20 years ago, the UN General Assembly adopted the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, also known as the Migrant Workers Convention. We believe that the 20^th anniversary provides an excellent opportunity for the European Union to live up to its core values and stand firm on the rights of migrant workers.

The Convention constitutes the broadest framework in international law for the protection of the rights of migrant workers and members of their families and provides guidance to States on how to respect the rights of migrants while developing and implementing labour migration policies.

The Migrant Workers Convention is one of the nine core United Nations human rights instruments. It has now been ratified by 42 states and a further 16 have signed up and are in the process of ratification.

Yet, to date, no EU Member State has signed or ratified the Convention. Non-ratification brings the core values of the EU into question. The Member States of the European Union can no longer fall behind but must demonstrate in concrete terms their willingness to be held accountable for migrants as they have done for decades in relation to international treaties protecting other vulnerable groups, such as women and children.

The Member States of the European Union must ensure that the fundamental rights of migrant workers and their family members are guaranteed. We call on the 27 EU Member States to ratify this international Convention.

To sign the petition:
http://www.december18.net/ratify-migrants-workers-convention

This initiative is supported by:

Abdelhamid El Jamri, Chair UN Committee on Migrant Workers
Jane Birkin, Artist,FIDH Patron, United Kingdom
Guy Ryder, Secretary General ITUC, Belgium
Irene Fernandez, 2005 Right Livelihood Award Laureate, Malaysia
Rev. Arlington Trotman, Moderator CCME, U. K.
Roberto Bissio, Head Secretariat, Social Watch, Uruguay
Isabelle Autissier, Navigator, FIDH Patron, France
John Monks, General Secretary ETUC, Belgium
François Houtart, Centre Tri-Continental (Cetri) Belgium
Mario Sepi, President EESC, Belgium
Lorena Escudero, Secretaria nacional del Migrante, Ecuador
Jos Geysels, Chair 11.11.11, Belgium
Jacques Debatty, Vice-Chair CNCD, Belgium
Marien Faure, Secrétaire général, Commission belge francophone et germanophone pour l’UNESCO
Mohammed Abdul Aziz, Chair ENAR, Belgium
Sonia Alfano, MEP - ALDE, Italy
Rui Tavares, MEP - GUE-NGL, Portugal
Judith Sargentini, MEP - Greens/EFA, Netherlands
Rita Borsellino, MEP - S&D, Italy
Helene Flautre, MEP - Greens/EFA, France
Isabelle Durant, MEP - Greens/EFA, Belgium
Marie Christine Vergiat, MEP - GUE-NGL, France
Cornelia Ernst, MEP - GUE-NGL, Germany
Kyriacos Triantaphyllides, MEP - GUE-NGL, Cyprus
Kathleen Van Brempt, MEP - S&D, Belgium
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, MEP - GUE-NGL, France
Claude Moraes, MEP - S&D, U.K.
Mariette Grange, Board Member, D18, Belgium
Souhayr Belhassen, President, FIDH, Tunisia
Farah Karimi, Director, Oxfam-Novib, NL
Don Flynn, Director, Migrant Rights Network, U.K.
Sioban O’Donaghue, Director, MRCI, Ireland
Michele LeVoy, Director, PICUM, Belgium
Doris Peschke, Sec-General, CCME, Belgium
Cynthia Gabriel, CARAM-Asia, Malaysia
A.I. International Secretariat, U.K.
Santo Deng, President, DFD, Netherlands
Moawia Ahmed, Platform of Migrants, Greece
Bogdan Vanden Berghe, 11.11.11, Belgium
William Gois, Migrant Forum Asia, Philippines
Michael Schöpf, Regional Director, JRS-Europe, Belgium
Pierre Barge, President AEDH, Belgique