Migration

Migration is a fundamental part of human behaviour. Climate change, environmental pollution, natural disasters, violent conflicts, economic insecurity are some of the reasons why people migrate. While inequalities and power structures exacerbate the reasons to leave one’s home, the lines between forced and chosen migration are rarely clear.

Our social democratic vision for the future is a world in which migration is a free choice and mobility is based on the values of human rights and global solidarity. Based on the Global Compacts on Migration and on Refugees, and the Sustainable Development Goals and through close collaboration with the UN Network on Migration, OHCHR, the Treaty Body System, Special Rapporteurs, and civil society we work to strengthen the promotion and protection of human rights of all migrants.

Media

Thursday, 19.09.2024 - Geneva, Switzerland and online

Side-event "Towards Universal Guidelines on Policies for Addressing Xenophobia and its Impact on Human Rights in Migration: Launching of the CERD-CMW Joint General Comment/Recommendation Consultation Phase"

This event was co organized by the CERD and CMW Committees, in partnership with the Graduate Institute's Global Migration Centre, The Geneva Human Rights Platform of the Geneva Academy, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. Several UN Agencies and States' Permanent Missions to the UN co-sponsor this activity. It was organized in the margins of the 57th session of the Human Rights Council.

It provided an overview of the process leading to the joint General Comment by CMW and CERD on the eradication of xenophobia and its impact on the rights of migrants. The event also reflected on the broad political consensus and support to this process. 

 Panelists 

  • H.E. Omar Zniber, President of the UN Human Rights Council, and Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco to the UN in Geneva
  • H.E. Emily Roper, Deputy Permanent Representative of Australia to the UN in Geneva
  • H.E. Fernando Israel Espinosa Olivera, Deputy Permanent Representative of Mexico to the UN in Geneva
  • Adriana Quinones, Head of Human Rights and Development, UN Women Geneva
  • Benyam Mezmur, Member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
  • Stéphane Jaquemet, COO and Director of Policy, International Catholic Migration Commission
  • Professor Vincent Chetail, Director of the Global Migration Centre, Geneva Graduate Institute

Moderators: Pablo Ceriani Cernadas, Vice Chair, Committee on Migrant Workers &
Ibrahima Guissé, Rapporteur of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination

Please find the flyer here.

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) and the Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW) are currently developing a Joint General Recommendation/Comment on comprehensive public policies for preventing and eradicating xenophobia and its impact on the rights of migrants, their families, other non-nationals (or perceived as such) affected by racial and all intersecting grounds of discrimination, and societies. 

This important joint initiative of the two UN Committees aims to adopt "authoritative guidance" for States parties, based on the Committees' normative mandate within International Human Rights Law. The General Recommendation/Comment will be directed to guide public policies for comprehensively addressing one of the more pressing challenges in a world where human mobility has become a structural, multidimensional phenomenon that is increasingly shaping societies and communities.  

Between December 2023 and April 2024, CERD and CMW received submissions from stakeholders on the joint general recommendation/comment on xenophobia affecting migrants, based on a Concept Note and Questionnaire prepared by the Committees. All the documents and the information on this consultative phase can be found at https://www.ohchr.org/en/calls-for-input/2024/call-submissions-concept-paper-cerd-cmw-joint-general-commentrecommendation.  Subsequently, the CERD and CMW Working Group created for leading this initiative, prepared a first draft of the General Recommendation/Comment, which is being reviewed by the members of the two Committees.

A second consultative phase will be carried out from September to November 2024, through global and regional consultations. In partnership with UN Agencies and other key stakeholders, the goal of these consultations is to seek substantive inputs and contributions on the draft general recommendation/comment by experts from all regions. The expert consultations will also raise awareness about xenophobia and its negative impact on human rights and human development policies, ultimately helping to create effective and holistic policies that protect the rights of migrants, promote cohesive societies, and eradicate xenophobia and related intersectional discrimination globally.  

Watch the full session

 

 

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Publications

Hacia objetivos más ambiciosos

Sheill, Kate; Townhead, Laurel

Hacia objetivos más ambiciosos

Reflexiones sobre el Primer Foro de la Migración Internacional
Bonn, 2024

Download publication (450 KB, PDF-File)


Towards more ambitious goals

Sheill, Kate; Townhead, Laurel

Towards more ambitious goals

Reflections on the First International Migrationv Review Forum
Bonn, 2024

Download publication (460 KB, PDF-File)


Reconstruir mejor

Reconstruir mejor

Un llamamiento a ser valientes
Berlin, 2021

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Reconstruire en mieux

Reconstruire en mieux

Un appel au courage
Berlin, 2020

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Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung

United Nations and Global Dialogue, Office Geneva

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Contact

 

Contact

Salome Lienert

Program Officer
Migration and Human Rights

salome.lienert(at)fes.de