Goodbye from December 18 and Radio1812

Date: 22/04/2013 - 09:08

Dear colleagues and friends,

Two years ago we announced that because of a difficult funding situation, we were closing down our office in Brussels and putting some activities of our organization on hold.

Despite these difficult decisions we did manage to pull off two further successful editions of the annual Radio1812 event and even introduced some new elements such as the Odysseia audio magazine. This would not have been possible without the continued - although very limited - financial support and the contributions from the team of volunteers.

Protect maids, nannies and carers from exploitation.

Date: 08/03/2010 - 09:26

Caritas Internationalis is calling on governments and the international community to protect migrants who work in people’s homes as maids, nannies and carers from exploitation. These workers are mostly women.

Domestic workers are frequently trafficked and exploited. They rarely benefit from any form of legal protection. Abuse can be difficult to detect because the workplace is in private homes.

Caritas asks that domestic workers have the same legal protection in the workplace as others workers do.

Advancing Rights for Migrant Women

Date: 08/03/2010 - 09:02

Statement from the Gender and Migration NGO Caucus that met on Mar. 1 during the 54th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York. The intention of the statement is to lift up the needs of migrant women in the review of the Beijing Platform for Action and to call attention to the need to strengthen the involvement of migrant women in global fora.

 

"One day without us", day of struggle in support of migrants' rights on 1 March 2010

Date: 05/03/2010 - 09:16

A French initiative for a strike by migrants that involves abstaining from work and consumer spending on 1 March 2010 has been adhered to in Italy following recent developments, political, legislative and of violence against migrants such as that against African crop-pickers in Rosarno.

UN rights chief deplores Egypt’s use of ‘lethal force’ against migrants in Sinai

Date: 03/03/2010 - 12:57

With dozens of unarmed migrants attempting to enter Israel via the Sinai Desert having been killed since mid-2007 by Egyptian security forces, the top United Nations human rights official today called on the nation’s Government to call an end to the “deplorable” use of “lethal force.”

High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay underscored the need for an urgent independent inquiry into the killings of some 60 people – and the wounding and disappearance of dozens more – on the Egyptian side of its Sinai border with Israel since summer 2007, when the two countries agreed t

Bahrain: Address suffering before suicide occurs.

Date: 23/02/2010 - 09:31

The shocking cases of suicides committed by migrant workers in Bahrain reported since the beginning of 2010 are the continuation of a trend that should have been addressed years ago. The BCHR and CARAM Asia condemns the failure of authorities and Bahraini civil society to improve the working and living conditions of migrant workers, which in previous cases has been shown to lead to acts of desperation such as suicide.

International Women's Day: Equal Rights - Equal Opportunities - Progress for All

Date: 08/03/2010 - 09:30

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. In recognition of this important anniversary, the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is "Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress for All". More info, click here

See also:

2nd ILO report on Domestic Workers

Date: 05/03/2010 - 17:01

The ILO has issued its second preparatory report for the discussions "Decent Workf for Domestic Workers" at this year's International Labour Conference.

 

Download the report by clicking here

The exploitation of undocumented migrant women in the work place

Date: 13/05/2010 - 13:17

The report relates the experiences of migrant women in Europe, the US, and the Middle East, as well as organizing strategies.  Despite the many positive experiences of female migration, significantly fewer paths are available for women to legally migrate for employment and as a result, migrant women may find themselves trapped in exploitative and coercive conditions. Once in an irregular situation, migrant women are dramatically overrepresented in gender-defined jobs with precarious working conditions, low pay and exposure to violence.

Millions of migrants face health risks.

Date: 03/03/2010 - 11:15

The World Health Organization and International Organization for Migration say many of the nearly one-billion international and internal migrants around the world suffer from ill health because of stress and exploitative work conditions.  The Geneva-based agencies, along with the government of Spain, are sponsoring a Madrid conference, Wednesday through Friday, to explore ways to improve the health of migrants.  

International officials stress the need for social justice

Date: 19/02/2010 - 13:22

International figures at the UN stressed on 18 February that both developing countries and the international community must continue efforts to protect employment in the wake of the global economic crisis. At an event to mark the second annual World Day for Social Justice (which occurs on 20 February), a panel of experts on labor and economics claimed that the effects of the crisis have not dissipated and could grow stronger without national commitments to combat unemployment.

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

Financial support for operational costs and projects are occasionally provided by a range of funders.

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