WUNRN
European Parliament
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION ON UNDOCUMENTED WOMEN
MIGRANTS IN THE EU
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P7-TA-2014-0068+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN
|
Texts adopted |
|||||
|
Tuesday, 4 February 2014 - Strasbourg |
Provisional
edition |
||||
|
UNDOCUMENTED WOMEN MIGRANTS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION |
|
|
|
|
The European
Parliament , – having
regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child,
especially Articles 24 and 28 thereof, – having
regard to the 1979 UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), – having
regard to the report of the UN Secretary-General to the UN General Assembly
of 23 July 2013 entitled ‘Violence against women migrant workers’, – having
regard to Article 12 of the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, – having
regard to General Recommendation No 26 of the UN Committee on the Elimination
of Discrimination against Women of 5 December 2008 on women migrant workers, – having
regard to the UN International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of
All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, – having
regard to General Comment No 2 of the UN Committee on Migrant Workers on the
Rights of Migrant Workers in an Irregular Situation and Members of their
Families, – having
regard to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), – having
regard to the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating
Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, – having
regard to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention Concerning
Decent Work for Domestic Workers, – having
regard to the interpretation of Articles 13 and 17 of the European Social
Charter by the European Committee of Social Rights, – having
regard to Articles 79, 153 and 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the
European Union, – having
regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, especially
Articles 1, 14, 31, 35 and 47 thereof, – having
regard to the ‘Stockholm Programme – An open and secure Europe serving and
protecting citizens’(1) , – having
regard to Council Directive 2002/90/EC of 28 November 2002 defining the
facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and residence(2) , – having
regard to Directive 2009/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 18 June 2009 providing for minimum standards on sanctions and measures
against employers of illegally staying third-country nationals(3) , – having
regard to Directive 2008/115/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of
16 December 2008 on common standards and procedures in Member States for
returning illegally staying third-country nationals(4) , – having
regard to Council Directive 2004/81/EC of 29 April 2004 on the residence
permit issued to third-country nationals who are victims of trafficking in
human beings or who have been the subject of an action to facilitate illegal
immigration, who cooperate with the competent authorities(5) , – having
regard to the 2011 report of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights
entitled Fundamental rights of migrants in an irregular situation in
the European Union , – having
regard to the 2012 guidelines issued by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights
entitled ‘Apprehension of migrants in an irregular situation – fundamental
rights considerations’, – having
regard to the Clandestino European research project and the Undocumented
Worker Transitions project, both funded by the Commission under the Sixth
Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development, – having
regard to the Commission communication of 17 June 2013 entitled ‘4th Annual
Report on Immigration and Asylum (2012)’ (COM(2013)0422), – having
regard to its resolution of 8 March 2011 on reducing health inequalities in
the EU(6) , – having
regard to its resolution of 4 July 2013 entitled ‘Impact of the crisis on
access to care for vulnerable groups’(7) , – having
regard to Rule 48 of its Rules of Procedure, – having
regard to the report of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality
and the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (A7-0001/2014), A. whereas
the term ‘undocumented migrant’ is defined as a third-country national whose
presence on the territory of a Member State does not fulfil or no longer
fulfils the conditions of entry as set out in Article 5 of the Schengen
Borders Code or other conditions for entry, stay or residence in that Member
State(8) and whose detection by the immigration
authorities would lead to a return decision or an expulsion; B. whereas
the complex circumstances brought about by wars and exacerbated by worldwide
humanitarian crises are contributing to the growth in refugee flows, which
include large numbers of undocumented women and children; C. whereas
a Member State has the right to decide on its own immigration policies;
whereas, however, immigrants’ fundamental rights must be protected and
guaranteed in accordance with EU and international law, by which Member
States are bound; D. whereas
undocumented migrants often lack financial resources, which places them at
