Migrant Human Rights (MHR) Programme
The Migrants Human Rights (MHR) Programme focuses on AMC's analysis, positions, strategies and activities in relation to the comprehensive human rights issues of Asian migrants.
It has several components:
Asian Migrant Yearbook (AMY)
The Asian Migrant Yearbook is the joint bi-annual publication of AMC and the Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA). It provides periodic reports on migrants' situation and issues in over 20 countries in Asia. Country reports include statistics on migration, including inflow and outflow as well as annual stock, along with updates of the political and economic situation of the country, migration trends, and responses taken by various parties in regard to migrants’ issues and needs. In addition, the yearbook provides thematic reports on migration issues such as health, gender and trafficking, among others. There is also a section updating migration resources published in the past years, as well as a list of organizations working on migrants’ issues in Asia.
Information Monitoring / Monitoring of MIgrants' Rights Violations (MRVs)
AMC collects, organizes and manages a wide range of information related to migration in Asia. AMC maintains a library accessible to migrant workers in Hong Kong, and plans to computerize the library and other sources of information in order to provide access through the Internet. In addition, AMC periodically publishes monographs and reports based on its research, along with statements, conference reports, educational and training materials.
AMC helps MFA with the systematic, on-line documentation and monitoring system on migrants' rights violations (MRV) in Asia. This is a collaborative monitoring system where MFA and AMC members and partners across Asia input MRV cases; AMC then helps MFA process and manage the information and publish it as a regular report on MRVs.
MFA Advocacy Task Force
AMC helps MFA do its advocacy for mgirants' human rights by providing information and policy analysis support for MFA and advocacy partners.
Despite significant gains in international standards on migrants human rights, there is a tremendous “gap” between such standards and the daily struggles and realities of migrants’ working and living conditions. Combined with numerous other factors, a key obstacle to the overall improvement in the situation of MHR is the fact that many migrant workers and migrant support groups have limited awareness, capability, energy and resources to actively advocate for migrants human rights. AMC’s Migrants Human Rights (MHR) Program works in partnership with advocates in the region to increase the “critical mass” of organizations advocating for MHR, strengthen region-wide mechanisms to document rights violations, and improve the capabilities, skills and conceptual and practical understandings of advocates on using MHR standards.
The MHR program strives to fulfill AMC’s strategic objectives of working with the Asian migration advocacy network, the Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA) to promote the use of migrants human rights standards and the practice of monitoring, documenting, reporting and redressing migrants’ rights violations among a broad base of migrant workers’ organizations and their support groups in Asia. AMC works to produce resource materials for training advocates in using MHR standards and documenting and reporting rights violations. These advocates are for the most part members of the MFA network, which is an Asia-wide network of over 200 migrants organizations and advocates.
In addition to MFA, AMC’s key partners for the MHR Program’s local work in Hong Kong is the Coalition for Migrants Rights (CMR)—an umbrella organization of seven migrant workers’ organizations and unions. At the international level, AMC has worked as a key contact point for the MFA network for networks such as Migrants Rights International and the Global Campaign for the Ratification of the Migrants Convention.
The MHR Program is currently in the process of developing a regular course for MFA and its partners on fundamental concepts, principles, standards of MHR and how to systematically document, monitor & report Migrants Rights Violations (MRVs). AMC is working in conjunction with MFA to establish a systematic Asia-wide monitoring, documenting and reporting process on MRVs and on government compliance with MHR standards. AMC also works in building the capabilities of migrants’ organizations in organizational development and strategic planning.
The Program works with its partners to monitor and analyze how key Asian governments adopt and/or comply with international human rights standards, such as the UN Durban Declaration and Platform of Action, the UN Convention for the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, CEDAW, ICERD, the ILO core conventions, and the ILO conventions on migration for employment and forced labor. AMC provides assistance to grassroots groups and unions to make joint submissions to key UN and ILO working groups and treaty bodies. In the coming years, AMC will focus particularly on working with MFA to monitor the imminent treaty body that will be established for the UN Migrants Convention.
In addition, the MHR Program conducts in-depth studies and research on strategic topics related to labor migration standards, responses and strategies. A key research for the 2003-2006 period is a research on the health and well-being of migrant workers, which will aim to build the foundation for continued and long-term response by migrant advocates in Asia on health issues.
