ABAKADA Spring 2011

BABAYLAN ODENSE
A fabulous Induction ball!
Prepared by: BDO Officers
Jessica and Suzette Lyn from the “Dark Orchid Band “
with our two emcees Mary Rose Pajigal and Rhoda Jørgensen.
BDO officers being inducted by: Filomenita Høgsholm & Judy
Jover. It took place last April 02, 2011 in Munkebjerg Skole,
Odense.
Yes, finally Babaylan-Denmark/Odense is now officially a chapter! All officers have now committed
themselves to the vision and mission of BabaylanDenmark. The empowerment of Filipina women has
just begun here in Funen.
Our very own local talented singer
here in Funen, Rhoda Jørgensen.
She has a family background of
music and went to sing with some
choirs and other musical activities
when she was young. After some
years she worked with other bands
where they performed in Batangas City, Manila, China and she
even performed in the Middle East
together with her band. After having
years off to have a family, she is
now ready to meet new challenges
in her life.
The Founding Chair of Babaylan-Denmark, Filomenita Høgsholm came as our guest speaker and most of the Babaylan-Denmark officers were there tpp to witness the event .It
was a great honor to see them.
The program was not perfect, still some of our guests enjoyed themselves, and stayed long. BDO`s efficiency, enthusiasm and courage made this event successful!
The BDO & BD officers (left) Luz Hansen, Milagros San Jose, Zeny
Lundkvist, Sheila Jensen, Emily Emanuelsen, Marlene M. Andersen,
Virginia Engholm, Victoria Ellehauge, Ana Lindenhann, Judy Jover and
Filomenita Høgsholm
By this element of Filipino friendships, many came to join
and celebrate with us our induction ball. There were more
than 150 guests who attended this day. It was amazing!
We had guests from different towns and cities from Jutland
to Sjaelland! It seems like we are already well known. Distance has not been a hindrance at all. It was a wonderful
experience.
We had some games, lotteries and entertainments. Some
of our local talented entertainers gave us special numbers.
Even the two young ladies from Jutland, Jessica and Suzette Lyn from the “Dark Orchid Band” came just to render us some of their newly- composed songs. We are very
grateful for that.
The pinay beauties getting ready for Filipina gown
“Fashion Show”
We would like to thank all our sponsors for their donations,
to our beloved families and great helpers who supported us.
Thank you to all our guests, their friends and families for participating at this event. Mabuhay po tayong lahat! We hope to
see you again soon. n
ABAKADA, SPRING 2011
10
How do
REMITTANCES
MANILA, Philippines
— A study recently released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB)
provides an informative
and substantially probing
picture of how families of
overseas Filipino workers spend their remittance
money.
Families Spend remittance
money?
By Jun Burgos INQUIRER.net
The
study, entitled
“Remittances
and Household
Behavior in the Philippines,” was
conducted and written by Filipino Alvin
Ang, Indian Shikha Jha, and Indonesian Guntur Sugiyarto based on their
analysis of data from the 2000, 2003,
and 2006 Family Income and Expenditures Survey (FIES) reports of the
National Statistics Office (NSO).
The authors noted that some 18.05
percent of all Filipino households
received cash from abroad in the year
2000, and this rose to 20.72 percent
in 2003 and then to 23.3 percent in
2006.
From the data, the authors observed
that more families of OFWs were
spending less on food and more on
health, with the percentage share
of expenditures of migrant households on food down slightly from 44.9
percent in 2000 to 43.3 percent in
2006, while expenditures on health
increased from 2.3 percent in 2000 to
3 percent.
Allocations for durables, they said,
were found to be steady at 2.2 percent
from 2000 to 2006, while fairly stable
were those for education (4.5 percent
in 2000 to 4.4 percent in 2006), and
for housing operations (2.0 percent in
2000 to 2.1 percent in 2006).
They noted though that spending of
OFW families for transportation and
communication (including cellphone
expenses) increased from 6.2 percent
in 2000 to 7.2 percent in 2006.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
(BSP) has
reported that remittance
According to the BSP, the percentage
of households that allotted portions of
remittances to savings increased to
40 percent in the first quarter of 2009,
compared with only 35.8 percent in
the fourth quarter 2008 survey.
The bank added that there was also
a slight increase in the number of
OFW families that set aside money
for investments, from 4.7 percent in
the previous quarter to 5.9 percent in
2009.
inflows
to
the
Philippines in
2009
reached
$17.348
billion,
equivalent to
some 11-12 percent of the gross domestic product, with the country being
the third biggest recipient of workers’
remittances.
