ADDRESS BY AMBASSADOR CARLOS
PORTALES, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF CHILE, ON BEHALF OF THE LATIN
AMERICAN COUNTRIES OF GRULAC AT THE 9th SESSION, ITEM 3,
OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
Statement of the Latin American
Countries of GRULAC
on the Rights of the Migrants
Geneva, September 15, 2008
Mr. President,
The year 2008 marks the 60th anniversary
of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which has been and continues
to be the value framework within which the States have to create and
apply public policies. This was established in 1993 by the Vienna Conference.
Today, we must reinforce the universality of human rights. In this context,
the Latin American Countries of GRULAC recognize that all people deserve
that their rights must be protected and respected, inside and outside
their countries and the Council has a responsibility in this regard.
Migration is a complex and multidimensional
phenomenon requiring an integral approach that clearly underlines the
shared responsibility among countries of origin, transit and destination
of migrants. In this comprehensive approach, the protection of human
rights is an indispensable element. The starting point of any discussion
on migration is that migrants have all the rights universally recognized
in Treaties and Conventions that protect human beings, with the exception
of those rights that these instruments recognize as exclusive to nationals
of any given State.
International migrant flows have
contributed to the economic and cultural development of various regions
in the world. In the context of globalization, growing migrant flows
are an increasingly important phenomenon. These vast human movements,
in particular those proceeding from Europe, are part of the history
of Latin America and the Caribbean. In fact, millions of Europeans and
people from other regions of the world have migrated towards our region,
running away from poverty, wars, civil conflict, injustice and persecutions
of all kinds, in order to build a new future in our region. They were
well received by our countries and integrated into our cultures thus
contributing to the development of our national States.
For our region, migration is a subject
of prime importance due to its economic, social and political implications
and mainly from a human rights point of view. Today, with 200 millions
of international migrants in the world, the question of migration should
be tackled as a whole, attributing priority to social aspects of migration
policies, which are to be based on the principles of tolerance, solidarity,
full observance of the human rights of migrant and their families, gender
equality, justice, inclusion and social equity.
Based on the comprehensive approach
we mentioned early, the Latin American countries of GRULAC welcome the
inclusion of a roundtable on the Protection of Human Rights in the World
Forum on Migration and Development. We are confident this Forum should
discuss programs to promote the protection of human rights of all migrants.
Furthermore, Mr. President, we believe
that any comprehensive discussion on this topic should involve all actors,
including migrants, NGOs and private sector.
In this context, the recent approval
by the European Parliament of the Directive on the "Common Standards
and Procedures for the Return of Illegal Immigrants" (known
as the "Return Directive") has created deep concern in the
Latin American countries of GRULAC. Therefore, we request to this Council,
to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Body Treaties
and pertinent Special Mandates Holders, to closely monitor the implementation
of the Return Directive by European Union Member States along with others
initiatives of similar nature adopted elsewhere, aimed to prevent abuses
of migrant's human rights, particularly of the most vulnerable groups
such as children and women.
We bring to the attention of what
has been mentioned by several Special Mandate Holders of the Human Right
Council with regard this issue, in the sense that undocumented migrants
are not criminals and, as a rule, they should not be subject to detention.
We share the view that Member States are requested to explore the availability
of alternatives to detention.
The consequences of public policies, included those of migratory nature,
shall not take precedence over human rights obligations. Migration policies
should, in our opinion, take into account the following considerations:
1) the unrestricted protection of the human rights of migrant; 2) criminalization
of migration only increases the vulnerability of migrants; 3) the need
for a comprehensive approach which takes into consideration the positive
contributions the migrant makes to the economy and culture of the receiving
countries and; 4) the principle of shared responsibility.
The Latin American Countries of
GRULAC recognize the sovereign right of each State to decide and implement
the migration policies and border control it deems appropriate. However,
it underscores the obligation of all countries to ensure that such measures
are compatible with its obligations under international law and in particular
with the international human rights standards, in order to guarantee
the enjoyment and exercise of these rights to all migrants, independently
of their migrant status.
Today, the European Union is the
world's main destination of migrants. Migrants arriving to the European
Union have contributed to its prosperity. Migrants also contribute to
boost demographics in Europe, help to funding social security systems,
give dynamism to the domestic markets and thus being a factor of social
cohesion.
For all the aforementioned, the
Latin American Countries of GRULAC calls for an urgent dialogue with
the European Union, taking as a basis the agreements of the Fifth Summit
of Head of States and Government of Latin America and the Caribbean
and Europe, held in Lima, Peru, in May this year; and the Joint Communiqué
of the Andean Community and European Union Troika related to the need
of establishing a comprehensive dialogue on Migration. This dialogue
should be built on the principles of historical reciprocity and common
responsibility adopted in the Declaration of Caracas on Migrations of
the Seventh South-American Conference on Migrations held in Caracas,
Venezuela, in 2007, included in the Special Declaration on Migratory
Issues of the XXXII Meeting of Head of States and Governments of the
Central America Integration System (CAIS/SICA) of June 27, 2008, which
is also a central element of the Declaration of Presidents of State
Parties of MERCOSUR and Associate States of July, 2008. The need of
this dialogue has been highlighted by the Country Members of the South
American Union (UNASUR) in its Declaration of July 4, 2008.
Thank you Mr. President.
