10th Session of the Committee

Tenth session, Palais Wilson, Geneva, 20 April-1st May 2009

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• The Committee adopted concluding observations on the reports from Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina , Colombia and the Philippines.
• In its concluding observations and recommendations regarding Azerbaijan the Committee recognized that migrant flows had become more complex and that it had moved from a country of origin to becoming also a country of transit and destination, with significant numbers of migrant workers in its territory. The Committee welcomed the creation of the Unified Migration Database, the State Migration Programme to study migration processes and the bilateral and multilateral agreements concluded at regional and international level. As a matter of concern, the Committee noted the difficulties of the State party in implementing the Convention in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, the lack of information about the Convention in domestic law and on the application of its provisions by the domestic courts, the absence of a definition of migrant workers as in the Convention and that migrant workers, in particular undocumented and irregular migrant workers, and members of their families, might in practice suffer from various forms of discrimination, in particular regarding social rights. The Committee also regretted that it had not received sufficient information on the measures taken to protect the rights of Azerbaijani migrant workers abroad and encouraged the State party to take effective measures in this sense and persuaded also the State party to strengthen its efforts to inform migrant workers of the administrative and judicial remedies available to them.
• In its concluding observations and recommendations regarding Bosnia & Herzegovina the Committee appreciated that the State party is among the few States to have ratified all the treaties relating to the rights of migrant workers and its efforts to combat trafficking, but expressed its concern about the nonexistence of an effective legal framework to protect the rights of migrant workers from discrimination and about the conditions of detention in the immigration holding centre. Among its recommendations the Committee encouraged the State party to ensure legal aid and consular services to migrant workers in detention and to continue to combat and prevent trafficking providing also for the care and rehabilitation of victims of trafficking.
• In its concluding observations and recommendations on the initial report of  Colombia the Committee welcomed the efforts by the State party to promote and protect the rights of Colombian migrant workers abroad and the establishment of the National Intersectoral Migration Committee as the body responsible for promoting equitable, humane and lawful conditions for the migration of workers and their families. The Committee noted with concern that Colombia has not ratified important international instruments for migrant’s rights protection and that only children having at least one parent domiciled in Colombia are eligible for Colombian nationality, so some children may become stateless. Thus, the Committee recommended that the State party ensure the right of all children to have a name, to be registered at birth and to have a nationality. Finally, the Committee solicited the State party to make the provisions of the Convention widely known to both Colombian migrant workers abroad and foreign migrant workers residing or in transit in Colombia.
• In its concluding observations and recommendations regarding the Philippines the Committee appreciated the State party’s commitment to migrant workers’ rights, its consideration of migration as a priority in its domestic and foreign policy agenda, its active role in promoting the ratification of the Convention by countries of origin, transit and destination and its regional efforts to combat trafficking in persons, especially within ASEAN. The Committee noted with regret the scarce information concerning both the number of Filipino migrants abroad and foreign migrant workers in the State party and the restrictions on the exercise of foreign migrant workers lawfully residing in the Philippines to engage in trade union activities, so the Committee urged the State party to guarantee to all migrant workers the right to join and to form associations and unions. Among its recommendations also the request to continue its efforts to promote the enhancement of migrant women facing situations of vulnerability. The Committee also heard from Institutions and NGOs on report of Philippines (French only).

A complete press release of the Committee conclusions and recommendation can be found here.

During its tenth session the Committee also held a roundtable discussion on the right to freedom of association for migrant workers (see press release) and met States parties to the International Convention on the Protection of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families to discuss various key issues, among the others the launch of a guide on ratification of the Convention, the status of reporting under the Convention, the Committee’s working methods and the promotion of the Convention (see press release).