In its 2008 and 2009 reports, the BSP
noted increasing savings and investments by OFW families largely in
banks, other financial instruments and
real estate — an observation regarded
as a big improvement from earlier
reports describing OFW families as
using a large part of their money on
“unproductive expenses.”
ABAKADA, SPRING 2011
BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo has said, “In a sense, the greater
proportion of remittances recipients’
saving and investing is good for the
economy because the multiplier effects can be significant in the future….
savings and investments increase the
pool of resources available to both
households and corporate borrowers for their credit needs. That helps
sustain economic activity.”
The billions of dollars of annual OFW
remittances have greatly contributed
to our country’s economy and have
actually been credited for “saving” it
in many instances already, especially
during hard times.
It is best for the government as well
as the private sector to expand their
service to the OFWs and their families
in terms of assisting them on how to
make the most benefits out of their
hard-earned money. n
11
MIGRANT WOMEN & IWD
Migrant
Women & International
Rights
by Filomenita Mongaya Høgsholm*
History Entwined
If it were not for immigrant women,
we might not be celebrating the 8th of
March as International Women’s Day
(IWD) where we honour and recognize women’s contributions, and also
protect their rights. Although IWD has
been observed since the early 1900’s
when the world then, in a cataclysmic state, owing to industrial expansion and booming population growth,
witnessed impassioned women
campaigning for change. It made
headlines when15 000 women, probably immigrant women among them,
marched in 1908 through New York
City demanding shorter hours, better
pay and voting rights.
The Past....
At the 1910 International Conference
of Working Women in Copenhagen,
Clara Zetkin, working for the German Social Democratic Party, first
tabled the idea of an International
Women’s Day before more than 100
women from 17 countries, among
them members of political parties and
working women’s clubs, including the
first 3 Finnish women parliamentarians. Zetkin’s suggestion was unanimously approved at the meeting. Thus
was IWD celebrated for the first time
in Austria, Denmark, Germany and
Switzerland on 19 March 1911 with
more than one million women and men
attending.
Less than a week later on 25 March,
however, the ‘Triangle Fire’ in New
York City occurred, taking the lives of
146 garment workers, mostly Italian
and Eastern European -Jewish- women immigrants. The tragedy underscored the dangerous working conditions of immigrant women workers in
New York’s sweatshops .It became
a turning point when American labour
laws changed thereafter.
The present...
From then on, the meaning of the
tragic event would later be incorporated into the empowerment thrust commemorated on March 8th, now known
as International Women’s Day, IWD,
with special stress on women workers. That was exactly a century ago on
March 8 this year in 2011.
A whole century of struggle for rights
has certainly brought significant
changes to women workers lives but in
many parts of the world, women’s work
continues to be under valued, underpaid, or unremunerated and every
single day in the calendar, women and
girls in the Global South, following their
dreams of a better life, leave home
to find jobs to secure their future by
moving to the developed world of the
North/West. They cross borders –they
migrate- to connects and cultures far
from home.
Feminisation of Migration
According to I.O.M (International Office
for Migration)’s bi-annual World Migration Report in 2010, 3% of the world’s
population or 214 million people were
on the move, and 49% of these international migrants were women or girls,
the portion of females reaching 51% in
more developed regions. About 50%
of migrant workers in Asia, Africa and
Latin America are now women heads
of households who see it as their duty
to work abroad so as to support their
families’ well being, often aiming for
better education of their children. Yet
there are no guarantees that women
can migrate safely and protected. On
the contrary, the area of protection has
been marginalised, women migrants
subjected to multiple discrimination,
and the incidence of irregularity and of
trafficking rising.
But even without the criminal twist,
women workers still pay the social
costs of migration since they suffer
psychologically and emotionally from
the separation from their families, lowering quality of life.
extra hands that female immigrants
provide. Yet employers, governments
and society in receiving countries fail
to value migrant women’s work, which
is considered of low status. Care, esp,
when it is expended within the domestic sphere is invisible. And not valued.
Additionally, women workers are
denied their right to fair wages and humane working conditions. When they
come into contact with the law, they
are deprived of their right to due process, the right to be protected against
inhuman and degrading treatment, the
right to be heard and to air grievances,
without the threat of verbal abuse or
withholding of salary. These are everyday happenings for migrant women
in many parts of the world, even in
Europe. And often have no access to
counseling, legal and social services.
