Author: mopress

Mexican History: Readings From The Left

By Rodrigo Saldaña Guerrero
Guest Columnist from Mexico

Benito Juárez García was born in 1806. He became president in the midst of a civil war. What were his politics?

This champion of Mexican nationalism was in favor of U. S. intervention in Mexico. He confiscated Catholic Church estates that sustained many welfare activities, and sold them cheaply (he did not use them to strengthen the state, as his myth maintains). He terminated Indian communal property.

These interventions in Church and Indian affairs fostered the formation of the latifundies that made infamous the Porfirio Díaz regime and against which Emiliano Zapata fought in the next century.

He was a capitalist who believed that progress laid in making every Mexican a liberal Western person. He clung to power until his death, violating the law and using electoral fraud.

In other words, his politics were precisely the same of the much criticized Díaz. Díaz started a revolution with a No Reelection slogan, became president for four years, left the presidency in charge of a friend, and later reelected himself over and over until a revolution toppled him.

The revolution aborted and gave way to a civil war. The winner of this was Alvaro Obregón. He became president for four years, left the presidency in charge of a friend, then started reelecting himself. Then he was assassinated. In many ways, his career paralleled that of dictator Díaz. But he elected to build his power on a progressive rhetoric that, without being precisely socialistic, repudiated the laissez faire capitalism Juárez had sponsored.

Here the complications begin, because Obregón did not repudiate Juárez himself. Juárez became one of the civic saints of the patriotic myths on which Obregón and his successors built their regime. The capitalistic Juárez was presented as a leftist.

The system Obregón founded, perfected by Plutarco Elías Calles and, above all, by Lázaro Cárdenas Del Río, built on a large measure on the oppression of poor people, and which kept the people poor, was publicized as a center left party.

A political landscape was painted in which this system (which in time was known as PRI) was the only sensible choice between communist left and rightist PAN (this party was not rightist at the time, by the way, but official propaganda helped making it so).

The PRI system was deeply corrupt, and many of his people got richer at the expense of the poor, who suffered fierce repression whenever they tried to resist. It tried to cover up this situation with subsidies, debt and inflation, that future generations would have to pay for. Many intellectuals were generously paid for their part in this make up work, a part that included writing Mexican history in such a way that it would conform to the official rhetoric.

All this made a mess of the historical consciousness of the Mexican people. Juárez capitalism and PRI-ist corruption and oppression were successfully presented as left.

All this is only part of the story, of course. We have, for instance, the fascinating joining of men who were mortal enemies in one pantheon of heroes. But the point I want to emphasize is the mess the PRI version of Mexican history, mainly of the Juárez period and of the nature of the system itself, has caused in the ideological debates of the present. The insistence of many intellectuals in the validity of that version is like a virus that makes it very difficult to examine objectively a series of issues.

The enormous complexity of history is too often simplified for party purposes, sometimes causing a very serious distortion. The cure for this cultural illness is cultural health: making people aware of the true nature of historiography, and of the true history of the society they are interested in.

Mexican historiography has developed enormously in the last half century or so. For some strange reason, political debate has remained far behind it in its understanding of Mexican history. Intellectuals that should know better keep using old myths in their approach to present day issues.

The natural solution for this problem would be to dialogue about the history that lies at the bottom of that approach. There is, however, a vicious circle: the present day approach contaminates the understanding of history and prevents an objective look at it. I suggest showing these two trends in their interrelationship and inviting comments on this point.

The Syracuse University public information project TRAC has just released a pair of articles about deportation of immigrants for “aggravated felony” charges. This process applies to legal immigrants only.

TRAC says sometimes an “aggravated felony” under immigration law can be quite a low-level crime. Two cases cited by TRAC involved shoplifting. Yet the consequences can be severe: the immigrant loses rights to contest deportation before immigration authorities or courts, may not apply for other legal immigration status, is subject to mandatory detention, and may be permanently barred from the USA.
Although the frequency of “aggravated felony” determinations has fallen in recent years (from a high of 25,842 in 1998 to 11,133 in 2005) TRAC says record-keeping practices make it difficult to determine the basis of “aggravated felony” charges. About a third seem connected to some sort of drug charges. Pending legislation may further expand the net of this category, further eroding human rights of migrants in the USA.

View the TRAC reports online.