risk of malnutrition and deteriorating health, and means that they have to
seek unacceptable solutions to secure the means of subsistence; whereas,
furthermore, women are often accompanied by children for whom they must care,
which acts as an additional spur to their seeking out possible ways of
subsisting and surviving; E. whereas
on account of their legal status, undocumented migrants are frequently denied
access to decent housing, basic and emergency healthcare services, and
schooling; whereas their undocumented legal status prevents them from being
protected against labour exploitation in the workplace or from physical and
mental abuse; whereas that legal status does not allow them to seek access to
justice; F. whereas
undocumented women migrants and their dependants are particularly vulnerable
to the risks arising from their legal status, as they are exposed to a
greater extent than men to the possibility of physical, sexual and mental
abuse, poor working conditions, labour exploitation by employers and double
discrimination based on both race and gender; G. whereas
undocumented women migrants may be particularly vulnerable to traffickers and
may subsequently become victims of trafficking; H. whereas
undocumented migrants have limited access to social housing and remain
dependent on the private housing market; whereas undocumented women migrants
are at greatest risk of abuse in the form of physical or sexual violence
perpetrated by private landlords; I. whereas
undocumented women migrants are more likely to suffer violence and abuse,
including sexual abuse, and are liable to fall prey to sexual exploitation
and to trafficking in human beings in general; whereas access to state-run
women’s shelters is subject to the requirement for a legal form of ID or a
residence permit and whereas victims consequently have no choice but to
remain in an abusive situation or flee to the streets; whereas they risk
deportation if they contact the police; J. whereas
gender stereotypes are more deeply rooted in immigrant communities and
migrant women are more often victims of the various types of violence against
women, especially forced marriages, female genital mutilation, so-called ‘honour
crimes’, ill-treatment in close relationships, sexual harassment in the
workplace and even trafficking and sexual exploitation; K. whereas
Member States differ greatly in the level of access to healthcare services
they grant to irregular migrants and the conditions they impose on healthcare
providers as regards the reporting or otherwise of undocumented migrants; L. whereas
the urgent healthcare needs of undocumented women throughout their lives
place them at disproportionate risk of receiving extremely high bills for
hospital care in countries where they are ineligible for subsidised care;
whereas the fear of receiving such bills leads a number of undocumented women
to give birth at home without medical support; M. whereas
access to the most basic healthcare services, such as emergency care, is
severely limited, if not impossible, for undocumented migrants on account of
the identification requirement, the high price of treatment and the fear of
being detected and reported to the authorities; whereas undocumented women
migrants are especially at risk, since they are not provided with
gender-specific care such as antenatal, natal and postnatal services; whereas
some undocumented migrants are not even aware of their health entitlements in
the country of destination; N. whereas
the fear of being detected and reported to the authorities effectively bars
undocumented women migrants from seeking help in abusive situations, even
from NGOs specialising in legal advice for immigrants; whereas, consequently,
these migrants are effectively deprived of knowing their rights and having
them guaranteed; whereas, for the same reasons, it is difficult for civil
society organisations to offer help and support; O. whereas
the prostitution markets and industry in Europe feed to a large extent on the
vulnerability of migrant women and girls, and whereas many women in
prostitution are undocumented, which adds to the abuse and vulnerability
already inherent in the prostitution industry; P. whereas
migrant children, including girls, from undocumented families are prevented
from going to school owing to fear of detection and the inability to provide
official documents for enrolment; whereas undocumented adolescent girls face
significant barriers to access to higher/tertiary education and training; Q. whereas
the increased demand for workers in the domestic and care sectors is
attracting a large number of women migrants, many of whom are undocumented;
whereas the undocumented women working in this sector are most vulnerable to
low pay, mental abuse, withholding of wages and passports and sometimes even
physical abuse at the hands of their employers; whereas undocumented women
are unlikely to seek redress in court; R. whereas
employed undocumented migrant women have hardly any remedies available for
claiming fair working conditions and wages, owing to their economic and
social isolation, ignorance of their basic rights and fear of deportation; S. whereas
undocumented migrants are in a situation of legal limbo(9) ; T. whereas
undocumented women migrants are especially vulnerable to physical, mental and
