WUNRN
MIGRATION & YOUTH: CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES – NEW REPORT – YOUNG WOMEN MIGRANTS
December 16, 2014 - The publication offers a full agenda of policy and practical responses on the range of issues facing governments and societies: better data, human rights, social protection, gender, employment and education, remittances, local government, youth participation, and development policy. It looks ahead to emerging challenges of environmental and climate change displacement and provides timely perspective for the post-2015 United Nations development agenda. Two years in the making, it is the first publication to comprehensively address the multi-dimensional issues facing millions of young people who have crossed or are crossing borders in today’s increasingly mobile world. The key innovative message of the report is that youth migration can be transformed from challenge into opportunities.
Direct Link to Full 24-Page 2014 Report:
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002277/227720e.pdf
RESPECTING HUMAN RIGHTS, SOCIAL PROTECTION & GENDER
The second section of the report reviews
the manner in which human rights, social protection and gender intersect with
youth migration. The first chapter, Human Rights of Adolescents and Youth in
the Context of
Migration, was prepared
under the auspices of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights (OHCHR) with contributions by the National University of Lanús
(Argentina), the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, the
Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) and
UNICEF.14 The chapter describes how, despite an international framework designed to
protect and promote the rights of all individuals, and despite the specific
provisions of the CRC protecting those under the age of 18, adolescent and
youth migrants experience numerous human rights violations. The chapter
includes an in-depth look at the impacts of immigration-related detention and
restricted access to education on the rights, well-being and development of
undocumented adolescents and youth, highlighting specific challenges around
mental health and psychosocial development. The contribution concludes by
calling on the international community and national policy-makers and
stakeholders to adopt a rights based, age- and gender-sensitive, and
equity-focused approach to youth migration and development, stressing that the
special protections granted to children under international and national law
and policy should not automatically disappear when the child reaches 18 years.
The third chapter, Role and Relevance of Social
Protection,
prepared jointly by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNICEF
explores the social protection rights and needs of migrant adolescents
and youth. It highlights social protection measures
that could be offered to young migrants in countries of origin and destination
to ensure their access to essential services, health care, and a minimal
standard
of living. The chapter focuses particularly on
social security coverage, from which many young migrants are excluded due to
their migration status – or are subject to losing upon departure from their
country of origin or when they move from country to country. Facilitating
equitable access to social protection, including health care and/or insurance
for young migrants and their families, enhances their well-being and
development contributions. Overall, the chapter recommends incorporating
migrant youth into national social security systems.
Chapter 4: Adolescent and Young Women Migrants, written by Professor Susan
Martin of Georgetown University in consultation with UN Women, examines the
lives, needs and accomplishments of adolescent girls and young women affected
by migration. It describes the causes and forms of their migration, gaps in law
and policy, and three areas of particular importance in understandingthe impact
of migration on gender roles and on young women: education, health and
employment. The differences and inequities that exist in both origin and
destination countries, which may be reinforced or weakened by economic,
political and social institutions. Equality for adolescent and young women
migrants must be considered in policy and practice through the development of
gender-responsive measures, laws and
practices
to protect their rights.
GENDER
EQUALITY MUST BE ACHIEVED IN POLICY & PRACTICE AFFECTING YOUNG WOMEN
MIGRANTS
The achievement of gender equality is a fundamental
condition for the full enjoyment of human rights by young women and men. Young
women are an important part of the migration phenomenon, and often face
multiple forms of discrimination—as women, young people and migrants, as well
as on ethnic or racial grounds. Migration is an opportunity and enriching
experience for many young women. However, for others, it is a source of
vulnerability, violence and disruption. Specific policies are required to
maximize beneficial aspects of migration for young women while minimizing
potential harms. Key areas for attention are detailed throughout this report:
collecting and disseminating sex- and age-disaggregated data; promoting their
economic and social empowerment; ensuring protection of the rights, safety and
security of young female migrants in legislation, administration and practice;
enabling active participation in decisions affecting them and in youth and
civil society organisations; increasing access to primary and reproductive
health care services; increasing access to decent work, education and skills
training; providing information about the migration experience and their
rights; ensuring that young women migrants have and retain documents proving
their identity and age; and preventing trafficking while ensuring protection of
victims. It is crucial to recognize and promote the role and contribution of
female migrants in the development process as agents of change: in their lives,
in the lives of their families, and in societies of origin, transit and
destination……..