National and International NGO campaigns in favour of the UN MW Convention

National NGO Campaigns for Ratification

BANGLADESH

Since many years, WARBE, the Welfare Association of Repatriated Bangladesh Employees, is campaigning for the ratification of the Convention. The government of Bangladesh signed the UN Convention but did not ratify yet.

Contact: WARBE
Syed Haque Saiful, Chairman
House No. 10/E-1 (2nd Floor), Block-F, Madrasa Road By Lane, Mohammadpur,
Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh
Tel. 88-02-9131925 (off.), 88-02-8013074 (res.)
Mobile: 0088-0171-591026
Fax. 880-2-9563583
warbe@bangla.net / migrants@bangla.net

WARBE is a December 18 partner organisation.

BELGIUM

The IMD Platform Flanders started in 2003 their political campaign for a Belgian ratification of the UN MW Convention. The campaign previously focused on informing the civic society about the existence of the Convention and the importance to work on the protection of migrant workers' rights.

The platform consists of the following organisations:

ABVV (Socialist union)
ACV (Christian union)
December 18
Forum van Etnisch Culturele Minderheden
Kerkwerk Multicultureel Samenleven
Medisch Steunpunt Mensen zonder Papieren
Steunpunt Mensen zonder Papieren
Vlaams Minderhedencentrum
Wereldsolidariteit

In November 2003, a comparative study between the national legislation and the Convention was finalised by Sander Loones, Prof. Foblets (KUL) and Prof. Vanheule (UA). The IMD Platform presented the study to the democratic political parties and requested a Belgian ratification of the UN Convention.
The Dutch text of the study is available by clicking here. A French translation can be viewed here.

On 1 March 2003, Wereldsolidariteit , member of the IMD Platform, launched their third public spring campaign entitled 'Stop the Injustice, not the People!' In 2003, the campaign focused on the Convention and called also for a Belgian ratification.

The over whole campaign resulted in parliamentary questions on the level of the Flemish government, the federal government and the European parliament (see further). To date, the Flemish government officially announced its support for a Belgian ratification. On the request of the federal Minister of Work, a Belgian ratification of the UN MW convention is presently being discussed on the interministerial committee Coörmulti (DG for Multilateral Affairs and Globalisation). An official reply is expected in the fall of 2004.

BRAZIL

Instituto Migracoes e Direitos Humanos (IMDH) is actively lobbying the Brazilian government for the ratification of the Convention. On June 11, 2003, a public federal hearing is scheduled in Brazilia on the Immigration Law and IMDH is working on papers and briefings to push forward the Convention during the debate.

FRANCE

On 18 December 2008 Amnesty International France launched a one year action campaign to sign a petition to the French foreign minister asking to ratify the ICRMW. For more information click here.

Beginning of March 2004, AGIR ICI in cooperation with GISTI, CIMADE and the Ligue des droits de l’ homme started a campaign aiming at the recognition of the role of migrants in the process of development and to assure respect for their fundamental rights. This campaign invites citizens to request their Minister of Foreign Affairs and the President of the Republic to start the process of ratification of the UN MWC and to stop conditioning the cooperation with third countries on the implementation of migration clauses. It also challenges the European Commissioner for Justice and Home affairs and asks him to invite all the Member states of the EU (including the future members states) to ratify the UN MWC and to cease conditioning the co-operation with the Non-member states through the implementation of migratory clauses.

Contact for the French Coalition: Caroline Maurel, Agir Ici : cmaurel@agirici.org

The campaign is supported by :

ACORT (Assemblée citoyenne des originaires de Turquie)
Agir ensemble pour les droits de l'Homme
Aides
Amnesty international - section française
ANAFE (Association nationale d'assistance aux frontières pour les étrangers)
ATMF (Association des travailleurs maghrébins de France)
ATTAC (Association pour la taxation des transactions financières pour l'aide aux citoyens)
CADTM-France (Comité pour l'annulation de la dette du tiers-monde)
CARI (Centre d'actions et de réalisations internationales)
CATRED (Collectif des accidentés du travail, handicapés et retraités pour l'égalité des droits)
CCFD (Comité catholique contre la faim et pour le développement)
CEDETIM (Centre d'études et d'initiatives de solidarité internationale)
CEDIDELP (Centre de documentation internationale pour le développement, les libertés et la paix)
CFSI (Comité français pour la solidarité internationale)
COMEDE (Comité médical pour les exilés)
Confédération paysanne
CRID (Centre de recherche et d'information pour le développement)
FASTI (Fédération des associations de solidarité avec les travailleurs immigrés)
Fédération SUD éducation
Fédération SUD rail
FGTE-CFDT (Fédération des transports et de l'équipement)
France Libertés
Franciscain international
FTCR (Fédération des Tunisiens pour une citoyenneté des deux rives)
GRDR (Groupe de recherche et de réalisations pour le développement rural)
GREF (Groupement des retraités éducateurs sans frontières)
IDD (Immigration développement démocratie)
Ingénieurs sans frontières
Ligue internationale des femmes pour la paix et la liberté
Médecins du Monde
Peuples solidaires
RITIMO (Réseau des centres de documentation pour le développement et la solidarité internationale)
Service civil international - branche française
Service national de la Pastorale des migrants
Survie-Terre des Hommes - France
Union syndicale G10 solidaires.

The French campaign is in contact with:
Campagne Demain le monde
Coordination européenne pour le droit des étrangers à vivre en famille
December 18

Information about the campaign can be found on the following webpages:

• GISTI
• AGIR ICI
• CIMADE

GERMANY

Against the rhetorical using of human rights - or why Germany does not ratify the UN convention!

The Committee for Fundamental Rights and Democracy started in March 2004 a petition in favour of a German ratification of the UN Migrant Workers’ Convention (UN WanderarbeiterInnen-Konvention) that will be handed over to the German government in December 2004.

The petition aims and calls for a public and parliamentary debate on the UN Migrant Workers’ Convention and for a serious discussion on the continuing restriction of the fundamental human rights of undocumented migrants who are often contributing to the national economy.

The campaign text can be found in German on this webpage.

For more information, please contact at Dirk Vogelskamp at info@grundrechtekomitee.de.
Komitee für Grundrechte und Demokratie
Aquinostr. 7-11, 50670 Köln, Germany
Tel.: 0221-972 69 30
Fax : 0221-972 69 31

HONG KONG

Joint Campaign for Migrants' Rights by the Asian Migrant Center.

INDONESIA

Ongoing campaign by the Indonesian Labour Unions and the Consortium for the Advocacy of Indonesian Migrant Workers (Kopbumi), Solidaritas Perempuan, SMBI and GPPBM, 2001

IRELAND

In Ireland several organisations are lobbying for an Irish ratification but to date no coalition is formed.

The organisations are:

Migrant's Rights Centre
Siobhan O' Donoghue
siobhanodonoghue@eircom.net

Irish Congress of Trade Unions Campaign or the ratification of the UN 1990 Convention, 18 December 2002

National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (Ireland)
20 Harcourt Street, Dublin 2.
Tel: (01) 4785777 - Fax: (01) 4785778

ITALY

• On 14 March 2005, Diritti Senza Confini started a petition in favour of an Italian ratification of the UN Migrant Workers’ Convention. The petition, ended on 18 december 2005 (Migrant's Day), collected more than 50,000 signatures. Click here for a press release in Italian about the results. In March 2006 a Diritti senza confini delegation met some Italian MEPs to present the petition results. For the press release click here (in Italian)

  Information about the campaign can be found on the Diritti senza confini website.

The Italian Steering Committee started its national campaign in December 2002.

It consists of the following organizations:

Casa dei Diritti Sociali
CGIL
Federazione delle Chiese evangeliche in Italia
ICFTU (CISL)
Fondazione Migrantes
UIL
Caritas Italiana
ILO
IOM

The contact for the Italian Steering Committee is Manfred Bergman, Casa dei Diritti Sociali at:
manberg@tin.it

For more information, please view the following pages:

Italian campaign for the ratification of the UN 1990 Convention 2003 (PDF)

Registration form (PDF)

• On 18 December 2009, CGIL met with the president of the Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei deputati), Gianfranco Fini, and asked for ratification. The text of the intervention is available here (in Italian).

MIDDLE EAST

Human Rights Watch campaigns for the ratification of the Migrants Rights Convention in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, 10 April 2003

Promotion of the Convention by the Arab Centre for Migrant Labour, 9 January 2003

PORTUGAL

On 18 December 2003 the following organisations called on the Portugese government to ratify the UN MWConvention:

Amnistia Internacional (AI)
Associação Amigos do Príncipe (AAP)
Associação Caboverdeana de Lisboa (ACL)
Associação Cabo-verdiana da Margem Sul do Tejo (Vale da Amoreira)
Associação da Comunidade de S. Tomé e Príncipe (ACSTP)
Associação de Reencontro dos Emigrantes (ARE)
Associação dos Residentes de Guiné-Conacri em Portugal (ARGP)
Associação Guineense de Solidariedade Social (AGUINENSO)
Associação Luso-Senegalesa (ALS)
Associação Moçambique Sempre
Associação Moitense dos Amigos de Angola
Associação para a Defesa da Cultura dos Bakongos - Angola - (ADECKO)
Associação Solidariedade Imigrante (ASI)
Capelania dos Africanos de Lisboa (CAL)
Caritas Portuguesa (CP)
Casa do Brasil de Lisboa (CBL)
Centro Pe. Alves Correia (CEPAC)
Comissão Justiça e Paz dos Religiosos (CJPR)
Comissão Nacional Justiça e Paz
Confederação Geral dos Trabalhadores Portugueses (CGTP-IN)
Congregação Missionários Scalabrinianos (CMS)
Conselho Português das Igrejas Cristãs (COPIC)
Coordenação Nacional da Pastoral dos Ucranianos (CNPU)
Federação Nacional dos Sindicatos da Construção, Madeiras, Mármores e Materiais de Construção
Frente Anti-Racista
Fundação Ajuda à Igreja que Sofre (FAIS)
Kambaryangue - Associação Multicultural
Liga dos Chineses de Portugal (LCP)
Liga Operária Católica / Movimento de Trabalhadores Cristãos (LOC/MTC)
Mulher Migrante - Associação de Estudo, Cooperação e Solidariedade
Obra Católica Portuguesa de Migrações (OCPM)
Organização Internacional para as Migrações (OIM)
Secretariado Diocesano de Migrações de Setúbal (SDMS)
Serviço Jesuíta aos Refugiados (JRS)
SOS-Racismo

Contact:
Adelino Rodrigues
Associação de Reencontro dos Emigrantes
emigrantes@clix.pt

Earlier, the Portugese Platform of Catholic Organisations called at Sevilla 2002 for the ratification of the UN 1990 Convention.

Contact:
Father Rui Pedro, Director of OCPM
Obra Católica Portuguesa das Migrações (Portuguese Catholic Ofice for Migrations)
ocpm@ecclesia.pt

SPAIN

The IMD Platform Catalonia started its campaign for a better protection of the human rights of migrants on 18 December 2002. The Government of Catalonia supported their call for a Spanish ratification and presented the demand to the federal government. We are waiting for a reply by the newly established socialist government.

Contact for the IMD Platform Catalonia:

Eva Querol, Càritas Diocesana de Barcelona
equerol@caritasbcn.org

SRI LANKA

Sri Lanka ratified the Convention. In 2004, Sri Lankan NGOs continue their campaign on migrant rights and focus on the implementation of the Convention and of specific UN Convention provisions (ex. Art. 77: recognition of the competence to receive and consider communications from individuals). They also support and help initiate other national campaigns. Migrant Services Centre is a December 18 partner and a partner of Wereldsolidariteit Belgium.

Groups involved are :

National Workers Congress
Migrant Services Centre
Centre for Policy Alternatives
ACILS
ACFFTU
Legal Aid Foundation
ACTFORM
SOFE
YMCA

And several Migrant Worker Associations and Religious Groups

For information, please contact

Migrant Services Centre
David Soysa, Director
migrant@sltnet.lk

SWITZERLAND

The Koalition Migrantenrechten was first established on 18 December 2003. Its priorities are a better protection of the human rights of undocumented migrants and a Swiss ratification of the UN Migrant Workers Convention. The campaign is ongoing.

Contact for the Koalition Migrantenrechten:

Bruno Clement
bruno.clement@comedia.ch

UK

Recently the Coalition for Migrant Workers’ Rights (CMWR) was launched. It is an ad hoc group supporting UK ratification of the MW Convention. Convened by the UN Association UK it is currently supported by representatives from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, England & Wales, the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, Kalayaan – the Domestic Workers Campaign, Oxfam, the T&GWU, the TUC, and UNISON.

As a result of their work the Conclusions and Recommendations of The House of Commons International Development Committee Sixth Report on "Migration and Development: How to make migration work for poverty reduction" - issued on 8 July 2004 - included a couple of paragraphs on the 1990 UN Convention.

The whole document can be read here, the specific paragraphs on the Convention are paragraph 22, 23, 68 and 69.

See also:

UNA-UK, Study day on the Convention, 10 December 2002

Anti-Slavery Petition STOP HUMAN TRAFFIC calls for the ratification of the 1990 UN Convention, 2002-2003

US

A new IMD campaign by the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights will be launched formally on 18 December 2007.

INTERNATIONAL

• African, Asia-Pacific and Latin American and Caribbean Women call for the ratification of the UN 1990 Convention, 2001
• Amnesty International: Migrants’ rights are human rights, the organization calls upon states that have not ratified the Convention to do so (in particular, on the governments of Malaysia, South Korea and the Dominican Republic).
• World Council of Churches for the Global Campaign