recognized to all human beings: the right to emigrate and the
principle of non discrimination.
Article 8 of the Luarca Declaration on the Human Right to Peace
addresses the right to migrate in these terms:
1. Everyone has
the right to emigrate and to settle peaceably, and also to return to his/her
country of origin. No foreigner may be expelled without the proper guarantees
provided for in International law and in accordance with the principle of non refoulement.
2. In particular,
everyone has the right to emigrate if his right to security of person or his
right to live in a secure and healthy environment (…)
3. Everyone has
the right to participate, individually or in a group, in the public affairs of
the country in which he/she has his/her habitual residence.
4. Every person
or group has the right to the establishment of specific mechanisms and
institutions for participation which ensure the free and public expression of
his/their individual and collective concerns and claims.
Equality before the law and non discrimination in the enjoyment of
human rights are structural principles of international human rights law which
reaffirm the principle of dignity of human beings and build the international
human rights law system[5][5]. The Inter American
Court of Human Rights stated that the latter principles are norms of “ius
cogens on which are based the whole legal national and international order and
that permeate the entire law”[6][6].
The International
Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Member of
Their Families of 1990 reiterates the principle of non discrimination and
respect of all rights to migrant workers and their families (Art. 7). Part III
of the Convention recognizes the rights to be granted to all migrant regardless
of that they have a regular or irregular status in the host country. The
Convention grants them a broad range of civil, political, economic, social and
cultural rights[7][7].
The principle
of non-discrimination against immigrants should be enforced by those State
Parties that have ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights of 1966[8][8]. Although arts. 2.1 and 26 of this
latter international treaty does not expressly prohibit discriminatory measures
against a person who may be a migrant worker (with or without papers), the
clause contained in fine of article 26 (the prohibition of
discrimination on "other status") is so wide and open that certainly
includes the status of "immigrant worker"[9][9].
Moreover,
although article 1.2 of the International Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Racial Discrimination of 1965[10][10] does not make distinctions between “citizens
and non citizens”, its committee has clarified that the difference in treatment
based on citizenship or immigration status will constitute discrimination only
if the “criteria for such differentiation, judged in light of the objectives
and purposes of the Convention, does not achieve a legitimate objective and is
not proportional"[11][11]. The Inter American Court of Human Rights added that
"the migratory status of a person cannot constitute a justification for
depriving him/her of the enjoyment and exercise of their human rights,
including those related to labour"[12][12].
Women
and children constitute
two groups particularly vulnerable to human rights violations when they become
migrants. The Fourth World Conference on Women of 1995 examined the
situation of migrant women and called upon States to recognize their
vulnerability as a consequence of violence and other forms of abuses[13][13]. The Commission on Human Rights indicated
that both origin and destination countries should take appropriate legal
measures against intermediaries that deliberately promote the clandestine
movement of workers. According to this human rights body, intermediaries not
only exploit women migrant workers but also violate their human dignity[14][14]. The General Assembly recalled that
States should promote and safeguard human rights and fundamental freedoms of
all migrants in accordance with international human rights law, whatever their
immigration status, especially those of women and children[15][15].
The former Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants stressed
the problem of violence against women migrant workers due to their
double marginalization as women and as migrants[16][16]. There exist a high number of women
that are obliged to cross the border and travel long distances to engage in
poorly paid work at home. It follows that they have a high risk of suffering
situations of isolation and subordination, including physical or psychological
violence. The kinds of abuse and violence suffered by women migrant workers
include the withholding of their wages, acts of physical and sexual violence,
undernourishment, the seizure of their passports, and the lack of medical and
health care, among other abuses[17][17].
The Statistical Office of the International Labour Organisation noted in
2004 that there were 218 million children in situations of child labour, of
which 126 million performed hazardous work[18][18]. Many of them had left school as a
result of emigration. The main factor behind the migration of child labour is
poverty and family destitution. Because of their inexperience and age, children
are taken on for badly paid and menial jobs, jobs where they are particularly
vulnerable to exploitation in the workplace, manual jobs and work in factories,
and even sexual exploitation[19][19].
To combat trafficking in persons, especially women and children, the
current Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants[20][20] appealed States to ratify and implement
the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons
Especially Women and Children[21][21].