Mexico is one of a few states that has filed a report with the U.N. Committee on Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers. Copied below is an “overview” of Mexico’s migration issues, including Mexico’s view of migration into the USA. B. Overview of the migration situation in the country

15. Migration is a multidimensional phenomenon for Mexico, in that it is a country of origin,
transit and immigration.

16. As far as immigration is concerned, there are few migrants to Mexico. According to data from the 1990 population and housing census, there were some 340,000 foreigners living in Mexico in 1990, equivalent to 0.42 per cent of the total population. Information from the 2000 census shows a slight increase, with an estimated 493,000 foreigners, corresponding to 0.5 per cent of the country’s total population.

17. A large majority of migrants come from the United States (69 per cent), followed by Central America (9 per cent), mainly Guatemala (5.6 per cent), and South America (5.9 per cent). European migrants come from a vast array of countries, of which Spain accounts for the largest proportion (4.1 per cent), while the numbers of migrants from Africa and Asia are very small.

18. With regard to refugees, representative cases include Spanish refugees in the early 1940s, South Americans in the 1970s and Guatemalans in the 1980s, many of whom stayed on in the country as permanent residents even after the conditions of political conflict and violence that had forced them to leave their countries of origin essentially ceased.

According to INM data, of the Guatemalans settled in Mexico between 1996 and 2003 under the Guatemalan migrant stabilization programme, 25,196 remained in the country as permanent residents.

19. The volume of foreigners entering the country as immigrants or permanent residents (FM2) is relatively stable, ranging between 60,000 and 70,000 entries a year over the past 15 years.

20. According to National Population Council (CONAPO) estimates, there were 492,600 immigrants residing in the country in 2000. Their distribution by gender is balanced. In terms of educational levels, nearly a quarter (23.2 per cent) of foreign migrants
in Mexico have a university degree or similar qualification.

21. As regards their labour status, almost half (45.1 per cent) are of working age and economically active. The great majority (68.8 per cent) work in the services sector, a fifth (21.1 per cent) in the processing sector and a tenth (10.1 per cent) in the primary sector.

22. As a country of origin of migrants, most of Mexico’s emigrants go to the United States. From the outset, this emigration process has been primarily motivated by the search for employment opportunities. Mexican migration to the United States takes place in the context of a historically complex relationship bringing together two neighbouring nations whose situations differ profoundly.

The following are some of the principal characteristics
of Mexico-United States migration:

− A marked increase in the net annual flow of Mexican migrants entering the United States in order to settle there, from 235,000 in 1980-1990 to 390,000
in 2000-2002.

− A trend towards mass migration of Mexicans to the United States, with the United States population of Mexican origin almost tripling between 1980 and 2003,
from around 9 million to 26.7 million. Of the latter, an estimated 9.9 million were born in Mexico (emigrants) and around 16.8 million were born in the United States.

− Around 85 per cent of Mexican migrants in the United States have resided there for more than three years; only one in five has been naturalized. Mexicans are the largest migrant group in the United States and in 30 of the 51 states in that country, accounting for 30 per cent of all foreign residents.

− Mexican migrant populations in the United States are very diverse in terms of gender and age and, contrary to the traditional pattern (predominantly male and young), Mexican migration to the United States increasingly involves whole families. Thus,
there are 116 Mexican men for every 100 Mexican women, 55.4 per cent of the Mexico-born population living in the United States are men and 44.6 per cent are women and most migrants are young people of childbearing age, the average age being 34 years.

− Mexican migrants in the United States fall into diverse social and occupational groups,6 working primarily in the tertiary and secondary sectors and, to a lesser extent, in the primary sector (60 per cent, 36 per cent and 4 per cent respectively in 2003).

− Greater heterogeneity of migrants (greater proportion of migrants from urban areas, growing proportion of women, higher educational levels). In terms of schooling, 12.1 per cent have completed fourth grade, 29.8 per cent have completed
between fifth and eighth grade, 19.3 per cent have completed between ninth and eleventh grade and 38.8 per cent have completed twelfth grade or higher.

− The 6.4 million Mexicans working in the United States account for 4.4 per cent of that country’s economically active population. Seven per cent of the economically active Mexican migrant population in the United States occupy professional positions. Over half (53 per cent) earn less than US$ 20,000 a year, whereas non-immigrants average US$ 33,800 a year.

− The phenomenon of outward migration covers a wide geographical area, with some states in the centre (México, Puebla, Hidalgo and the Federal District), south (Guerrero and Oaxaca) and south-east (Veracruz) of Mexico becoming important areas for migration flows to the United States.

− The American states with the greatest number of Mexican migrants are: California (42.5 per cent), Texas (20.3 per cent), Illinois (4.9 per cent) and the rest of the states on the southern border (6.7 per cent).

− In the period 2001-2003, most temporary migrants were undocumented, in that 75 per cent did not have authorization to cross the border and 79 per cent did not have permission to work in the United States (compared with 48 per cent and 51 per cent,
respectively, in 1993-1997), yet 82 per cent of them were in work during this period.

− A reduction in the circular nature of migration and a trend towards increasingly long stays in the United States.

− Consolidation of large binational communities and of social and family networks of migrants that help strengthen ties between communities of emigration and immigration and to reduce the costs of migrating.

23. Mexico’s importance as a transit country for the international movement of documented and undocumented persons both inside and outside the region, whether as tourists, businesspeople or permanent migrants, has grown substantially in the past two decades.

Likewise, economic integration in North America and tighter links in a context of globalization and a greater free flow of goods and capital have increased the transit passage through Mexico of people, business and tourism coming above all from the United States, Canada and Europe.

Ninety-five per cent of transit migration to the United States takes place on the southern border, making the latter the nerve centre for the implementation of national migration policy.

24. Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala and Belize lacks a proper system for ensuring controlled, legal and orderly migration. The border infrastructure, in terms of entry ports, bridges and crossing points, is also ineffective and, in some cases, inadequate. As a result, the migration of Central American nationals in transit to the United States is a growing challenge for
the country.

The fact that Mexico borders the world’s biggest economic power, combined with growing economic disparities, a porous southern border and the
need for procedures that address risks and threats to national and international security, adds to the complexity of administering transit migration.

25. Central American emigration over the past three decades has changed steadily, from the mainly intraregional emigration of the 1970s to the extraregional migration of the 1980s and 1990s, but always with the United States as the principal destination.

Even Mexico, which played an important role in the 1980s in receiving Guatemalan refugees, has not seen major changes in its Guatemalan population, whereas emigration from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and other countries of the region to the United States has surged. Mexico thus remains the obligatory country of transit for these ever-greater northward flows of migrants.

26. Undocumented migration, by its very nature, is extremely difficult to quantify. All that can be done is to make an indirect assessment based on INM statistics for cases in which migrants were secured and sent back.

27. The flow of undocumented migrants over the southern border increased by 41.4 per cent
in the period 2001-2004, from 144,300 cases to 204,000.

28. To avoid adopting an approach that treats undocumented migration as a crime, Mexico uses the term “secure” rather than “detain” in migration matters.

Under the General Population Act, a foreigner is secured when, because of his/her irregular situation in the country, he/she is housed temporarily in a migrant holding centre, pending clarification of his/her migration status and, if appropriate, a decision to send him/her back. The latter is an administrative penalty, applicable when a foreigner infringes migration law, and involves making the foreigner leave the country immediately.

29. Indicators show that the majority of irregular migrants are Guatemalans, followed by Hondurans and Salvadorans, and that most of them are headed for the United States. According to 2004 data, these three nationalities account for 95 per cent of all cases in which migrants are secured in Mexico.

30. In 2003, of a total of 187,614 migrants secured in Mexico, 86,023 were Guatemalans, 61,900 Hondurans and 29,301 Salvadorans. In 2004, the numbers
were 94,404 Guatemalans, 72,684 Hondurans and 34,572 Salvadorans. During the same period, 93,667 Guatemalans, 73,046 Hondurans and 35,270 Salvadorans were sent back and 10,089 foreigners were denied entry, of whom 4,822 were Brazilian, 1,076 were Ecuadorian and 601 were Venezuelan.

31. In all, 215,695 migrants were secured and 211,618 were sent back in 2004. Between January and May 2005, 107,349 foreigners were sent back to their country of origin. Undocumented migration is growing at an annual rate of 30 per cent.

