Submission to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants for the thematic report on revisiting migrants’ contributions from a human rights-based approach
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.
Joint NGO Statement on recast EU Anti-Trafficking Directive
25 April 2024
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 NGO call to EU leaders: Measures to improve victim’s rights are needed for the revision of the EU anti-trafficking directive to be meaningful, and not actually harmful for victims and those at risk
For the PDF version, click here.
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)
- adequate complaints mechanisms (Article 18)
Nothing More, Nothing Less: A demand for dignified life and fair, minimum wage
22nd November, 2023
For the PDF version, go here.
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!
Summary of Global South Women’s Forum (GSWF) Panel Discussion
For the Spanish version, go here.
GAATW organised a panel at the IWRAW virtual Global South Women’s Forum (GSWF) on 29th October 2023. GAATW organised it with its members and partners from South East Asia and Latin America. They are Serve the People Association (SPA, Taiwan), Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM), Hong Kong, Espacios De Mujer (Colombia) and ASBRAD (Brazil). The key objective of the panel discussion was to bring together the experiences of women migrants and survivors of trafficking from these two regions. GAATW and our members and partners encourage self-representation and participation of the women who continue to fight for their rights as community organisers in different countries of destination. The speakers’ reflection on the themes of the GSWF’s theme of access to documentation and citizenship as site of exclusion, not only based on their personal experience but also their role as community organisers.
Summary of Consultation: Migrant women in Europe’s experiences of socioeconomic inclusion
Berlin, July 2023
1. Background and Context
Over the last three years GAATW, together with ten partners from Southeast Asia and Europe, has used a feminist participatory action research methodology to learn about the experiences of 259 Southeast Asian women migrants who were either currently in Europe, or who had recently returned from Europe. The purpose of this research was to learn more about their experiences of “inclusion” at home and in Europe.
GAATW’s research was limited to just five European countries (UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland) and three Southeast Asian countries (Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines). Therefore, following the publication of the research report, we wanted to expand our understanding to include the experiences of women migrants from other parts of the world, and/or who are in different European countries to the ones in our study.
To this end, GAATW approached other network organisations for a two‐day consultation that would examine the barriers to socioeconomic inclusion for migrant women in Europe and give an opportunity to discuss the advocacy priorities of each organisation.
In July 2023, GAATW spent two days discussing these issues with eleven other network organisations. This memo summarises the key points that arose during those two days and outlines the next steps GAATW intends to take as a result.
Press statement on reintegration support for returning migrant workers in Southeast Asia
In 2023, the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW) together with ten partner organisations from Southeast Asia and Europe researched Southeast Asian migrant women’s experience of migration to Europe, and of their reintegration at home upon return. Using a Feminist Participatory Action Research methodology, our research partners spoke with 329 Southeast Asian migrant workers in Europe and 121 returnees in Southeast Asia.
We found that in Southeast Asia, reintegration support for returning migrants varied from country to country but was generally insufficient. It was usually limited to training schemes, assistance to trafficking victims, and short-term financing schemes for self-employment. Furthermore, the business-focused nature of reintegration programmes presents individualistic solutions to what are often structural problems within the country and region. We found that what returning migrants most needed, but could not find, were stable, well-paid jobs and access to affordable, long-term psychosocial counselling and financial advice.
A joint statement from representatives from CSOs and migrant development socities of Sri Lanka
Please go here for the PDF files in Sinhala, Tamil, and English.
We, the representatives of Civil Society Organisations and Migrant Development Societies working in various regions of Sri Lanka, in collaboration with the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women, have concluded a two-day consultation on SafeandFairLabourMigrationofSriLankanwomen. The CSO representatives who participated in the consultation are from the Eastern Self Reliant Community Awakening Organisation, Centre for Human Rights and Community Development , Community Development Services, Women and Media Collective, Voice of Migrants Network, PREDO, SWOAD, SAMADANAM, FIRM, SAFE Foundation and VOICE. Participants representing the Migrant Development Societies are from Kurunegala, Batticaloa, Putlam, Anuradhapura, Ampara, Kandy, Vavuniya and Nuawara Eliya.