UN Committee on Migrant Workers to review Niger

GENEVA (25 August  2016) – Niger'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 30 and 31 August in Geneva. Niger 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 Nigerien Government are:

• Unaccompanied children migrating into or out of Niger to find work;
• High number of migrant workers in transit through Niger who face difficult and dangerous conditions on their journey;
• Excessive fees imposed by private recruitment agencies and their role as intermediaries for abusive foreign recruiters;
• Measures to counteract exploitation of migrants in irregular labour situations, including combatting domestic slavery;
• High number of people trafficked into, through and out of Niger for forced labour, including in the commercial sex industry;
• Internal displacement of families in Southern Niger caused by Boko Haram attacks.

The discussions will take place at Palais Wilson in Geneva on 30 August from 15:00-18:00 (14:00-17:00 in Niamey) and on 31 August from 10:00-13:00 (9:00-12:00 in Niamey), and will be webcast live at http://webtv.un.org/. 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=1046&Lang=en

The Committee, which is also reviewing Honduras, Nicaragua and Sri Lanka, will publish its findings at the above link on Tuesday 13 September.

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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