32. The State does not have sufficient material and human resources to respond to irregular
migration flows of this magnitude. As a result, the Mexican Government is conscious of the
importance of working with civil society and with the countries concerned to tackle the phenomenon.

33. Based on article 42 of the General Population Act, Mexico documents legal migrants in transit as “transmigrant non-immigrants”, a status which allows them to stay in the country for up to 30 days. Between 1995 and 2004, the number of foreigners entering Mexico as transmigrants grew at an average rate of 8 per cent a year, with the rate peaking in 2000.

In 2003, the National Institute for Migration recorded a little over 20 million entries of persons to the country, of whom 98,418 were transmigrants. The number of local maritime visitors also increased steadily from 1998, the first year for which it was recorded, at an average rate of 16.5 per cent a year.

In 2003, there were 6,939,072 visits by local maritime visitors to Mexico. The two categories combined mean that a little over 7 million documented persons entered the country temporarily, an annual growth rate of 16.2 per cent. In 2004, 212,681 people were
documented as transmigrants.

34. According to article 41 of the General Population Act, foreigners may enter the country legally under any one of the following three migration categories: non-immigrant, immigrant or permanent resident:

− Non-immigrant: a foreigner who enters the country temporarily in one of the following capacities: tourist, transmigrant, visitor, minister of religion or similar,
political asylum-seeker, refugee, student, distinguished visitor, local visitor, temporary visitor or correspondent;

− Immigrant: a foreigner who enters the country legally with the intention of settling there in one of the following capacities: person of independent means, investor, professional, person occupying a position of trust, scientist, technician, family member, artist, performer, sportsperson or similar;

− Permanent resident: a foreigner who acquires rights of permanent residence in the country.

35. In 2004, almost 500,000 migration procedures were handled; more than 3,000 migrants were rescued by the 15 migrant protection Beta Groups, which work to protect and counsel migrants on both the northern and the southern border of the country; some 45,000 Guatemalan seasonal agricultural workers were registered; 215,000 foreigners were sent back to their countries of origin; and the rights of 2 million Mexican nationals who return temporarily to
Mexico every year were ensured.

36. As a result, one of the main challenges facing Mexico in the area of migration is to put in place a proactive migration policy that translates into the effective promotion and facilitation of migrant flows beneficial to the country, in keeping with domestic priorities, and at the same time helps to makes Mexico more competitive internationally: a coherent, long-term policy that creates certainty and facilitates the entry and stay of foreigners in Mexico.

37. The Ministry of the Interior, through the National Institute for Migration and in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, establishes visa policies for third countries, pursuant to reciprocal agreements on the abolition of visas signed with other countries and to unilateral decisions of the Mexican Government to exempt certain countries from visa requirements by virtue of the nature of their bilateral relations and the international situation.

Currently, 54 countries are exempt from the visa requirement for ordinary passports, whether
by agreement or by unilateral decision, and 71 countries do not need a visa in diplomatic and
official passports.

38. In granting visas, the National Institute for Migration handles freely regulated nationalities, regulated nationalities and nationalities requiring its prior consent to enter the national territory.

39. Freely regulated nationalities may enter Mexico using the Forma Migratoria de Turista, Transmigrante, Visitantes personas de negocios o Visitante Consejero (FMTTV) (migration form for tourists, transmigrants, visiting businesspersons or visiting advisers), which they can obtain at travel agencies, airlines or entry points.

40. Regulated nationalities, on the other hand, must be documented in advance by Mexican diplomatic and consular missions abroad.

41. It should be mentioned that the Government of Mexico has implemented a long-term visa programme. This programme has its origin in the authorizations granted jointly by the Ministries of the Interior and Foreign Affairs to Central American nationals, initially Guatemalan nationals, to enter Mexican territory as tourists and businesspersons, which were valid for five years and three years, respectively.

42. In order to create certainty for migrants from countries of the Latin American community, their nationals have been incorporated in the programme of long-term consular visas, which are valid for five years for tourists and three years for businesspersons. This programme operates successfully
as a catalyst for tourism and investment in Mexico.

43. Its aim is to simplify migration procedures so that the visa holder does not have to go to a consular mission each time he/she is to travel to Mexico.