Domestic workers including the new
arrivals, the au pairs who no longer
come from other European countries
but from the South (Asia, Africa and
Latin America) as well as the former
Soviet republics. Found in increasing
numbers in northern Europe, they can
be deprived of their rights and their
maybe exposed to forms of violence,
including sexual harassment and rape.
Trafficking and smuggling for labour
and the sex industry mainly involving
women and children is a much more
lucrative business than the drug trade.
With the financial crisis
still raging, unscrupulous elements in the
migration and criminality nexus will ply their
trade vigorously to get
ill-gotten incomes.
Factors at play
According to
the same IOM
report, the trend
of female migration will continue
owing to the
demographic
factor of an ageing population
in the developed world –the
North- thereby
requiring the
ABAKADA, SPRING 2011
12
MIGRANT WOMEN & IWD
MDGs and Migrant Women: “Empowering Women to
End Poverty by 2015”
The UN Migrant Workers
Convention and International
Migrants Day
In 2000, the world’s leaders who on a
global agenda of cooperation to fight
poverty by formulating 8 specific goals,
the Millennium Development Goals or
MDGs. Not one of the 8 however was
on international migration, inspite of
the role of remittances and diaspora
communities as agents of change in
home countries. Indeed, migration is a
crosscutting phenomenon, rather like
gender equality which is one of the
MDGs, ie. Goal 3.
20 years has passed since the UN
attempted in 1990 to enshrine migrant
workers rights in a Convention adequately entitled the UN Convention
for Migrant Workers and Members of
their Families, UNMWC for short. It first
entered into force in 2003 but already
in 1997, Filipino migrants began to
celebrate the 18th of December to
commemorate international migrant’s
solidarity day. And finally on Dec.4th
2000, it was decided by the UN that
there ought to be an International Migrants Day to remind member states,
intergovernmental actors as well as
NGOs of their obligations to ratify the
Convention as well as to disseminate
information on the human rights of migrants, recognizing their contributions
to the well being of host societies.
Inspite there being one specific goal
on gender equality, without progress
towards the empowerment of women,
including migrant women, none of the
other goals will be achieved. Women
disproportionately experience the
burden of poverty as victims of discrimination, and yet they put their lives
at risk for example every time they
become pregnant because more often
than not, they have no access to basic
health services nor reproductive rights
orientation, showing an interplay of
several unfulfilled MDGs.
Last year’s UN MDG Summit in New
York in September 2010 concluded
with the adoption of a global action
plan to achieve the eight anti-poverty
goals by their 2015 target date. The
announcement of major new commitments for women’s and children’s
health and other initiatives against
poverty, hunger and disease should
add optimism but there are no guarantees esp. in the midst of an unresolved
financial global crisis.
The UNMWC is the only Human Rights
instrument that specifically addresses
the rights of migrants but unfortunately
it is also the least ratified...Not one
European or North American state has
taken the step of ratification. As of last
count, only 44 nations have ratified the
Convention, and all are from the Global
South. There are further some 15 more
signatories to the Convention, again
none from the so-called developed
nations.
The ILO Domestic Workers
Convention
The ILO (International Labour Organization) has passed a number of
Conventions thru the ‘80s and ‘90s,
all of them relevant to migrant workers but none seems to cater directly
to women migrants. In 2011, a new
Convention will
likely be passed
and this will be on
domestic workers’
rights. Considering
domestic workers
are mostly women,
the demographic
deficit in the North
such as in Eu
rope will require more care provided by
the Global South, and such a Convention might secure aspects to this grey
or unprotected labour area but might
not address ALL women’s rights.
The new convention was passed at
the ILO’s meeting in Geneva last June
2-18, 2010 and was attended by more
than 2,500 delegates from member
countries, trade unions and employer’s
confederations. This new DWC will
tackle freedom of association. Eg.
to form or belong to labour unions,
fair terms of employment and decent
living conditions, access to dispute
settlement processes , regulation of
employment agencies and the protection of migrant domestic workers. This
last part - protection- will require hard
bargaining since it includes protection
from abuse, wage regulation, fair and
decent conditions of work and social
security for domestic workers - migrant, live-in and other categories of
this extremely vast, unregulated and
unprotected workforce. The ILO also
called for state parties to hold consultations with stakeholders and provide
comments on the proposed convention
to set fair labour standards in domestic
work.
This year 2011, both international and
domestic laws are expected to be put
in place on this important subject. It is
problematic that domestic work often is
carried out in the home of the employer
and not in the public space where the
right to privacy of employers is put
forward as contradictory to the rights
of the domestic worker in regulated
employment. Also, the aforementioned
rapid rise in cross border trafficking calls for special protection for the
mostly female migrant domestic workers, many of whom cross international
borders without proper documentation.
The new Convention must also address the important issue of reintegration/return after end of contracts,
a time when the women workers are
particularly at risk. Domestic workers are also especially vulnerable to
sexual harassment and sexual assault,
and often find it impossible to access
the criminal justice system. Protection must be offered to workers in this
vulnerable sector against assaults of
sexual nature, which is more relevant
to certain areas in the world than in
others.
ILO in the Middle East
The ILO is also encouraging the drafting of labour legislation to provide
foreign domestic workers (FDWs) in
the Middle East with legal protection.
turn to page 14
ABAKADA, SPRING 2011
13
from page 13...
MIGRANT WOMEN ...
After a workshop in Beirut, Lebanon last November 2010, Arab trade
unions agreed on a statement of
principles, including the right to decent
wages and union representation for
FDWs, This phenomenon [FDW] has
grown in recent years as families need
help with care for elderly parents, people with disabilities and children. Only
Jordan has comprehensive labour legislation covering FDWs in a region that
employs 22 million domestic workers,
a third of whom are women, mainly
from Asian and African countries, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri
Lanka, Bangladesh and Ethiopia.
According to Human Rights Watch
(April 2010), FDWs who are especially widespread in the Middle East
face a wide range of abuses and poor
working conditions, such as needing
permission to leave the house, a lack
of leave days, or having their passports taken away and, in some cases,
physical and emotional abuse. The
report also noted that access to justice
was limited. Experts say the recruitment system – kafala – in which a
family sponsors the domestic worker,
is the first issue to tackle. Also advocacy for the rights of domestic workers
is weak and language is a barrier.
Awareness literature, hotlines for
FDWs, communal housing that would
offer domestic workers alternative to
living in the employer’s home, and
recruitment by public/governmental rather than private agencies are
initiatives being worked out by the
ILO working with governments., trade
unions, and other civil society organizations in both the countries of origin
and destinations. Private agencies are
making huge profits from the social
care needs of households when such
needs should be part of social policies
of governments, rather than being left
to private households.
Conventions aimed specifically at Women
“We work with women before they
depart to train them in their rights as
workers, their employment responsibilities and basic information about
contracts. We work with women once
they arrive in the country to ensure
they have safe housing, legitimate
contracts and workplace rights. We
also work with women who are
returning to their families
after periods of being
away and supporting
them to re-enter their
family life.”
MIGRANT WOMEN & IWD
(UNIFEM)
CEDAW
CEDAW, Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
is an international treaty that can also
be invoked to address women migrants’ issues. With 178 ratifications
by countries of origin, transit and destination, CEDAW is one of the most
widely ratified of conventions, ranking
second only to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child Adopted by the UN
General Assembly on 18 December
1979, it is one of the most comprehensive international human rights treaties
for the promotion of women’s rights.
It looks at women’s civil rights, legal
status, reproductive rights, but also
cultural factors influencing women’s
position in society and the enjoyment
of these rights. At some point, the UN
CEDAW Committee, affirming that
migrant women, like all women, should
not be discriminated against in any
sphere of their life, decided to issue a
General Recommendation on some
categories of women migrant workers
in these words:
Recognizing that migrant women may be
classified into various categories and that
these categories remain fluid and overlapping, the scope of the general recommendation is limited to addressing the situations of migrant women who, as workers,
are in low-paid jobs, may be at high risk
of abuse and discrimination and who may
never acquire eligibility for permanent stay
or citizenship, unlike professional migrant
workers in the country of employment.
These categories of migrant women are:
(a) women migrant workers who migrate
independently; (b) women migrant workers
who join their spouses or other members
of their families who are also workers;
and(c) undocumented women migrant
workers who may fall into any of the above
categories.
General Recommendation 27, also
known as GR 27 during the 32nd
Session in January 2005 elaborates
on the circumstances that contribute
to the specific vulnerability of women
migrant workers and their experiences
of sex- and gender-based discrimination as a cause and consequence of
the violations of their human rights.
(http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/
cedaw/comments.htm.)