According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, States
are obliged not only to suppress and punish any act that violates the dignity
of children, but also to prepare the child for responsible life in a free
society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes,
and friendship among all peoples[22][22].
The outcome document of the Durban Review Conference, adopted on
24 April 2009, urged States to adopt a comprehensive and balanced approach to
migration, “through the international dialogue on migration, by developing real
partnerships between countries of origin, transit and destination, and by
exploring all possible synergies between the management of migration and the
promotion of development, while fully taking into account the human rights of
migrants” (paragraph 77)
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Human
Rights Council should promote the right to migrate as part of the human
right to peace, which includes four rights, all of them essential to the
effective implementation of the human right to peace: the right not to migrate
if conditions in the country of origin provide a sufficient degree of
development; the right to emigrate if, despite everything, the person chooses
freely to emigrate; the right to settle peacefully in the territory of another
State; and the right to return to the State of origin.
Migrants
and their families
are human beings who are entitled to inalienable rights that should be
protected from the perspective of social justice and equity, non-discrimination
and gender equality, respect for cultural diversity, linguistic rights,
solidarity, peace and friendly relations among all nations, races,
ethnicities or religions.
All
States should urgently ratify the International Convention on the Protection
of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Member of Their Families as a
means to eliminate the illegal movement and transit of migrant workers and to
ensure the protection of their minimum human rights.
Member States should be aware of the existing links between efforts to combat racism, racial discrimination
and xenophobia to which migrants are subjected, and the construction of
democratic, interactive and egalitarian multiculturalism,
as well as the promotion of dialogue
among cultures, civilizations and religions, as a means to achieve the human right to peace and to combat
racial and religious intolerance.
States should respect the principle of non discrimination against
migrants, as stated in the two International Covenants on Human Rights, the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Protection of the Rights
of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, Conventions No. 143 and
151 of the ILO on migrant workers, ILO Convention concerning Migration for
Employment, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
and the outcome of the Durban Review Conference. These treaties oblige States
parties to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its
jurisdiction the rights recognized in these treaties, reaffirming in this way
the principle of equality and non discrimination.
States should pay particular attention to those forms of discrimination
against women migrant workers, according to the Beijing Declaration and
Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995; to promote
women participation at all levels of
decision-making on peace and security
issues (resolution 1325 of the Security Council); and to foster the role of the
state in the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms
of all migrant women.
Finally, States should assume their obligations regarding to the
suppression and punishment of trafficking of women and children migrants, as
well as labour and sexual exploitation of women and child migrants.
================================================================
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[1][1] Conferences and expert meetings have
already taken place in the following places: Bilbao and Geneva (November 2006);
Mexico (December 2006); Bogotá, Barcelona and Addis Ababa (March 2007); Caracas
and Santo Domingo (April 2007); Morelia (Mexico, 12 May 2007), Bogotá (12 May
2007), Oviedo and Santa Fe (New Mexico, USA, 16-17 May 2007); Washington (14
June 2007) , Nairobi (15 June 2007), Geneva (28 June 2007); Feldkirch (Austria,
31 August 2007); Geneva (11, 12 and 21 September 2007), Luarca (28 September
2007); Madrid (23 October 2007); Monterrey (1st November 2007), Mexico DF,
Geneva, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Zaragoza and Navía, Asturias (December 2007);
on the occasion of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, New York (February
