UN Committee on Migrant Workers to review Senegal

GENEVA (7 April 2016) – Senegal’s record on protecting the rights of migrant workers is due to be reviewed by the UN Committee on the Rights of Migrant Workers (CMW) on 13 and 14 April in Geneva. Senegal is one of the 48 States Parties to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, and so is required to be reviewed regularly by the Committee. 

Among the possible issues for discussion between the CMW and a delegation from the Senegalese Government are:

• Discrimination, stigmatization of migrant workers from countries affected by Ebola;
• Condition, length of detention of migrant workers for violations of immigration laws;
• Measures to facilitate transfer of Senegalese migrant workers’ earnings and savings to Senegal, help for recipients to invest funds in income-generating activities;
• Measures to ensure protection of rights of Senegalese migrant workers given the considerable number being deported from Europe and some North African countries;
• Measures to prevent and combat smuggling and trafficking of migrants, and their exploitation in the informal sector, in particular in agriculture, gold mines, fisheries, domestic work and sex tourism;
• Steps taken to remove migrant children forced to beg from the streets and to impose harsher penalties on the marabouts who exploit talibésfor economic gain.
• Diplomatic and consular services for Senegalese migrant workers living abroad.

The discussions will take place in Room XII at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on 13 April from 15:00-18:00 (13:00-16:00 in Senegal) and on 14 April from 10:00-13:00 (08:00-11:00). The Committee will also be briefed by representatives of NGOs, UN bodies and specialised agencies. More information about the review here: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1044&Lang=en

The Committee, which is also reviewing Mauritania, Lesotho and Turkey, will publish its findings here on 25 April: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1044&Lang=en

ENDS

For more information and media requests, please contact Liz Throssell - +41 22 917 9466 / ethrossell@ohchr.org

Background

CMW members are independent human rights experts drawn from around the world, who serve in their personal capacity and not as representatives of States parties. The Committee’s concluding observations are an independent assessment of States’ compliance with their human rights obligations under the treaty. More information on the Committee:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CMW/Pages/CMWIndex.aspx

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