ABAKADA, SPRING 2011
CEDAW: the view from Europe
Together with a couple of other related
organizations, UNIFEM organised
a Roundtable on the CEDAW and
Migrant Women during its 30th anniversary in Geneva in November 2009,
where two migrant women advocates
were invited from Europe -one representing WIDE/KULU/Babaylan and the
other from the European Network of
Migrant Women- to share experiences from the ground regarding human
rights challenges and the forms of
multiple discrimination women migrant
workers are facing in Europe. Bilateral agreements between countries to
protect migrant workers are generally
lacking, and many migrant women
do not have papers or contracts, as
a result of trafficking or their illegal
status, and therefore have no place to
go for protection, nor for services such
as health care.
Migrant women in Europe also often
lack access to social benefits (e.g.
pensions), and might therefore face
poverty at old age. A further complication is that many migrant women that
do domestic work are not protected,
for example regarding domestic
violence, as the ‘home’ by law is not
seen as an official workplace, but as a
private area.
One of the difficulties to protect
migrant workers arises from the fact
that the women leave on their own
initiative and do not go through official
organizations or networks, nor do they
seek advice with State institutions.
This makes it very difficult for States
to provide these migrant workers with
support.
Other issues raised during the discussion ranged from good practices
in training and education of migrant
workers, which nowadays is primarily a task taken up by civil society and
which many said should also become
the responsibility of States, so is
the protection of families, domestic
migration and national streamlining
of migration policy among various
ministries.
Concluding perspective
IWD is a global celebration to focus
on the economic, political and social
achievements of all women without regard for differences among them. Maybe with the newly established United
Nations Entity for Gender Equality and
the Empowerment of Women -or for
short UN Women - now finally functioning, the UN can now help member
states to “accelerate progress towards
their goals on gender equality and
the empowerment of women.” And
put power and meaning into the
celebration of International Women’s
Day and other gender highlights and
milestones, hopefully for generations
to come. n
14
MIGRANT WOMEN & IWD
Verschlungene
Geschichten
Internationaler Frauentag und
Frauenrechte von Migrantinnen
Die 15.000 Frauen – unter denen vermutlich auch Migrantinnen waren –, die 1908 durch New York marschierten und
kürzere Arbeitszeit, bessere Bezahlung und Wahlrecht verlangten,
machten Schlagzeilen. Hätte es diese
Migrantinnen nicht gegeben, würden
wir vielleicht auch den 8. März nicht
als „Internationalen“ Frauentag
feiern.
Filomenita Mongaya-Høgsholm
______________________
1910
,
bei
der Internationalen Konferenz von Arbeiterinnen in Kopenhagen,
brachte Clara Zetkin den
Vorschlag für einen Internationalen Frauentag vor mehr
als 100 Frauen aus 17 Ländern ein. Zetkins Vorschlag
wurde einstimmig angenommen. Der Internationale
Frauentag wurde zum ersten
Mal in Österreich, Dänemark,
Deutschland und der Schweiz am
19. März 1911 von mehr als einer
Million Frauen und Männern gefeiert.
Aber nicht einmal eine Woche später,
am 25. März 1911, brach das Triangle
Fire in New York aus, bei dem 146
TextilarbeiterInnen ums Leben kamen, es waren größtenteils MigrantInnen. Diese Tragödie unterstrich
die gefährlichen Arbeitsbedingungen
von migrantischen ArbeiterInnen in
New York. Dies war ein Wendepunkt
und änderte die US-amerikanischen
Arbeitsrechte. Später wurde dieses
tragische Ereignis mit dem Empowerment von Frauen verbunden, und am 8. März wird dessen gedacht. Das ganze
20. Jahrhundert über verbesserte sich zwar die Situation
für Arbeiterinnen, aber in vielen Teilen der Welt wird Frauenarbeit noch immer gering geschätzt und nicht gerecht entlohnt. Tag für Tag verlassen Frauen ihr Zuhause, um in der
Fremde Jobs und eine gesicherte Zukunft zu suchen.
Feminisierung von Migration
Laut dem IOM-Welt-Migrationsbericht migrierten 2010 214
Mio. Menschen. 49 % davon waren Frauen. Migrantinnen
sind noch immer Diskriminierungen, Menschenhandel und
Verstößen ausgesetzt. Aber auch ohne diese kriminellen
Verflechtungen bei weiblicher Migration zahlen Arbeiterin-
nen die sozialen Kosten von Migration, weil sie psychisch
und emotional aufgrund der Trennung von ihrer Familie und
ihren Kindern leiden.