2008); Geneva (March 2008); Parliament of Catalonia, Barcelona, Geneva, Dakar,
Madrid and Valencia (April 2008); Rome and Gwangju, Republic of Korea (May
2008); Geneva and Bilbao (June 2008); Cartagena and Geneva (July 2008); Paris,
Geneva and Montevideo (September 2008); Oviedo, Turin, New York and Basque
Parliament, Vitoria (October 2008); La Plata and Buenos Aires, Argentina, and
Bosco Marengo, Italy (November 2008); Luxembourg, Geneva and Barcelona
(December 2008); Geneva and Barcelona (January 2009); Yaoundé, Cameroon
(February 2009); Figaredo, Asturias, Geneva and New York (March 2009),
Johannesburg, Seville, Madrid, Santiago de Compostela and Bangkok (April 2009),
Trevi, Italy, Mexico and Seville (May 2009). For more information on these
meetings, please see http://www.aedidh.org
[2][2]On 15 March 2007 both the
SSIHRL and the International Society of Human Rights (Frankfurt) convened an
open Information Meeting on the Luarca Declaration; on 16 March 2007,
the SSIHRL organized a Technical Meeting with NGO and human rights
experts with a view to building a common strategy for a world-wide campaign on
the human right to peace; 11 June 2007, both UNESCO Etxea and SSIHR organized
an additional parallel meeting on the relationship between peace and solidarity
rights; on 12 September 2007, the SSIHRL in collaboration with the UNESCO Liaison
Office in Geneva organised a Roundtable on the legal content of the human right
to peace; on 21 September 2007, the SSIHRL organised the commemoration of the
International Day of Peace in the Council Chamber of the Palais de Nations; on
7 March 2008, the SSIHRL, the International Society of Human Rights (Frankfurt)
and UNESCO Etxea organised a Roundtable on the relationship between extreme
poverty and the human right to peace; on 4 June 2008, the SSIHRL and UNESCO
Etxea organised a Roundtable on the right to education on peace and human
rights; on 12 September 2008, the SSIHRL and UNESCO Etxea organised a
Roundtable on the human right to peace and indigenous peoples; on 19 September
2008, the SSIHRL, UNESCO Etxea and the NGO Liaison Office of UNOG organised the
commemoration of the International Day of Peace in the Council Chamber of the
Palais de Nations
[3][3] International
Conference on Population and Development, A/CONF.171/13,
[4][4] Program
of Action of the World
[5][5] VILLÁN DURÁN,
C., Curso de Derecho internacional de los derechos humanos, Madrid,
Trotta, 2002 (reimpresión: 2006), 1028 p., at
96
[6][6] Corte IDH:
“Condición jurídica y derechos de los migrantes indocumentados”. Opinión
Consultiva OC-18/03 de 17 de septiembre de 2003. Serie A No. 18, párr. 101
[7][7] Arts. 8-35 of the Convention. The Convention has been ratified by 39
States
[8][8] Ratified by 162 States
[9][9] VILLÁN DURÁN, C., “Los
derechos humanos y la inmigración en el marco de las Naciones Unidas”, in HIDALGO TUÑÓN
(A.) y GARCÍA FERNÁNDEZ (R.) (coordinadores), Ética, pluralismo y flujos
migratorios en la Europa de los 25.
[10][10] Ratified by 173
States
[11][11] CERD General Recommendation XXX (2005) relating to
discrimination against non-citizens. Vid. doc. HI/GEN/1/Rev.9 (Vol. II),
of 27 May 2008.
[12][12] Consultative
Opinion OC-18/03, of 17 de September 2003, on the legal status and the rights
of undocumented migrants, cit., paras. 134
y 173, item 8 (opinion)
[13][13] Beijing
Declaratión and Platform of Action, Forth World Conference on Women,
[14][14] Human Rights
Commission Resolution 2002/58, on violence against women migrant workers,
E/2002/23- E/CN.4/2002/200,
[15][15] “Protection of
migrant workers”, A/Res/60/169,
[16][16] Report submitted
by the Special Rapporteur, Mrs. Gabriela Rodríguez Pizarro, according to Human
Rights Commission resolution 1999/44, on human rights of migrants
E/CN.4/2000/82, 6 January 2000, paras. 55-56
[17][17]Report submitted by
the Special Rapporteur, Mrs. Gabriela Rodríguez Pizarro, supra, para. 63
[18][18] International
Labour Organization, Child Labour Elimination: a goal that can be reached,
global report submitted according to the follow up of ILO Declaration on
Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
2006, Geneva, 2006, p. 11
[19][19] Report submitted
by the Special Rapporteur, Mrs. Gabriela Rodríguez Pizarro, supra, para.
69
[20][20] Report of Mr.
Jorge Bustamante, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants,
A/HRC/7/12,
[21][21] The Protocol to
Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking of Persons Especially Women and
Children that supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational
Crime, made in
[22][22] 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by 193 States