44. Mexico is pursuing the consolidation of a policy of opening up to the rest of the world in the different spheres of human activity, and migration is not and cannot be an exception. This opening up is taking place in accordance with the principles of the migration policy designed by the Mexican Government, which embody the following concepts:

1. Absolute and unrestricted respect for the human rights of all persons who emigrate, irrespective of their migration status on entering Mexican territory;

2. Shared responsibility of migrants’ countries of origin, host countries and transit countries;

3. Legality, safety and order;

4. Combating of drug trafficking and people rafficking;

5. Non-criminalization of migrants;

6. Perception of migration as a tool for promoting national development.

45. Efforts are currently being made to shape a new culture in which men, women and children who are forced to leave their countries in search of better prospects can regain their dignity. For this reason, Mexico established the Integrated System for Migration Operations (SIOM) in 2004, making it possible to improve response times in rulings on migration procedures, support the authorities’ discretionality in ruling on each case and access online information on the various cases, facilitating its exchange with other countries.

In 2004, the number of migration procedures, namely, requests to enter, stay in and leave the country, increased by 138 per cent over 2003.

46. Mexico has a database with photographs of 10.6 million foreigners who have entered the country by air over the past year and a half. Through the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS), Mexico receives information in real time on passengers arriving at the country’s international airports before the aircraft has taken off from its place of origin.

Before passengers arrive, the migration authorities already know their name, registration document details, age, migration status, airline and flight number. Once on national territory, their passport is scanned and entered in the SIOM database.

47. In 2003, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and INM developed computer systems which in the medium term made it possible to maintain communication online, including all the information on visas and migration documents generated in embassies and consulates, the INM central office and its 32 regional offices. The link-up between SIOM and the databases of Mexican consulates abroad will be completed by the end of 2005.

48. Another stage in the modernization process has been the digitization of the National Register of Foreigners (RNE) and the migration archive, the second largest in the country. By March 2005, almost 500,000 RNE migration forms (FM1) had been digitized and almost a million files in the migration archive, thereby recovering and preserving Mexico’s documentary memory of migration.

49. In 2003, an Italian consulting firm, CERFE, hired by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), analysed the generation of migration statistics in Mexico and concluded that it was feasible for Mexico to join the Statistical Information System for Mesoamerican Migration (SIEMMES) in order to exchange information enabling it to determine and monitor the volume and characteristics of international movements both among countries of the region and to and from outside the region, as well as to generate reliable migration statistics, particularly gender- and age-disaggregated statistics, since
only migration statistics on the repatriation of Mexican nationals are currently disaggregated.

Women migrants

50. International women migrants have become an especially vulnerable population group, since their gender and situation of social, legal and political inequality are compounded by their migrant status. According to IOM, women now move around more independently and no longer because of the place they occupy in the family or under male authority.

Around 49 per cent of the 185 to 192 million migrants in the world are women. In some regions, the proportion is even higher.

51. The volume of Mexico’s population living in a state other than the one where they were born increased from just over 7 million in 1970 to 17.7 million in 2000 and the gender distribution of that population shows that the percentage of women increased from 15.4 per cent to 18.4 per cent and that of men from 14.4 per cent to 17.9 per cent over the past 30 years.

52. With regard to the net migration rate by place of birth, in 2000 the states which gained the greatest percentage of women migrants as opposed to men were Baja California, México and Morelos and those which lost the greatest percentage of women were Zacatecas, Durango, Michoacán and Nayarit.

53. CONAPO estimates that approximately 45 per cent of Mexicans living in the United States are women. Ninety-four per cent of female Mexican workers in the
United States are wage earners and their average monthly wage is US$ 1,100. Mexican women in that country work mainly in factories, workshops, domestic service, restaurants and small businesses, all semi-skilled occupations that in many cases do not provide employee benefits. The dollars sent back by such women account for 20 per cent of all remittances by Mexican nationals in the United States. These women generate around US$ 1.5 billion a year.

54. CONAPO also states that deported Mexican women are one of the most vulnerable groups among unauthorized migrants to the United States. Most of them are young, unmarried women with a higher educational level than men and coming from the traditional and northern regions of migration. They have no prior migration experience and travel in the company of relatives or friends, and they migrate in search of work.

55. Of the total 514,944 repatriations in 2004, 69,495 were of women aged over 18 and 11,170 were of migrant girls and adolescent girls.

56. Undocumented women migrants are particularly vulnerable. Women in this situation face a number of difficulties. For instance, many of them come from rural areas and move to cities in order subsequently to cross international borders. The testimonies of women transiting not only through Mexico but also through various regions of the world often mention the fact that they are asked for sexual favours in return for protection or to enable them to cross borders and checkpoints. Unfortunately, many of these acts are not reported to the authorities.

57. In her contribution to the document: “Reports, studies and other documentation for the Preparatory Committee and the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance”, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants noted that one of the main obstacles to remedying violations of the human
rights of migrants consists in the lack of information regarding the type of violations, the places where they occur and their characteristics. The under-recording of violations of the human rights of women migrants is all the greater because women migrants are more marginalized.

58. The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) has pointed out that there are victims of domestic violence who do not report it because they are dependent on the migration status of their abuser and mistakenly believe that they could be deported.

Article 39 of the General Population Act does not provide for a person’s immediate expulsion upon dissolution of the marriage. Instead, it gives the Ministry of the Interior the discretionary power to authorize
the person’s stay in the country or a change in the person’s migration status. To view the Mexico report in English, French, or Spanish see the preview of an upcoming meeting of the Committee on Migrant Workers (Geneva)

As Malcolm X warned long ago, sometimes you have to reject a civil rights framework and move toward human rights. An awareness of human rights developments certainly seems necessary these days when considering issues surrounding migrant workers.

The United Nations Committee on Migrant Workers is “the newest treaty body”, having convened its first meeting in March 2004. Last December (2005) the committee held a day-long conversation that resulted in a brief report worth archiving below [paragraph breaks added in some cases for readability]: ADVANCE UNEDITED VERSION

COMMITTEE ON THE PROTECTION OF THE
RIGHTS OF ALL MIGRANT WORKERS AND
MEMBERS OF THEIR FAMILIES

RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF ALL MIGRANT WORKERS AS A TOOL TO ENHANCE DEVELOPMENT

A CONTRIBUTION BY THE COMMITTEE ON MIGRANT
WORKERS TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY’S HIGH
LEVEL DIALOGUE ON MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Background

1. On 15 December 2005, the Committee on Migrant Workers held a Day of General Discussion on the theme “Protecting the rights of all migrant workers as a tool to enhance development”. The discussion was attended by representatives from member States, intergovernmental organisations, United Nations departments and agencies as well as non governmental organisations and academic institutions. The written and oral contributions by participants informed the Committee’s reflection on this subject (see CMW/C/SR.25 and 26) and inspired it to prepare this statement as the Committee’s contribution to the High Level Dialogue of the General Assembly on
Migration and Development. The Committee especially acknowledges the work of the ILO, IOM, OHCHR and UNESCO which contribute greatly to a better understanding of a human rights based approach to migration.

Introduction

2. The Committee recalls that the human being is the central subject of development and should be the active participant and beneficiary of the right to
development (Declaration on the Right to Development, adopted by the General Assembly on 4 December 1986).

Migrants are above all human beings with rights, but also active agents of development. The question of migration should thus be approached from a human rights perspective, in conformity with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and state obligations under core international human rights treaties, bearing in mind that development is not just economic development,
but also entails cultural, social and political development. In this context, the Committee observes that migration stimulates cultural and economic exchanges among nations, which in turn promote peace and understanding in keeping with the
goals of the United Nations.

3. The Committee observes that there is an information deficit on many aspects of the linkage between migration and development. In countries of employment, migrants are often seen as an economic and social burden, and sometimes also as a
religious, social or political threat, whereas the reality shows to the contrary that migrant workers are an essential positive factor in the economy of most developed countries, inter alia by filling gaps in the labour market and rejuvenating populations.

In countries of origin, migration most of the time relieves the pressure on the labour market, remittances often amount to a significant percentage of GDP, and returning migrant workers bring acquired skills back to their country of origin. However,
migration often has prejudicial consequences on the countries of origin, especially with regard to the fragmentation of families and communities and brain drain.

In order to understand better the dynamics of the relationship between migration and development and maximize the benefits of migration, the Committee recommends to the international community that further research be conducted focusing on the question of how migration influences the development of both countries of origin and countries of employment, and in particular the role of human rights in that process.