Im selben Bericht wird festgestellt,
dass der Trend von weiblicher Migration weitergehen wird. Aufgrund der
Bevölkerungsalterung in der westlichen Welt wird die Unterstützung durch Migrantinnen, die Pflegearbeit
leisten, gefragter sein denn je.
Bislang wird von ArbeitgeberInnen, Regierungen und Gesellschaften die Arbeit migrantischer
Frauen wenig geschätzt. Außerdem werden ihnen Rechte wie
faire Löhne und humane Arbeitsbedingungen abgesprochen. Da es
vor allem Haus- und Pflegearbeit ist, in
der die weibliche migrantische Arbeitskraft Verwendung findet, brauchen Migrantinnen Zugang zu Beratung über rechtliche
und soziale Leistungen und Hilfe bei sexuellem Missbrauch und physischer Gewalt.
M i l l e n n i u m s - E n t w i ck l u n g sziele (MDGs) und MigrantInnen
Im Jahr 2000 wurden die MDGs festgelegt,
um in einer globalen Kooperation der
Staaten Armut zu bekämpfen. Es wurden acht Ziele formuliert, aber nicht
eines dieser Ziele zu internationaler
Migration, trotz der unübersehbaren
Geldrücküberweisungen der Migrantinnen, die für die finanzielle Sicherheit einer Unzahl von Familien – ja
ganzer Volkswirtschaften – in so
vielen Ländern zuständig sind.
UN-Arbeitsrechtekonvention zu MigrantInnen und der Internationale MigrantInnentag
1990 versuchte die UN die migrantischen Arbeitsrechte in
eine Konvention mit dem Titel „Internationale Konvention
zum Schutz der Rechte aller Wanderarbeitnehmer und ihrer
Familienangehörigen“ (UNMWC) zu verankern. Diese wurde
erst 2003 in Kraft gesetzt. Auf Druck von MigrantInnen wurde
am 4. Dezember 2000 von der UN der Beschluss zu einem
Internationalen MigrantInnentag gefasst, um Mitgliedsländer, RegierungsakteurInnen und NGOs daran zu erinnern,
dass sie eine Pflicht gegenüber MigrantInnen haben, und
die bereits 1990 vorgeschlagene Konvention zu ratifizieren
und Informationen über Men schenrechte von MigrantInnen
zu verbreiten und deren Beitrag anzuerkennen.
Turn to page 16
ABAKADA, SPRING 2011
15
MIGRANT WOMEN & IWD
From page 15
VERSCHLUNGENE...
Die UNMWC ist das einzige Menschenrechtsinstrument,
das speziell die Rechte von MigrantInnen behandelt, aber
es ist auch das letzte, das ratifiziert wurde. Nicht ein europäisches oder nordamerikanisches Land hat sich dezidiert
dafür eingesetzt. Zuletzt haben nur 44 Staaten die Konvention ratifiziert – alle aus dem globalen Süden.
ILO HausarbeiterInnen-Konvention
In den 1980er und 1990er Jahren verabschiedete die ILO
viele Konventionen, alle beinhalten Punkte, die für migrantische ArbeiterInnen relevant sind, aber keine bezieht sich
direkt auf MigrantInnen. Für 2011 ist eine neue Konvention
zu HausarbeiterInnenrechten vorgesehen. HausarbeiterInnen sind überwiegend Frauen und MigrantInnen. Diese
Konvention strebt deren Schutz vor Ausbeutung an, aber sie
behandelt nicht alle Rechte für MigrantInnen. Es geht dabei
um faire und menschenwürdige Arbeits- und Lebensbedingungen, um einfachen Zugang zu Streitschlichtungsverfahren, um Bestimmungen der ArbeitgeberInnenagenturen
und um die Absicherung für migrantische HausarbeiterInnen. Dieses Jahr wird es sich zeigen, ob sich diesbezüglich
internationale und innerstaatliche Gesetze tatsächlich ändern.
CEDAW und Migrantinnen
Das Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW) ist ein internationales Abkommen, das
auch Bereiche umfasst, die Migrantinnen betreffen. Mit 178
Ratifizierungen durch Ursprungs-, Transit- und Zielländer
von Migrantinnen ist CEDAW eine von den meistbestätigten
Konventionen. Diese Konvention wurde von der UN-Generalversammlung am 18. Dezember 1979 verabschiedet.
