Small victory for exploited migrant farm workers

Date: 02/09/2010 - 15:57

An international campaign by Canadian labour activists has persuaded the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and a major Canadian employer association to stop demanding a $400 deposit from more than 4,000 temporary Guatemalan farm workers employed mainly in Quebec.

ENAR organises EU-wide protest against France's xenophobic policies

Date: 01/09/2010 - 13:09

ENAR and anti-racist NGOs are organising an EU-wide protest against France's xenophobic policies on 4 September 2010 in several European cities.

Read the press release here

Click here for more information about demonstrations organised across Europe

Immigration and Employment: Anatomy of a Media Story

Date: 31/08/2010 - 12:58

Employment statistics released last week in the United Kingdom have provided an immigration bonanza for the rightwing press. This short paper attempts to disentangle the statistics from the interpretation, and to explore how this story came to take the shape it has. By doing so, it aims to draw a few lessons for policy.

UN human rights chief calls for urgent measures in wake of latest Mexico killings

Date: 27/08/2010 - 10:28

GENEVA -- The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Friday strongly condemned the killing of 72 migrants in the North of Mexico. “I am deeply shocked about these killings, which highlight the critical situation of migrants in the country,” she said.

According to government reports, on 24 August the Mexican Navy discovered a site which contained 72 corpses, including 14 women, who had apparently been executed by members of organized crime.  The victims were reported to be undocumented migrants from Central and South America.    

Thailand: Sweeping support sought for domestic workers' rights

Date: 26/08/2010 - 09:02

BANGKOK, Aug 25, 2010 (IPS) - "My male employer was a womaniser and he liked to touch me and told me not to tell his wife. I felt so uncomfortable," says Chompoo, who was just 15 years old when she served – and suffered abuse – as a domestic worker here in the Thai capital.

"So I told my mom that I don’t want to work in this house anymore and I quit without salary," says Chompoo, who originates from Tavoy, a south- eastern city in Burma.

Mexico Massacre Galvanises Migrant Rights Activists

Date: 02/09/2010 - 09:01

Activists in Latin America have been galvanised by atrocities like the recent massacre of 72 migrants near the U.S. border to step up their efforts on behalf of migrant rights.

"We want to create a common front among non-governmental organisations (NGOs), migrant shelters, and rights defenders to create a system that helps migrants identify the most dangerous areas and understand the way organised crime groups operate, so they can avoid them," Mexican activist Rubén Figueroa told IPS.

Domestic Workers Make History In New York

Date: 01/09/2010 - 12:59

Domestic workers gathered at the foot of the Harriet Tubman memorial in Harlem today to celebrate New York’s groundbreaking domestic workers legislation, which the governor signed into law at a nearby community center. Deloris Wright told the crowd of fellow domestic workers, supporters, and reporters, “Today is about generations of domestic workers that came before and those who are still to come.”

Wright is a member of Domestic Workers United (DWU), the organization that spearheaded the legislation.

Roma persecution in France takes Europe 70 years back

Date: 31/08/2010 - 09:20

Over recent weeks, France has pushed forward with implementing a policy that targets Roma and travellers, both migrants and citizens, consisting of shutting down Roma and travellers' camps and deporting migrants.

Latin American Migrants in the U.S. Condemn Massacre Against Their Brothers and Sisters in Mexico

Date: 27/08/2010 - 07:33

Chicago, IL – On Wednesday August 24, 2010, news began to come out about one of the worst massacres ever occurred in Mexico, near the border with Brownsville, TX. According to news reports, the 72 bodies discovered were all Latin American migrants, mostly from El Salvador, Honduras, Ecuador and Brazil. In response to this abhorrent and sad news, leaders of the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities (NALACC), the largest umbrella organization of Latin American and Caribbean immigrants in the U.S., issued the following statement

Guatemalan migrants deserve our respect.

Date: 24/08/2010 - 13:56

Canada’s largest private-sector union, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW Canada), has launched – in collaboration with the Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA) – a major campaign to denounce the systematic abuse and violation of the rights of Guatemalan farm workers who come to Canada through the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP).

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

Financial support for operational costs is provided by Oxfam-Novib (Netherlands). Other funders may occasionally support special activities.

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