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Brussels 2007 Civil Society Day of the Global Forum on Migration and Development

“Civil Society Day”
of the Global Forum on Migration and Development

Brussels 2007 Global Forum on Migration and Development
9-11 July 2007
Brussels, Belgium

The Belgian government and the Brussels-based King Baudouin Foundation invited PSAP to participate in the “Civil Society Day” of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) which was held at the Palais d’ Egmont in Brussels on 9 July 2007.

The “Civil Society Day”, which was set in advance of the inter-governmental GFMD meeting on 10-11 July, allowed the invited civil society participants to discuss relevant issues and to offer organized input to the intergovernmental discussions. Civil society actors from around the world participated at this event and included diaspora organisations, advocacy groups, trade unions, the private sector, and researchers. (http://www.gfmd-civil-society.org/index.html)

Prominent human rights advocate Ex PM Mary Robinson chaired the Plenary
Prominent human rights advocate Ex PM Mary Robinson chaired the Plenary

GFMD workshop session on temporary labour migration
GFMD workshop session on temporary labour migration

PSAP was the only civil society actor in the Forum which represented the cause of seafarers and other sea-based migrant workers. The input of PSAP consisted of a 2-page submission which highlighted the role and strategic importance of the recently adopted 2006 Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) in the promotion and protection of migrant workers’ rights. This unique submission was well appreciated by the conference and, as a result of PSAP’s input, the Maritime Labour Convention was expressly mentioned and its cause included in the Report of the Civil Society Day of the GFMD. This Report states that:

“There is a need to recognize, ratify and fully implement international conventions such as the International Convention on the Rights of all Migrant Workers and the Members of Their Families (1990), core ILO Conventions and others such as the recent Maritime Labour Convention of 2006 and the Palermo Protocol on smuggling and trafficking in human beings to the International Convention on Combating International Crime (2000). Full implementation will require monitoring and training at the local level.”

Thanks to PSAP’s “good news” and intervention in the GFMD, the new Maritime Labour Convention has now become an integral part of the wider dialogue and the intensifying debate on migration and development. The entire global community has been made aware that recent developments in the arena of seafarers’ rights are critically important in any process that seeks to realize rights-based approaches in unpacking the migration-and-development problematic.

PSAP’s overall advocacy, in the new GFMD context, simply reiterates the message of ILO Director General Juan Somavia to the international maritime community on the occasion of the adoption of the MLC in February 2006 — that the MLC embodies “an innovative approach to social policy that represents a pioneering contribution to making globalization fair.”

Fair Globalization features of the MLC:
Some lessons learned on circular migration
in the maritime context

  • Elaboration of “labour supplying responsibilities” on the part of migrant-sending countries, like the rigorous inspection and monitoring of recruitment agencies and the adoption of legislation on social security protection for migrant workers
  • The right of a migrant worker to have a legally-enforceable employment contract, specifying minimum terms and conditions of employment, including provisions for remittance of wages
  • Recognition of the fundamental “right to report” serious violations of labor standards by migrant workers, and the supporting infrastructure of “complaint-handling procedures” in sending countries, transit-countries, and receiving countries giving effect to this historic procedural right
  • To constantly promote a “culture of compliance”, the MLC mandates inclusive social dialogue as well as transparent and vigorous tripartism at all levels as a special mechanism to implement the Convention.

In light of the need to press ahead with the agenda of the 2006 Maritime Labour Convention in the context of Migration and development, PSAP has developed a project plan entitled

CONSOLIDATING THE GAINS OF SEAFARERS
AS MIGRANT WORKERS:
REALIZING SEAFARERS’ RIGHTS AS A
MODEL FOR FAIR GLOBALIZATION.

Friends of seafarers and migrant workers are invited to support this pioneering rights-based initiative on Migration and Development. Please contact PSAP for information about how you can help out.

Brussels 2007 PSAP submission to Civil Society Day of the Global Forum on Migration and Development - in PDF Format (52 KB)

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