Darin werden Zivilrechte von Frauen, deren rechtlicher
Status und reproduktive Rechte, aber auch kulturelle Fak-
toren zur gesellschaftlichen Rolle von Frauen geregelt. CEDAW bestätigte, dass Migrantinnen, wie alle Frauen, nicht
diskriminiert werden sollen. Es wurde beschlossen, eine
General Recommendation zu erlassen. Die General Recommendation 27 (GR 27), die im Jänner 2005 veröffentlicht
wurde, beabsichtigt die Hintergründe, die dazu beitragen,
dass viele migrantische Arbeiterinnen verletzbar sind und
Erfahrungen mit sexueller und geschlechtsspezifischer
Diskriminierung haben, ausfindig zu machen. Bei dem
von UNIFEM und anderen Organisationen veranstalteten
Runden Tisch zum Thema CEDAW und Migrantinnen im
November 2009 in Genf sprachen zwei Migrantinnen über
Menschenrechtsherausforderungen in Europa und die Form
von multipler Diskriminierung, der sie ausgesetzt sind. Bilaterale Abkommen zwischen Ziel- und Herkunftsländern, die
migrantische Arbeiterinnen über die Grenzen hinweg schützen, fehlen zumeist. Migrantinnen in Europa mangelt es oft
an sozialen Unterstützungen. Der Internationale Frauentag
ist eine globale Feier, um auf ökonomische, politische und
soziale Errungenschaften von allen Frauen aufmerksam zu
machen. Vielleicht kann das 2010 neu entstandene UN Entity
for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (ehemals
UN-Frauen) helfen, die Entwicklungen der Mitgliedsstaaten
hin zu den Zielen Gendergleichheit und Empowerment von
Frauen zu beschleunigen. n
Internettipp: www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/comments.htm
Zur Autorin: Filomenita Mongaya-Høgsholm ist Vorsitzende und Gründungsmitglied des phillipinischen Migrantinnennetzwerkes BabaylanDänemark und Vorstandsmitglied bei Babaylan-Europa sowie Mitglied im
Steuerungsausschuss von WIDE (Women in Development Europe). Sie
lebt in Humlebaek bei Kopenhagen.
Übersetzung aus dem Englischen: Claudia Dal-Bianco
Reprinted with the permission of Frauensolidarität, Vienna.
SOCIAL SECURITY
First Round of Social Security Agreement Negotiations
Between the Philippines and
Denmark A Resounding
Success
The first round of
negotiations for
a Social Security
Agreement (SSA)
between the Republic of the Philippines
and the Kingdom
of Denmark was
concluded successfully, a half-day
earlier than previously scheduled, on
01 February 2011,
with both parties
agreeing to meet in
Manila at the soonest time possible
in order to finalize
and sign the muchawaited agreement.
The Philippine Delegation (PhilDel),
headed by Philippine Social Security
System President
and CEO Emilio S.
de Quiros, Jr., met with its Danish coun-
terparts at the premises of the Danish
Ministry of Employment from 31 January
to 01 February 2011 fully prepared for the
negotiations which were held in a cordial,
professional and cooperative atmosphere.
The SSA, once signed, will guarantee,
among other things, the portability of pensions of qualified Filipino and Danish nationals, taking into consideration applicable
Philippine and Danish laws, legislations
and guidelines.
Meanwhile, both parties agreed to finalize
the required Administrative Arrangements
and other applicable forms through electronic communication as soon as possible.
Some few remaining areas of clarification
in the draft SSA will be tackled during the
final meeting in Manila prior to its signing.
On 30 January, the Philippine Delegation also met with leaders of the Filipino
Community in Denmark at the residence of
Philippine Honorary Con. Gen Poul Krogh
to brief them on the said negotiations and
to receive feedback from the latter regarding the subject matter. Discussions were
lively and the meeting was concluded on
a positive note with the Filipino community
leaders expressing happiness and gratitude for this much-awaited SSA.
Government-to-government talks were
ABAKADA, SPRING 2011
initiated by the Philippine Government as
far back as 1999 and again in 2006 when
a precedent to harmonize some aspects
of the pension or social security systems
between the Philippines and Denmark was
made possible by an SSA between the
governments of Denmark and the US.
Mr. de Quiros and his Danish counterpart,
Ms. Lone Henriksen, expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the negotiations
and looked forward to its signing in Manila
within the year.
Other members of the Philippine delegation
were:
1.Ms. Judy Frances A. See, Senior Vice
President, Program Management Group,
Social Security System.