sexual abuse at the time of arrest and in detention centres; Recommendations 1. Recalls
that the need to protect the fundamental rights of undocumented migrants has
been repeatedly underlined by international organisations such as the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and in UN international human
rights instruments and EU law; refers, in this connection,
to the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence
against Women and Domestic Violence, which prohibits discrimination based on
sexual orientation, gender identity, or migrant or refugee or other status; 2. Points
out that immigration policy and the management of migratory flows are the
common and joint responsibility of the Member States; 3. Highlights
that lesbian, bisexual and transsexual immigrants without legal documents are
the victims of double discrimination, and that their fragile condition as
foreigners without papers adds to their complicated situation; 4. Emphasises
that immigration is a very topical issue and that a common legal framework on
migration policies is needed in order to protect migrants and potential
victims, especially women and children, who are vulnerable to various forms
of organised crime in the context of migration and human trafficking; 5. Condemns
the fact that many migrant women are misled in their countries of origin with
promises of employment contracts in developed countries, and that some are
even kidnapped to be sexually exploited by organised crime and human
trafficking networks; calls on the Member States to step up their efforts to
combat these abusive and inhuman practices; 6. Encourages
the Member States to apply the Facilitation Directive in a manner that does
not curtail the possibility of undocumented migrants renting housing on the
free market, in order to reduce the risk of exploitative or abusive
situations; 7. Recalls
Article 8 of the ECHR concerning respect for a person’s physical integrity,
and therefore encourages the Member States to waive, for undocumented
migrants in the most vulnerable situations, the requirement to provide
documentation in order to access state-run shelters, with particular
consideration for the special needs of pregnant women, women with young
children and women caring for others; 8. Insists
that account be taken of the particular vulnerability of people with special
needs, such as children and adolescents, the elderly, the disabled, the
illiterate, members of minorities, immigrants persecuted in their countries
of origin for their beliefs, sexual orientation, physical characteristics,
etc., and female victims of gender violence; 9. Points
out that the right to health is a fundamental human right and therefore
encourages the Member States to delink health policies from immigration
control, and consequently to refrain from imposing on healthcare practitioners
the duty to report undocumented migrants; also encourages the Member State to
ensure the provision of appropriate care and assistance geared to
gender-specific needs; similarly, encourages the Member States to provide
special training on gender issues to officials dealing with undocumented
women migrants, and to refrain from requiring schools to report attending
children of undocumented migrants; 10. Encourages
the Member States to provide undocumented women with proper psychological,
health and legal support; 11. Recalls
that the rights set out in the Victims Directive are not conditional on the
victim’s residence status(10) ; strongly encourages the Member States,
therefore, to uncouple the prosecution of violence against undocumented women
migrants from immigration control so that victims can safely report crimes; 12. Condemns
all forms of violence, human trafficking, abuse and discrimination against
undocumented women; stresses the need to provide access to the help on offer
in such situations, without any need to fear that this will directly result
in measures to terminate residence; 13. Calls
for the implementation of ILO Convention No 29 on forced labour; calls for
consideration to be given to the special situation of women involved in
forced labour – encompassing not just forced prostitution, but all
involuntary work, including in the domestic sphere – and for protection to be
given to the undocumented migrant women concerned; 14. Calls
on the Member States to take the requisite steps to prevent the proliferation
of prostitution and forced labour among women migrants; 15. Calls
on the Member States to ensure the correct implementation of the safeguard
contained in Article 6 of the Employer Sanctions Directive, which requires
the Member States to make available mechanisms enabling undocumented migrant
workers to lodge claims against an employer for any remuneration due; calls
on the Member States, NGOs and all other civil society organisations working
with undocumented migrants to run awareness campaigns informing undocumented
migrants of this right; 16. Calls
on the Member States to put an end to discriminatory practices, to combat
undeclared work and labour exploitation, inter alia by means of labour
inspections and allow access to basic health services; 17. Calls
on the Member States to establish suitable training courses, for their police