Promotion and protection of the rights of migrant workers and members of their families

4. The Committee believes that respect of the rights of all migrant workers and members of their families will strengthen the beneficial effects that migration has on development, both in countries of origin and in countries of destination. Protection of human rights and prevention of discrimination in the country of employment are essential factors to enhance the integration of migrant workers and members of their
families, thus enabling them to better contribute to the socio-economic welfare in the country of employment. Adequately upholding economic and social rights in
countries of origin will prevent migration from being a compelled decision and will enhance the beneficial effects of migration on the development in the country of origin.

The Committee is concerned with the situation of irregular migration in the world and urges states to establish mechanisms that would allow the regulation of migration in an orderly manner. The Committee also urges states to increase their efforts to combat smuggling and trafficking of migrants.

5. The Committee wishes to highlight these observations and recommendations based
on rights set forth in the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families:

Dissemination of reliable information

6. Access to reliable information is essential for proper preparation of migration, so as to enable migrants to make an assessment of the advantages and disadvantages involved in order to prevent encountering problems in the country of employment and to maximize the opportunities of migration. The availability of reliable information and awareness raising initiatives can have the effect of preventing or curbing the smuggling and trafficking of migrants, especially women and children.

7. Properly informing migrant workers before departure about the conditions in the country of employment is necessary for their preparation of the sojourn away from home. Such preparation will place them in a better position to perform their activity,
contribute to the social and economic development of their country of employment, and facilitate their integration.

8. It is equally important to inform the public in the country of employment about the contributions of migrants to society, in order to counter racism, xenophobia and discrimination.

9. The Committee therefore recommends that

a) States should take an active role in disseminating reliable information about the conditions of migration. They should take effective measures to counter
misconceptions, misleading information and promote knowledge of the human rights of migrants.

b) States of employment should encourage the media to counter tendencies of racism, xenophobia and discrimination by drawing attention to the positive
contributions of migrant workers to the development of the host society.

Control over recruitment agencies

10. Absence of control over recruitment agents, agencies and intermediaries has led to many instances of abuse of migrant workers, who often have to pay exorbitant fees in order to be recruited resulting in heavy debts. In the worst cases, recruitment agencies are a front for trafficking, leading the migrant into forced labour. It is thus of
utmost importance that recruitment agencies are effectively supervised in order to avoid abuse.

11. The Committee therefore recommends that

States should regulate the activities of recruitment and placement agencies, for instance through a licensing system and take effective measures to ensure that these agencies respect migrant workers’
fundamental rig

hts and to ensure that migrant workers have clear and enforceable employment contracts.

Equality in remuneration and conditions of employment

12. Equality in remuneration and conditions of employment on the one hand protects migrant workers from abuse, and on the other hand removes the incentive for employers to resort to irregular recruitment or employment.

13. The Committee therefore recommends that

a) States of employment should take measures to ensure that labour and social standards cover all migrant workers, including those in the most disadvantaged position such as undocumented workers and domestic migrant workers. They should
also take all possible measures to promote the full enjoyment by all migrants of all human rights, including their rights at work.

b) States of employment should ensure that labour legislation is effectively implemented, including through sanctions on employers and other persons, groups or entities that are found in breach of such legislation.

c) States of employment should consider taking measures to control the informal labour market, which is often a pull factor for irregular migration.

d) States of employment should take all adequate and effective measures to eliminate employment of migrant workers in an irregular situation, including,
whenever appropriate, sanctions, including prosecution, on employers of such workers. However, the rights of migrant workers vis-à-vis their employer arising from employment shall not be impaired by these measures.

Protection of migrants’ rights and integration

14. Migrant workers, in particular those in an irregular situation, are among the most vulnerable groups in society, as they often find themselves with no access to social protection networks. They may face a heightened risk of exploitation, racism and discrimination as a result of their migration status, and may be unwilling or unable to make use of available legal remedies for the protection of their rights.

Special attention should be given to protection of their rights, in order to facilitate their integration while respecting their cultural diversity and thus prevent their marginalisation and social exclusion and diminish their vulnerability. The presence in society of large groups of people who have no prospect of integration seriously hampers social cohesion of the society and thus its development.