2.Ms. Consuelo D. Manansala, Executive
Vice President for Operations, Government
Service Insurance System.
3.Atty. Grace M. Tan, Labor Arbiter, Department of Labor and Employment.
4.Ms. Lenna Eilleen C. de Dios-Sison,
Third Secretary & Vice Consul of the Philippine Embassy in Oslo, Norway.
5.Mr. Poul Krogh, Philippine Honorary Consul General, Philippine Honorary Consulate
General, Copenhagen, Denmark
Source: Philippine Embassy, Oslo, Norway
Published Feb 2011
http://www.philembassy.no
16
MIGRATION NEWS
UN
OHCHR /Statement on the
situation of migrant workers and members of their
families in Libya
The Committee on the
Protection of the Rights
of All Migrant Workers and
Members of Their Families,
acting under its mandate to
monitor the implementation of the Convention, released a
statement expressing its alarm on the armed conflict and
on the violent response to the popular uprising in the Libya
since February 2011. The Committee stated that it is deeply
concerned about the recurrence of violations of the right to
life, acts of violence, including sexual violence, as well as
acts of discrimination and arbitrary detentions victimizing
migrant workers and members of their families in Libya, in
particular migrants from sub-Saharan Africa..
Source: OHCHR,
8 April 2011
EUROPE
New European Union
Agenda on the Integration of Migrants
The European Commission is preparing a Communication for a New
European Agenda on
Integration to be published
end of May 2011. The purpose of this Agenda is to supplement the Stockholm Programme of 2009, which focuses predominantly on tackling
terrorism, organised crime and irregular immigration, with a
chapter on integration.
Source: Intercultural Europe,
April 2011
Council of Europe\s Convention establishes legal framework to protect women from violence,
regardless of their status.
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted a landmark new Convention to prevent and combat
violence against women and domestic violence on 7 April
2011. This Convention is the first legally binding instrument
in the world creating a comprehensive legal framework to
prevent violence, to protect victims and to end the impunity of perpetrators. Article 4 of the Convention affirms its
provisions apply to all women regardless of migrant status.
While Article 59 on “Residence Status” addresses the situation of those on a spouse dependent visa and the issuance of renewable residence permits to victims. The official
guidance note makes specific reference to undocumented
migrant women, highlighting that while they have a different legal status to asylum seekers, they share an increased
risk of experiencing violence. To view press-release and
access all background documents visit Women Against Violence Europe (WAVE).
Source: Council of EUrope,
7 April 2011
COUNCIL OF EUROPE / Hammarberg: Europe
must make migration policies more humane
Council of Europe Commissioner for
Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, in presenting the conclusions
of the seminar on the human rights
dimensions of migration in Europe
organised in Istanbul in February
on 14 April, said that as illustrated
by the current crisis in North Africa,
Europe needs to establish more
humane migration management and
improve the treatment reserved for migrants. The European
Union and the Council of Europe should co-operate more
closely on this, ensuring that any EU policy abides fully by
human rights standards. More information, visit the Council
of Europe website.
Source: NCDAC, News
14 April 2011
FUNDAMENTAL
RIGHTS AGENCY
/ The situation of
irregular migrants
in Greece
On 8 March 2011? the
Fundamental Rights
Agency of the EU (FRA) published its thematic situation
report “Coping with fundamental rights emergency: the
situation of persons crossing the Greek land border in an
irregular manner” where the agency strongly criticises the
Greek government’s response to address the conditions in
detention centres despite the availability of EU funds. Access the report, here.
Sources: MPG, Migration News Sheet
April 2011
Undocumented Women
ISRAEL / High
Court halts
automatic
deportation
for pregnant
migrant
workers
The Israeli High
Court has ruled that the country’s “pregnant worker regulation” policy is unconstitutional, and must be abolished. The
regulation entails deporting female migrant workers once
they have given birth and only allowing their re-entry only if
they leave their child behind. The move followed a petition filed to the court by a coalition of Israeli NGOs in 2005
which includes PICUM member, Kav LaOved. In order
to discourage migrant workers from overstaying, Israel’s
Interior Ministry introduced harsh procedures in 2005 to
disallow any form of family reunification or procreation by
migrant workers. Currently migrant workers cannot enter
Israel if any immediate relatives are already working there,
and work permits are cancelled in cases of child birth, marriage and intimate relationships. n
Source: The Jerusalem Post,
14 April 2011
ABAKADA, SPRING 2011
17