COMMITTEE ON PROTECTION OF RIGHTS OF MIGRANTS CONCLUDES FOURTH SESSION

Committee on the Protection
of the Rights of Migrants

28 April 2006
ROUND-UP RELEASE
ROVISIONAL


Adopts Conclusions and Recommendations on Initial Report of Mali


The Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families today concluded its week-long fourth session during which it considered the initial periodic report of Mali, the first country report to be considered by the Committee. It also adopted a written contribution to the General Assembly’s High-Level Dialogue on Migration and Development, to be held in September 2006 (not available at the moment of publication of this press release).

With regard to Mali, the Committee was pleased to note the promulgation of Act No. 04-058 of 25 November 2005, regarding conditions of entry, stay and establishment of foreigners in Mali, replacing legislation that was not in conformity with the Convention. The Committee acknowledged the difficulty the State party said it had encountered in controlling illegal and clandestine movements of migrant workers and members of their families, and principally the difficulties it encountered in managing its long frontiers with seven neighbouring countries. The Committee strongly urged the State party to request the necessary technical assistance to create a gender disaggregated database that would allow it to understand the patterns of migration and the situation of migrant workers in the country, including those who were not officially recognized, as well as oversee the implementation of each of the rights provided for in the Convention, so that such information could be provided to the Committee. The Committee also recommended that Mali intensify its efforts to combat trafficking in children.

At its next session, to be held from 30 October to 3 November 2006 in Geneva, the Committee will examine the initial report of Mexico.

Concluding Observations and Recommendations on Mali

After considering the initial report of Mali, the Committee welcomed the creation of a Ministry for Malians Abroad and for African Unification and that the Ministry made information available to Malians via its website on the conditions for entry and stay in a number of countries with large Malian populations. It also was pleased to note the promulgation of Act No. 04-058 of 25 November 2005, regarding conditions of entry, stay and establishment of foreigners in Mali, replacing legislation that was not in conformity with the Convention. The Committee noted with satisfaction that many Malians abroad were able to participate in presidential elections through mechanisms established in several countries and recommended that that right be extended to a greater number of Malians working abroad. The Committee acknowledged the difficulty the State party said it had encountered in controlling illegal and clandestine movements of migrant workers and members of their families, and principally the difficulties it encountered in managing its long frontiers with seven neighbouring countries.

The Committee encouraged Mali to consider the possibility of making declarations under articles 76 and 77 of the Convention, recognizing the Committee’s competence to hear complaints from groups and individuals. The Committee also invited Mali to consider becoming a State party to ILO Conventions Nos. 97 and 143 concerning migrant workers as soon as possible. While pleased that the Constitution provided that international treaties, including the Convention, enjoyed precedence over national legislation, the Committee remained concerned that the Convention could not be applied by the courts until it had been incorporated into national legislation and the Committee requested the State party to immediately take the legislative measures necessary to do so. The Committee was also concerned by the lack of statistics on migratory flows that affected Mali, as well as on other issues surrounding migration. The Committee strongly urged the State party to request the necessary technical assistance to create a gender disaggregated database that would allow it to understand the patterns of migration and the situation of migrant workers in the country, including those who were not officially recognized, as well as oversee the implementation of each of the rights provided for in the Convention, so that such information could be furnished to the Committee.

The Committee invited Mali to provide training to government officials working in the area of migration and noted with concern the apparent absence of coordination among institutions and services that dealt with different aspects of migration. The Committee remained concerned by the fact that, as the State party itself recognized, trafficking in children remained a serious problem in the country. It was particularly concerned by the traffic of Malian children to other countries of the region and their submission to practices such as enslavement and forced labour, as well as the situation of immigrant girls, who according to certain sources were exploited. It therefore recommended that Mali intensify its efforts to combat trafficking in children in cooperation with international governmental and non-governmental organizations, and to implement the recommendations of the Committee on Human Rights and the Committee on the Rights of the Child on this subject.

Members of the Committee

The members of the Committee are Francisco Alba (Mexico); Francisco Carrion-Mena (Ecuador); Ana Elizabeth Cubias Medina (El Salvador); Anamaria Dieguez Arevalo (Guatemala); Ahmed Hassan El-Borai (Egypt); Abdelhamid El Jamari (Morocco); Prasad Kariyawasam (Sri Lanka); Jose Serrano Brillantes (Philippines); Mehmet Sevim (Turkey); and Azad Taghizade (Azerbaijan).

Mr. Kariyawasam is the Chairperson. The Vice-Chairpersons are Mr. Brillantes, Ms. Dieguez and Mr. El-Borai. The Rapporteur is Mr. Alba.

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For use of the information media; not an official record