RIGHTS: U.N. Probes Abuse of Migrant Workers Worldwide

By Thalif Deen Reprint | | Print |

Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 25 2006 (IPS) - Responding to a flood of complaints from migrant workers worldwide, the United Nations is investigating a rash of human rights violations, including abusive working conditions, non-payment of wages, arbitrary detentions and collective illegal deportations.

“The complaints received were transmitted to the governments concerned as urgent appeals or letters of allegation,” says Jorge Bustamante, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights of immigrants.

Although he did not single out any countries by name, Bustamante has formally requested visits to Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Mauritania, South Africa, Canada, the Philippines, the United States and Spain.

These include a mix of countries that either send migrants overseas or receive migrants, mostly from developing nations.

The catalogue of allegations also include ill-treatment at border controls; deaths as a result of excessive use of force by police and security forces; summary expulsions; gender violence; forced labour bordering on slavery; withholding passports; restrictions on the freedom of movement; and denial of the right of association and assembly.

Of the 191 million international migrants last year, about 115 million lived in developed countries, according to U.N. figures. Three-quarters of all migrants lived in just 28 countries in 2005, with one every five migrants living in the United States.

The United States also leads the world as a host country, with over 38 million migrants in 2005, constituting almost 13 percent of the country’s population.

The United Nations also says that “a major challenge is to prevent irregular or unauthorised migration”. The United States has an estimated 11 to 12 million irregular migrants; South Korea about 140,000; Japan 221,000; Australia 60,000; and New Zealand 20,000.

In a report to the 192-member U.N. General Assembly, Bustamante says he is “seriously concerned about the alarming number of reports received in the course of 2006 concerning migrants who lose their lives at sea”- mostly from Africa and Asia.

“The Migration Policy Framework for Africa”, adopted by the executive council of the 54-member African Union (AU), points out that “a growing concern for states is the rise of discrimination and xenophobia against migrants.”

“Discrimination against migrants creates social tensions in both origin and destination countries; hinders the successful integration of migrants into host societies; and prevents the enjoyment by migrants of their fundamental rights,” says the AU.

Combating racism and xenophobia is consequently an essential element of comprehensive national policy on migration, it adds.

Asked if developing countries were justified in accusing rich nations of covert racism in their decision to be selective in controlling the flow of migrants into their borders, Peter Sutherland, the U.N. Secretary-General’s Special Representative on International Migration and Development, said the Geneva Conventions correctly oblige signatories to offer permanent shelter to those with legitimate fears of persecution in their home countries.

This is an incontrovertible right that all European and other signatory nations must respect, he added.

“The international community has invested heavily in developing a system of asylum conventions, policies, and practices that give life to the promises made in Geneva in 1951. It’s not a perfect system, by any means, but it is being constantly improved,” Sutherland told IPS.

He also said that the 25-member European Union (EU), in particular, has developed robust legislation since the late 1990s to create a common approach to asylum and refugee policies.

Beyond legitimate asylum cases under the rules of Geneva, however, countries are not generally obligated to allow economic immigrants into their borders.

“Certainly, there is a great deal of legislation that has extended immigration rights well beyond Geneva’s bounds – for instance, the right to family reunification is accepted by most of the developed world. Likewise, there are relatively liberal regimes for those who seek to study or train in other countries,” Sutherland said.

“And I believe that those who come to the developed world either under family reunification programmes or as refugees should be given the right to work immediately upon their arrival.”

But, he asserted, economic migration is not a right. Nations still retain sovereignty in deciding which economic migrants enter their borders.

It is not unreasonable for this decision to be made based on a country’s economic needs -that is, countries should be allowed match up who comes into their territory based on how well they fill gaps in the labour market, Sutherland said.

“In fact, I would argue that if countries were more open and honest about doing this and if they developed the means to match job-seekers with employers, public support for immigration might well increase,” he said.

Sutherland said much of the popular reaction against immigration can be traced to the unregulated, lawless nature of migration flows today – criminals and smugglers are essentially making immigration policy in many cases, and also reaping immoral profits in doing so. This must change, he believes.

Finally, it should go without saying that any efforts to select migrants should be based on the skills economic migrants have and certainly not on their race, gender, religion, or ethnicity.

So selection systems in themselves are not bad – quite the opposite – and in fact they can be a great help for both host countries and migrants.

“But selection systems, just like anything else, can be abused. We need vigorously to guard against this,” he added.

Addressing the U.N.’s Economic and Financial Committee last week, Brazilian Ambassador Ronaldo Mota Sardenberg told delegates that states had a right to control their borders but should not make irregular migration punishable by law. Doing so, he said, was thought to open an avenue to unjustified mass deportations and illegal mass detentions.

The rising tide of migration – both legal and illegal- is also having an impact on European nations that are seeking to restrict the flow of migrants into their countries.

John Reid, Britain’s home secretary, announced Tuesday that with the proposed entry of two former East European countries, Bulgaria and Romania, into the 25-member European Union (EU) early next year, the British government plans to impose strict criteria for employment by migrants from both countries.

Although studies had shown the positive impact of migrants, Reid said the influx of people (including those from Poland after its entry into the EU last year) has put a strain on housing and schools where many immigrants live in England.