African migrants after being intercepted at the sea, Teneriffa, Spain
© UNHC [ ]
The spanish coastguards intercept a fishing boat laden with migrants
© UNHCR [ ]
Detention Camps in Europe, 2005
© Netzwerk Migration in Europa e.V.
© UNHCR/Hollmann
The EU and also the international community have begun to seek a framework within which they can address migration as a comprehensive issue encompassing voluntary and involuntary movements, and based on the notion that states and other protagonists share common ground on many migration concerns. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) monitoring such developments and advocating migration policy development on a European level have increased their level of lobbying for migrants’ rights in recent years. NGOs work to advance international human rights standards in the policy area of migration in Europe, to document human rights violations, to lobby for migrants and refugees´ human rights, to collect data, and to monitor as well as strengthen long-term education on migration and human rights.
First, NGOs can be instrumental in achieving the adoption of human rights standards in the EU. NGOs can pressure EU institutions and national governments to sign and ratify the treaties that embody human rights norms, e.g. the International Workers Convention.
Second, NGOs work to document violations of human rights standards in the EU and through EU legislation. Investigation and documentation by NGOs has been vitally important in bringing human rights abuses of migrants and refugees to the attention of the European and international public. An important area is the issue of detention camps and deaths of migrants after leaving their countries.
Third, NGOs work to monitor the human rights of migrants and lobby for human rights in the area of migrants’ rights and migration & asylum policy. For example AI-Europe recently monitored and lobbied consistently for the human rights of migrants in the European migration policy-making process.
Furthermore there are numerous coalitions of national NGOs that lobby for the human rights of refugees (ECRE). Last but not least there are organizations directly founded and funded by the EU Commission EUMC or who collect data and monitor the antidiscrimination and equality of migrants in the European member states. Fourth, NGOs work in the field of long term education of human rights of migrants and refugees on a European or national level, e.g. Human Rights, Human Rights Associates or Network Migration in Europe.
Andrea Schmelz, Network Migration in Europe e.V., Berlin
November, 2006
Schwenken, H.: Irregular Migration: European Union Policies, 2008
Human Rights Documents on Refugees and Asylum
European Convention for the protection of human rights, 1950
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination