Global Workers Justice Alliance

September 18, 2006

Global Workers observed the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Dialogue (HLD) on Migration and Development, September 14-15. The two days was compromised of two basic components. An ongoing plenary occurred in the General Assembly where member states made speeches on the topic of migration and development. Over the afternoon of the 14th and the morning of the 15th, four roundtables occurred exploring various sub-topics. The roundtables were closed meetings but a side room with live video streams allowed others to observe the process. Approximately 200 people observed the roundtables and many less observed the plenary.

The need for “managed migration” was one of the common themes of the member states’ discourses. All countries agreed that migration is significant to their economic development, either due to the demand for migrant labor, or the dependence on the remittances from their migrants abroad. Many countries spoke out against irregular migration and how it threatened their security. A sense of uncontrollable migration was stressed by many countries. Although the majority focused on clamping down borders to stop it, a few countries offered a more comprehensive and thoughtful analysis. Argentina was notable in this regard. It stressed that restrictive migration laws was the cause of irregular migration. To remedy the situation of the one million unauthorized migrants in Argentina, the government recently initiated a regularization effort. Legalization and setting realistic immigration policies to meet labor demands was a groundbreaking but little discussed approach to addressing irregular migration.

Another interesting issue was the marginalization of the 1990 Migrant Worker Convention (MWC). Taking 14 years to enter into force, the Migrant Worker Convention has been the slowest ratified convention in UN history. The reasons why were apparent at the HLD. Although the developing nations are calling for immediate ratification, the developed countries have taken a strong stance against it. Canada forcefully articulated this point stating that it was “very unlikely” to ratify the convention. As an alternative, the representative supported the Secretary General’s suggestion to establish a Global Consultative Forum. But Canada preferred that this be a state-led initiative outside the UN system. No more international conventions are needed, stated the representative. The trend to move the global migration discussion away from the UN system was echoed by other developed nations.

The United States stood out as the one country that did not support a continuing international dialogue on migration. Taking a strong isolationist stance, the United State representative stated that the regional consultations were sufficient and that the United States would not participate in the proposed Global Consultative Forum. The United States predicted that the forum would not produce concrete results but rather be mired in overly generalized discussions. As Peter Sutherland, the Secretary General’s Special Representative on Migration noted, the United States position was unique and contrary to the rest of the world which agreed that they would benefit from a structured international dialogue.

Overall, the High-Level Dialogue was an important first step and a positive expression that the world recognizes that the current state of migration is unacceptable for all parties involved. Many common issues were identified and most countries agreed that it was important to continue addressing this issue globally since migration is indeed a global phenomena. Absent entirely from the discussion was the issue of portable justice. The interventions, however, were short, only 3 minutes in the round tables, so the lack of discussion may not be indicative of the countries’ positions on the issue. Global Workers will continue to follow the UN dialogue around migration—hopefully attending the Global Consultative Forum in Brussels in 2007—and continue to educate member states on the important of transnational access to justice for global workers.

September 13, 2006

The United Nations General Assembly will meet September 14-15 for the High-Level Dialogue on Migration and Development. Concurrently, the Global Community Dialogue on Migration, Development, & Human Rights is occurring all week organized by NGOs. Civil society participation in the High-Level Dialogue is limited to eight representatives from around the world and observation status is restricted to NGOs with ECOSOC status (UN Economic and Social Council). As a consequence, most NGOs will be excluded. As an alternative, and to ensure that UN representatives know that civil society is following the events closely, the side event was organized by Migrant Rights International, National Network for Immigrant & Refugee Rights and Migrant Forum Asia.

So far the Community Dialogue has been excellent. Representatives from migrant organizations and migrant rights NGOs from around the world came to New York to participate. Every continent was represented. Global Workers presented at a panel entitled, “The Global Economy and Strategies for Advancing the Rights of Undocumented Migrant Workers.” Global Workers underscored the challenges migrants face when vindicating their rights after they have returned to their country of origin—regardless of immigration status in the country of employment. The Community Dialogue covers a wide range of topics, including impact of global economic systems, forced migration, trafficking, domestic workers and much more. In addition to the substance of the panels, the informal exchanges and strategy building for how to insert the migrant voice into the UN dialogue was quite fruitful. There is no doubt that the NGOs are increasingly organized around migrant issues globally. This is an important development. Without the voce of the migrants and their advocates, the governmental policies will continue to be solely from the economic perspective and not from a rights-based approach.

Zacatecas, Mexico September 3, 2006

Cathleen Caron, Global Workers Executive Director, traveled to Mexico City on August 26 to strengthen ties with migrant organizations in Mexico City and to attend the first anniversary of the Centro de los Derechos del Migrante in Zacatecas, Mexico September 2-3.

In Mexico City, Cathleen discussed the planned work of Global Workers in southern Mexico, our initial geographic focus, and asked the organizations to identify groups that would be interested in joining Global Workers as certified sending-country advocates. Although no organization in southern Mexico specifically works on migrant labor rights, many groups defend human rights therefore encompassing migrant labor rights may well be a natural extension of their work. With the assurance of referrals from well-known and trusted human rights organizations in Mexico City, we look forward to traveling to southern Mexico and connecting with the potential future partner organizations.

The Centro de los Derechos del Migrante invited Global Workers to train attendees at its first anniversary on the basics of the United Status legal system. The Centro opened its doors last year to provide legal services to Mexican migrants plus advocate for their rights. It was an honor to be invited to take part in the anniversary celebration of this important new effort. About one hundred people attended including Mexican migrants, government officials, unions, and foreign and local NGOs. Cathleen described to the group the basic processes of the United States legal system and how migrant workers can use the system when their rights are violated. Other presentations discussed organizing, immigration reform, guestworker rights, labor standards, and employment discrimination. Global Workers will continue to collaborate with the Centro as both programs develop in Mexico.