15. The Committee therefore recommends that

a) States of origin should take measures to provide effective assistance to their nationals abroad, inter alia through consular protection, whenever the human and labour rights of migrants are threatened or impaired.

b) States should ensure that their legislation prohibits the retention of identity documents by employers or recruitment agents; prohibits all systems of forced
sponsorship of migrants, which are designed to ensure control over the migrant throughout the period of residence; and allows all migrant workers, including
undocumented migrant workers, to join trade unions.

c) Special attention should be given to protect the rights of migrant women, in particular domestic migrant workers, in order to diminish their vulnerability.

d) States should avoid linking the residence permit of a migrant worker to a single employer in order to avoid vulnerability to exploitation and forced labour.

e) Government officials should receive training in the application of human rights norms to the situation of migrant workers and members of their families.

f) States should establish effective and accessible channels which would allow all migrant workers to lodge complaints for violations of their rights without
retaliation against them on the ground that they may be in an irregular situation.

g) States of employment should facilitate the reunification of migrant workers with their spouses and their minor children and if reunification is not possible in certain circumstances, allow migrant workers to be temporarily absent without effect
upon their authorization to stay or to work in order to visit their family in the country of origin.

h) Children of all migrant workers should have access to education.

Remedies
16. Many migrants face problems in seeking remedies for violations of their rights by employers because they are not entitled to stay in the country of employment once the employment relation has been terminated. As a result, migrants may return to the
country of origin with less pay than they are due, with difficulties in seeking justice.

17. The Committee therefore recommends that

a) Migrant workers who leave the country of employment should be entitled to outstanding wages and benefits and consideration should be given to allow them to stay in the country for the necessary period of time in order for them to seek a remedy
for unpaid wages and benefits.

b) States should consider entering into bilateral agreements in order to ensure that migrants who return to their country of origin have access to justice in the country of employment in order to claim unpaid wages and benefits.

c) States should consider offering legal services to migrant workers in legal proceedings related to employment and migration.

d) States of employment should allow documented migrant workers the right to transfer to another job during the period of their work permit and should not regard them as in an irregular situation when their employment is terminated prior to the expiration of their work permit.

Migrants’ contact with the country of origin

18. In order to maximize the contribution migrants can make to their country of origin, it is important that migrants remain in close contact with their country of
origin, maintain cultural links and remain abreast of the developments there, in particular through diaspora associations.

19. The Committee therefore recommends that

a) States of origin should consider providing the right to vote in elections to their nationals abroad.

b) States of origin should establish mechanisms that would take the needs of migrant workers into account.

20. Temporary migration schemes may in theory enhance the contribution of migrants to the development of both countries of origin and countries of employment. Nevertheless, it is crucial to remember that, in practice, temporary migrants often find themselves in precarious situations with the risk of having their rights curtailed.

21. The Committee therefore recommends that

a) In pursuing temporary migration projects, States should ensure that the human rights of migrants are protected, including in relation to equality of the
conditions of work and remuneration.

b) Specific arrangements should be put in place to allow temporary migrants to visit their families on a regular basis, where family reunification in the host country is not permitted.

Returning migrants

22. In order to maximize the benefits from migrant workers’ experience and acquired skills, it is important that returning migrants can take home with them their earnings and savings, that they are not unduly subjected to taxes, that they are assisted
in reintegrating into their country of origin, and that they enjoy protection of their rights in the country of origin.

23. The Committee therefore recommends that

a) States should take measures to facilitate the transfer of migrants’ earnings and savings, including the reduction of the costs of remittance transfers.

b) States should consider bilateral agreements in order to avo

id double taxation of all earnings and savings of migrant workers and in order to exempt them from import and export duties in respect of their personal and household effects as well as their professional equipment.

c) States of origin should take adequate measures to facilitate the durable social and cultural reintegration of returning migrant workers.

d) States should consider entering into agreements allowing for the portability of pensions and social security entitlements.

Conclusion

24. Migration has an impact on the development of countries of origin, of transit and of employment. It is the shared responsibility of all States to guarantee the human rights of migrant workers and members of their families. The Committee therefore
recommends that States shall as appropriate consult and cooperate with a view to promoting sound, equitable and humane conditions in connection with international migration of workers and members of their families.

The Committee also calls upon all States parties to take effective measures to implement the rights contained in the Convention. It equally calls upon States that are not yet parties to the Convention, to
consider adhering to the Convention without delay.