The group was mandated by the Human Rights Council and consists of five experts; it aims to end discrimination against women in law and in practice in all fields from the perspective of countries’ obligations “to respect, protect and fulfil women’s human rights,” it says.
In advocating for the full decriminalization of adult voluntary sex work based on international standards for strengthening women’s physical autonomy and sexual and reproductive health, this guidance document is an important step toward a human rights-based approach to sex work for all UN bodies to follow.
The Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW) is an Alliance of non-governmental organisations from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Member organisations work to promote the rights of migrants and survivors of trafficking. The GAATW International Secretariat is based in Bangkok, Thailand and coordinates the activities of the Alliance, initiates research, and advocates on behalf of the Alliance.
Over the past three years, GAATW has interviewed a total of 970 migrants and survivors of trafficking (953 women and 17 men) in 18 countries across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. This submission is based on the findings of these conversations, as well as earlier research conducted in 2018 with self-organised groups of migrant women workers in India, Thailand, Mexico, Canada, Spain, South Africa and New Zealand.
Introduction
This submission will focus on questions 2 and 3 in the call for input. First, it will examine and analyse the ways in which the ability of migrants to self-organise facilitates greater inclusion and therefore greater freedom to contribute to society. Second, it examines how the failure of states and international organisations to implement feminist migration policies significantly hinders migrants’ contributions and increases their vulnerability to human rights violations.
In this submission, when we discuss the contributions of migrants and the challenges they face, we seek to avoid any suggestion that migrants are required to contribute either economically, socially, or culturally to be deserving of rights protection. We wish to avoid the risk that by focusing on the “contributions” of migrants, a dichotomy is inadvertently drawn between “good” migrants, who contribute to society, and “bad” migrants who do not. This risk is particularly acute for women migrants. The strict gender roles that have been ascribed to women globally perpetuate harmful stereotypes about what a woman’s contribution in life should be, which are usually linked to childrearing, sexual chastity, and caregiving. Women migrants who deviate from these stereotypes, risk being seen as not contributing in the right way and therefore as “bad” migrants.
On 23 of April, during its last plenary meeting of this mandate, the EU parliament adopted the final text of the recast of the EU anti-trafficking Directive1. We, the undersigned non-governmental human rights organisations, welcome some progress that has been made in the revised Directive. It is positive that sanctions for legal persons have been strengthened for those liable for misconduct; that the non-punishment clause now applies to all unlawful activities and that the right to international protection is strongly recognised in the text.
Overall, however the final legislative text demonstrates a lack of commitment of the European institutions to advance the rights of trafficked persons.
We have advocated for binding measures for EU Member States to ensure real access to rights and justice for victims of trafficking, both on paper and in practice, including their access to safe reporting, non-punishment, compensation and unconditional access to adequate support and protection, as well as residence. However, most of the provisions in the Directive related to these rights have not been meaningfully or effectively strengthened. Moreover, the use of services of trafficked persons is now criminalised, while there is no evidence that this will be effective or strengthen victims’ rights. In fact, it is likely to cause human rights violations instead.
Joint civil society recommendations for the trialogue negotiations on the revision of the EU ‘Anti- Trafficking Directive’ (2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims (COM/2022/732 final).
Ahead of the planned trialogue meeting on 12 December 2023, we call on the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of the EU to find meaningful compromises to ensure that the revised anti-trafficking directive will indeed strengthen the rights of victims of trafficking and enable their access to justice.
In particular, the negotiating institutions must draw on suggested amendments of the European Parliament to improve, at a minimum:
effective implementation of the non-punishment principle, through further guidance and legal provisions (Article 8)
compensation via prefinancing by States and the use of recovered assets and fines (Article 17 and Art 7)
unconditional access to support for all victims (Article 11)
linkages to the right to international protection (Article 11a)
GAATW International Secretariat and members stand in solidarity with Bangladeshi garment workers who are protesting the new minimum wage proposed by the Labour Department, which is much lower than the rise in cost of living, and are demanding the immediate establishment of a living minimum wage of Tk 23,000 (USD 209). This is the minimum wage necessary for workers to be able to lead a dignified life, and is in line with the proposal of Asia Floor Wage Alliance Bangladesh, who submitted a review petition to the government-appointed wage board in Bangladesh on November 20th, demanding a thorough review of the newly proposed minimum wage. Similar support and demand for the Bangladeshi state authorities to reconsider their position has come from other global unions.
GAATW supports these demands and wishes to highlight that this is not a standalone case but as part of a long global struggle for decent work and living conditions. We demand for fair minimum wage for all workers - nothing more, nothing less!
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