Goodbye from December 18 and Radio1812

Date: 22/04/2013 - 09:08

Dear colleagues and friends,

Two years ago we announced that because of a difficult funding situation, we were closing down our office in Brussels and putting some activities of our organization on hold.

Despite these difficult decisions we did manage to pull off two further successful editions of the annual Radio1812 event and even introduced some new elements such as the Odysseia audio magazine. This would not have been possible without the continued - although very limited - financial support and the contributions from the team of volunteers.

Domestic Workers Convention comes into force after ratification by the Philippines

Date: 07/08/2012 - 07:26

The Senate of the Philippines today approved the International Labour Convention No. 189 on decent work for domestic workers. The ratification will have a significant impact on the rights and the conditions not only for over 3.4 million domestic workers in the Philippines but worldwide, since C189 needed a second ratification to enter into force, after the government of Uruguay ratified it on 26 April 2012.

Jordan: Government Clamps Down on Civil Society

Date: 01/08/2012 - 15:53

Jordan’s government is violating the right to freedom of association by denying, without explanation, a civil society organization permission to accept foreign funding, Human Rights Watch said today. The cabinet’s June 27, 2012 decision against Tamkeen, a Jordanian legal assistance group, is the first denial of foreign funding that has come to Human Rights Watch’s attention since the cabinet-level review provision became law in 2009.

Regional migrant's NGO calls for justice to abused OFWs and repatriation of stranded workers in KSA

Date: 01/08/2012 - 11:00

“The conditions of 180 stranded overseas Filipino workers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia necessitate immediate action from concerned agencies of the Philippine government. We join international organizations and OFW groups around the world in the urgent call to address the workers’ complaints and bring them home to their families.”

“We are not animals”: Concern intensifies over detention of migrants in Europe

Date: 12/07/2012 - 09:03

Recent reports on very poor detention conditions of migrants in some EU countries present a concerning picture of current detention standards and practices. They emphasise systemic issues at stake with the implementation of the Returns Directive now transposed in all EU national legislations and further question the compatibility of administrative detention with the respect of fundamental rights?

Click here to read the analysis written by Marie Martin

Responses to irregular migration in Morocco: Promising changes, persisting challenges

Date: 10/07/2012 - 14:11

This briefing discusses how the changing pattern of sub-Saharan migration in Morocco has led to a gradual shift in governmental and civil responses from dealing with irregular migration on a ‘transit’ basis to considering it on a semi-permanent or even permanent basis.

The Maghreb (particularly Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia) has historically been viewed as a source of emigration, but significant attention more recently has been devoted to the region as a transit zone for migrants from elsewhere whose ultimate destination is the European Union.

Borderline The EU's New Border Surveillance Initiatives

Date: 02/08/2012 - 07:31

One of the fundamental findings of this study is that the EU’s new border regime would not only infringe fundamental rights, it would also, in spite of its questionable benefits, cost billions – and that against the background of pervasive budget cuts and austerity measures. Above all, this would profit Europe’s defence contractors, as they would receive EU funding for “smart gates,” UAVs, and other surveillance technologies. The technological upgrading of the EU’s external borders will obviously open up new markets to European security and armament companies.

Migrant domestic workers and EU migration law

Date: 01/08/2012 - 11:18

This blog series has two parts. In this first part today, I examine some of the recent developments in international law relating to migrant domestic workers (of which there are several). In the second part, posted by my colleague, Dr Clíodhna Murphy, will examine the changes recently introduced to the overseas domestic worker regime in the United Kingdom.

Greece: Migrants Describe Fear on the Streets

Date: 13/07/2012 - 08:37

The Greek authorities are failing to tackle a rising wave of xenophobic violence that has left migrants afraid to walk the streets. 

Uzbeks Face High Risks as Migrant Workers

Date: 12/07/2012 - 08:37

High unemployment levels and poverty are forcing many people in Uzbekistan to seek work in Kazakstan and Russia, where they are vulnerable to exploitation.

Local human rights groups estimate that somewhere between three and five million of Uzbekistan’s population of 28 million are working abroad in Russia, Kazakstan, the United Arab Emirates and South Korea. Tracking the numbers is hard because the Uzbek authorities do not acknowledge that labour migration is widespread.

Malta: Migrants say detention is not ‘inevitable’

Date: 10/07/2012 - 13:56

"The detention policy criminalises migrants and is the main cause for racism in Malta," Osman Dicko from the Migrants' Network for Equality said. During a press conference held this afternoon in Valletta, Dicko together with a number of representatives from other NGOs announced a Walk Against Institutional Racism to be held on Wednesday at 5pm in Valletta.

December 18 is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

Financial support for operational costs and projects are occasionally provided by a range of funders.

December 18 is the International Resource Centre on the Human Rights of Migrants. Interested in becoming a volunteer, click here.