forces and other state services that may be asked to deal with undocumented
migrant women, on the gender violence and sexual exploitation to which these
women can fall victim; 18. Strongly
recommends that the Commission, as part of a future revision of the Employer
Sanctions Directive, introduce the possibility of mechanisms enabling
irregular migrants to lodge anonymous formal complaints against an abusive
employer; 19. Urges
all the Member States to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on
Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (the
Istanbul Convention) and to apply its provisions correctly, particularly
Article 59 thereof, which clearly states that the Parties should take the
necessary measures to suspend expulsion proceedings and/or to grant an
autonomous residence permit in the event of a dissolution of marriage to
those women migrants whose residence status depends on their spouse; 20. Recommends
that the Member States look for means of acknowledging the value of the work
done by women who provide worthwhile services and contribute to the
functioning of the host society; 21. Calls
on the Member States to ensure that all migrant women, including undocumented
migrant women, who have been victims of abuse or gender-based violence,
including migrant women exploited in the prostitution industry, are provided
with protection and support and considered to have particular reasons to be
granted asylum or residence permits on humanitarian grounds; 22. Calls
on the Member States to implement the Returns Directive fully and to issue
certification of the postponement of removal, as required by the directive,
in order to avoid the situation of legal limbo; 23. Underlines
the importance of collecting data on the specific experiences of undocumented
women and strongly emphasises the need for reliable, accurate, timely and
comparable data on the gender-related vulnerabilities of undocumented women and
their lack of access to justice and services in the EU, so as to assist in
the development and management of coherent public policies; 24. Calls
on the Commission, in evaluating the Returns Directive, to revise it by
strengthening the protection of the basic rights of detained migrants; 25. Stresses
that the detection aspects of immigration enforcement policies must never
undermine human dignity and fundamental rights or place women at increased
risk of violence and abuse; calls on the Commission, therefore, to amend the
Returns Directive so as to ensure respect for the human rights of irregular
migrants, especially pregnant women and children; 26. Recalls
that, under the Returns Directive, Member States have an obligation to treat
third-country nationals in detention centres in a ‘humane and dignified
manner’ which fully respects the detainees’ basic human rights; deplores
reports of violence against women in detention centres; calls on the Member
States, therefore, to investigate any claims of physical abuse directed at
detainees; 27. Urges
the Member States to take account of any signs that undocumented migrant
women are being subjected to coercion or inhuman treatment; 28. Calls
on the Member States to strengthen their collaboration with NGOs and civil
society organisations working on this issue in order to find alternatives to
detention centres, and to strive to ensure that undocumented women migrants
need not be afraid to interact with the people who should be providing them
with support; 29. Calls
on the Commission to ensure that the standards established by the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child remain at the heart of any action on
child rights, and therefore calls on the Member States to cease, completely
and expeditiously, the detention of children on the basis of their
immigration status, to protect children from violations as part of migration
policies and procedures and to adopt alternatives to detention that allow
children to remain with family members and/or guardians; 30. Calls
on the Commission and the Member States, through more extensive and
integrated research, to close the gaps in reliable data and existing
knowledge regarding the number and situation of undocumented people in the
EU, to draw the attention of the European Foundation for the Improvement of
Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) to the situation of undocumented
women, and to take greater account of women in this category when
implementing the inclusion targets of the Europe 2020 strategy; 31. Calls
on the Commission and the Member States to develop EU-wide awareness
campaigns to educate undocumented migrant women about their rights; 32. Calls,
in the context of efforts to prevent migration by providing development aid
to the migrants’ countries of origin, for the focus to be placed on women’s
education and rights; 33. Calls
on the Commission and the Member States to provide sufficient female contact
staff, care professionals, officials, assessors and other staff; calls for
such measures out of respect for other religions and cultures and the need to
protect against discrimination; 34. Instructs
its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission. |
European Parliament resolution of
4 February 2014 on undocumented women migrants in the European Union (